Tasted with Caroline Gon in Milly-Lamartine, 19 October 2020.
Domaine Héritiers du Comte Lafon
Les Cartelees
4 rue Lamartine
71960 Milly-Lamartine
Tel: +33 3 85 37 78 09
More reports for Héritiers du Comte Lafon
Caroline on 2020:
“In the vines all was really easy, certainly from the perspective of treatments and access but also with complications due to the dryness. We had lots of grapes and they looked great though small – but some places still delivered a good volume of juice – better than we could have hoped for. We didn’t need to rush the harvest as the maturities didn’t rise too quickly. One or two wines are near 14° but all fermented well. The balances look super.”
Caroline on 2019:
“Not all are bottled. We worried about the potential balance during the growing season but in the end, the wines have surprised us. About 70% was lost – frost in Mâcon-Prissé and St.Veran – both 90% frosted. Then a difficult flowering everywhere, too hot and too cold, the best flowering were those late flowers in Milly. The rest of the year was relatively easy and the ploughing was simple as it was always dry. But I have to say brilliant grapes, more acidity than 18, a little more sugar too.”
The wines…
A generally excellent range of wines that show plenty of freshness. The Clos du Four seemed outstanding when tasted…
2019 Mâcon-Milly-Lamartine
Higher altitude vines here, always later harvested.
A big, broad freshness of aroma. Lots of grapefruit style to this flavour _ bubbling with a delicious acidity – mouth-wateringly lovely – long too. That’s an excellent start.
2019 Mâcon-Bussières Le Monsard
Same geology as Pouilly, very little soil directly onto the mother rock.
A faint DIAM reduction but only for a minute – then more a silky with a citrus width. In the mouth, here’s a super width of cool, energetic flavour over the palate, insinuating its flavours deeper and deeper into your tongue. Long, slightly mineral, also suggesting salinity, but essentially of fine citrus fruit. A real crowd-pleaser this one!
2019 Mâcon-Uchizy Les Maranches
A foudre of young and another of older vines – assembled before bottling.
Here’s a depth of aroma, rounder at the bottom. Super-silky in the mouth. The ripe citrus flavour growing and growing over the palate with just a finishing suggestion of more minerality. Lovely length and completely delicious.
2019 Mâcon-Chardonnay Clos de la Crochette
Northern vines, south-facing so more ‘solaire’ vs the Lamartine, a little more clay in the soil though.
Deeper, a little more mineral impression, almost a hint of lime in the aromas. Brighter, more energetic clarity. Equally mouth-watering – practically juicy. So yum…
Mid-slope, plain east-facing.
Good width of citrus aroma – in this case, a little oak underpinning is visible. Extra-direct, extra-fresh too. Really a juicy, mouth-watering, mineral wine but the citrus flavour sweeps you along beautifully. I think this great – right down to the subtle halo of salinity in the finish!
2019 Viré-Clessé
From Viré – from Chateau Viré since 2009. Older vines and plenty of clay here. Try to harvest earlier here. 10-12 different parcels.
This is open, fresh, more elegant and faintly floral. Bubbling juicily over the palate _ a different style again – more sunshine in this wine, but vibrant energy too. A super finish – really a growth of juicy partly saline flavour. Excellent again
2018 Pouilly-Fuissé En Chatenay
The only wine that also uses some barrels in elevage – together with demi-muids and foudres. Bottled in October, north-facing vines here, quite high
A smaller more golden-fruited nose. Hmm – that’s a beautiful balance of open flavour, mouth-watering, like the nose a little more golden fruit but no real weight – a super finishing line of flavour too – ooh fantastic!