Domaine de la Bongran is a Mâconnais wine producer, located in the village of Quitaine between Viré and Clessé. The family-owned estate cultivates 15 hectares (37 acres) of which has been passed down through generations of winemakers and stonemasons with Jean Thévenet and son Gautier at the helm today. Vines cultivated are 100 percent of the Chardonnay grape variety and are found planted on white marl subsoil. The soil type produced a distinct minerality and acidity allowing the Domaine to pick often Botrytis-affected grapes relatively late in comparison to neighbouring estates. Organic farming principles are employed in the vineyard and after a hand-pick, minimal intervention is applied in the winery. Juice is fermented in tank with wild yeasts for up to two years prior to bottling. The flagship of the Bongran portfolio is the Cuvée E.J. Thévenet which is bottled with a small portion of residual sugar. The INAO (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine) stipulates that the Viré-Classé appellation is restricted to a maximum of 0.4 percent residual sugar, disqualifying Thévenet. This is met with controversy considering that Thévenet is arguably acredited with bringing the appellation to notoriety by producing high-quality, ageworthy wines. The Thévenet family also owns Domaine Emilion Gillet and Domain of Roally in Viré.