The aromas leap from the glass – perhaps without the fineness and class of the 2009s. They flavours are fuller, fatter and less well defined, yet with and engaging freshness and sweetness. There is good acidity and quite some intensity of flavour – this is rather good.

The aromas leap from the glass – perhaps without the fineness and class of the 2009s. They flavours are fuller, fatter and less well defined, yet with and engaging freshness and sweetness. There is good acidity and quite some intensity of flavour – this is rather good.

Like the ‘simpler’ Lafarge villages, this wine has a personality quite different to the others, it’s not the easiest drink right now, whereas all the others could, to my taste, be amply enjoyed. The colour is rather deep, a core of ruby-red that fades only slightly to the rim. Wide and fresh nose, red in complexion, deep red, eventually bordering on sweet blackcurrant. Fresh, linear, but well concentrated palate – very good – mouth watering acidity. I’d leave this another 5 years in the cellar, and will probably buy a few more.

We drank this one directly after the ’97 Lafarge 1er Cru Volnay (below). Darker in colour, with a nose that is shaded a little more towards black fruit. The palate seems more concentrated than the ’97 1er, with good acidity and grainier, more obvious tannin. Despite the apparent extra concentration of fruit, there’s a bit of a gap in the mid-palate compared to the 1er Cru, and this is also not quite so long. Neither the elegance nor the mid palate of the 1er Cru, but then that’s the way it’s supposed to be, also shows in a much younger way. A wine that you should wait a little longer for – enjoyed all the same.