Tasted in Volnay with Frédérick Lafarge, 27 October, 2021.
Domaine Michel Lafarge
15 Rue De La Combe
21190 Volnay
Tel: +33 3 80 21 61 61
www.domainelafarge.com
More reports with Domaine Michel Lafarge
Frederic on 2021:
“All our 1er crus have been assembled into a single cuvée in 2021 – as the growth starts quite early here. It was the hot summer week before the frost that was really responsible for everything. The quality is good it’s just that we have only about 15% of a normal vintage.”
Frederic on 2020:
“In 2020, fortunately, the volume was relatively okay but also with great quality – Magic! Really everything was perfect; a mild but wet winter so there was plenty of water in the ground. The growth took off in April and never really stopped. Flowering was done by 22 May – I’ve never seen it so early. The rain came when needed despite the heat of the summer. We started harvesting 22 August – all but the Passetoutgrains and the aligoté were picked in August, but in the end, it was also our longest harvest – almost one month. The hardest part was keeping the harvest team together – but I’m very happy and for both colours. It’s also the fifth consecutive vintage with practically nothing to triage. The wines remind me of 1990 but with the terroirs, rather than the vintage, dominating.”
The wines…
As you might have suspected, there are many great wines at this address in 2020 – but it’s a vintage for keeping here. Few of the wines would thank you for being drunk before their 10th birthday – many their 20th…
Starting with les blancs:
2020 Bourgogne Aligoté Raisin d’Orée
Over 80-year-old vines – Was racked in Augist.
That’s a super freshness. Mouth-filling, generous flavour despite the acidity. Long finishing.
2020 Meursault
Three parcels between Volnay and the village of Meursault
Thats a pretty classical nose, faintly spiced and attractive. Great shape – structured and mouthwatering. Super!
2020 Meursault Vendanges Selectionée
Old vines just below Santenots de Milieu
A more airy quality. Vibrant acidity but still a wine of width rather than direction. An extra, sizzling, intensity in the finish makes the differentiation between these two wines.
2020 Beaune 1er Clos des Aigrots
Here’s a more concentrated nose. A touch of freshness. Wide, vibrant, again with a super intensity, purity – a beautiful wine of precision.
Les Reds:
Over 80 years old, half pinot, half gamay grapes always maturing at the same time, near Meursault. Grandfather first commercialised this.
Just a beautiful and energetic nose. In the mouth too. There’s scale here, mouth-watering, so delicioius long too – gorgeous freshness – great PTG
PTG from older vines but don’t have a name yet – l’exception de l’exception anbody?
More ample width of ultra-pure and fresh fruit. The faintest of extra padding but this remains a sleek wine, the tannin more visible but without grain. I can’t not give it the nod!
2020 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
4 different parcels at the bottom of the Volnay hill.
Higher toned fruit here. Wide and fresh again – so juicy these wines. So a great bourgogne – except that this is very classic – in that you need to like acidity!
2020 Volnay
Here the nose is deeper, a bit tighter too. Vibrant, intense – what a wine – but certainly for keeping!
4 different climats here
A bit more colour. Much more open and floral-accented – that’s a great villages nose. Extra depth and width to these flavours – more approachable than the Volnay today – great finishing too – practically a great villages.
2020 Beaune 1er Clos des Aigrots
That’s also a super nose, dynamic, electric – you get the idea! So mouth-watering and mineral, exciting even!
99-year-old wines this vintage – the oldest vines of the domaine with 90% of the original vines – ‘We thought the consecutive years of hail might have finished a part so after 2014 vintage we pulled out 25% replanting in 2017. The rest have recuperated well though.’
A broader and deeper nose. Larger scale and more structural but with the depth of fruit to easily balance. Here is a great wine!
2020 Pommard 1er Pezerolles
Pulled out in 2021 after years of hail and frost ‘It was time’ says Fred
A silkily deep nose, dark but still fresh fruit. Structural but not hard – here is much clarity and floral-inflected flavour – thats super Pezerolles!
2020 Volnay 1er Mitans
An aroma that embraces with a little texture – that’s so inviting! There’s energy here, clarity of dark fruit too. Mouth-watering dark flavour – really delicious wine that’s super balanced and super long too.
2020 Volnay 1er Les Pitures
Since 2015 only in magnum,
An aroma that embraces you with a little texture – that’s so inviting! There’s energy here, clarity of dark fruit too. Mouth-watering dark flavour – really delicious wine that’s super-balanced and super long
So great, so Caillerets – such an aromatic purity of fruit. In the mouth too, almost a wc aspect to this rose-accent – great wine this year.
2020 Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
Less intense fruit but still a volume and freshness to this nose. Impressive is the general lack of ‘too much’ in this cru in 2020 – this has fine fruit, some power, just a bit less focus after Caillerets.
Here’s a bit more spice/pepper-inflection to the aroma, slowly growing in the intensity of fruit aroma too. Full, round, more depth to the structural elements – tannin for instance but with plenty of lithe clean fruit in support too. Great wine.
Beaujolais:
The following wines will be bottled at the end of November, unlike the wines from Volnay which will wait until March/April:
The nose has a different shape, deep, round but with fine harmony. Concentrated, engrossing, actually more drinkable than the previous wines despite a great soine of acidity. Almost creamy finishing. Great
2020 Fleurie
Two climats assembled, both on pink granite.
A wider nose, more airy, pretty and inviting. Mouth-filling, extra volume here, extra energy too with a very open style – the structure tells you to wait longer than the last wine – and I would be waiting for this one. Lovely.
1.2 of their 6 ha.
More colour. A fuller, riper nose but still of pure red fruit. Wide, fresh and with tons of energy – siome tannin that dries but has no grain – this will develop a beautiful texture. Pure and fine finishing – bravo again – wait 3-5 years…
2020 Fleurie Clos Vernay
1.3 ha, a granite and quartz base. Elevage in a foudre and not hailed. 25% wc
The most airy and silky of these red-fruited aromas. Fresh attack with salinity and intensity – the wine that most resembles the Volnays in style. Really super!
2020 Côte de Brouilly
En fermage in the heart of the appellation near Thivin – a mix of granite and blue-stone with 60-year-old vines.
A different style of red, with slightly darker red fruit. Mouth-filling, some grain to the tannin but ultra-fine. Extra bitters in the finishing flavour and a tannin that frames the flavours – never too much. Super but definitely wait 2-3 years