Tasted in Meursault with Dominique, Léa & Pierre Lafon, 28 October, 2020.
Domaine des Comtes Lafon
5 Rue Pierre Joigneaux
21190 Meursault
Tel: +33 3 80 21 22 17
www.comtes-lafon.fr
More reports for Domaine des Comtes Lafon.
Last year whilst awaiting Dominique a young lady came and introduced herself – this was Léa, Léa Lafon – Dominique’s daughter. Then Dominique turned up, laughing, and saying ‘You two can do the tasting next year – you won’t need me!‘ – And so it came to pass this year – almost. Dominique was still present and we were also joined by Pierre Lafon. As it turned out I had the fortune to be visiting when they had assembled representative samples of all their cuvées for tasting and analytics – so this year the tasting was not done in the cellars, rather the reception room.
Léa on 2019:
“I’m not really surprised by the balance of the wines, because I remember tasing the juice at the time of harvest and I found it super balanced, despite the high sugars. But it’s always nice when the wines turn out well. We have fresher fruit in 2019 vs 2018 despite the higher alcohols.”
The wines…
I hardly feel the need to write it, but be assured there are a number of great wines at the domaine in 2019 – overall, excellent-plus!
February to May is the main timing for the bottling – though the reds could be done before Christmas. All the reds were destemmed in this vintage.:
2019 Monthelie 1er Duresses
1.05 hectares. The last harvested vines of 2018.
Hmm, aromatically a little tight but this has an appealing red fruit character. Full, round, melting, that’s delicious – plenty of power and nicely structured. That’s a lovely finish – a forgotten cuvée here but I always like – I have a few vintages at home.
2019 Volnay
Assembly of young vines, principally from Santenots
Here is a higher-toned style, wide, faintly herbed – less obviously about the fruit. Supple, wide – that fills the mouth nicely – the energy is okay but the open character of the wine brings a fine overall balance. Extra finishing intensity vs the Monthélie but as a package I still prefer the last wine.
2019 Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
A narrower but deeper nose today. Wide, a little more depth to the texture and flavour here. Lovely intense finishing flavour – holding really well through some modest structure. That’s a wine to wait for but I like!
Two-thirds of the vines ar 100 years-old now.
Not dark colours. A smaller nose but the impression is very silky and of red fruit with a fine purity. More presence, mouth-filling but never too much. The wine is framed with tannin but of super texture. That’s really quite a wine – excellent as a minimum could be even better!
This is a large 3.5 ha plot. A normal result would be 50 barrels.
High-toned again – more in the style of the villages with a little herb for accompaniment. Wide, also beautifully textured – a different shape. Love the middle complexity here. This is clearly a wine to wait for and rather ‘complete’ perhaps longer in the finish too – but today drink the Champans in preference.
Les Blancs…
2019 Meursault Clos de la Baronne
This for the US-market. And part (half) of this goes into the domaine’s Meursault. Currently in tank. An early ripening place here
That’s really open and absolutely inviting – a great villages nose. Extra saline, a little richness of flavour but all is balanced. A great finish, and with the characteristic tannin of the vintage
2019 Meursault
This from Crotots, En la Barre, Baronne and Luraule
More airy and floral – lovely again but clearly quite different. Saline once more, wider, indeed almost round, just a little more mouth-watering though there’s certainly richness of texture again – almost juicy finish.
The vines here now average about 70 years old.
A little more aromatic density but still airy in style. The most direct and fresh so far – bubbling with energy and a faint saline/tannic frame. A great finish, intense and tasty – love that – bravo!
0.5 hectare. Of-course, this would be 1er cru if they bottled with the name Plures, before AOC the area was called Desirée but have used at the domaine since the 1800s but everyone else started to use Plures after AOC – in 1973 father of Dominique labelled it as a 1er cru but the douane said that vineyard didn’t exist so he had to remove the 1er from the label. This in tank since summer.
Airy but more density of aroma – complex, a little herb. The characteristic first wave that’s a little saline. Wider, a little more muscular – a great finish – long, penetrating and persistent. So delicious here.
All the following samples assembled from barrel, Lafon the only domaine with all 6 1ers from Meursault here:
2019 Meursault 1er Bouchères
Only since 2011 here, previously with domaine Manuel, shared with JM Roulot.
More floral aromatic – very elegant. In the mouth too, there’s an elegance of texture and structure – but plenty of both – the fruit has an exotic accent but is based in citrus. Seemingly growing for a time in the finish but always true to its elegant style.
2019 Meursault 1er Goutte d’Or
A shinier style, aroma of clarity, also quite an elegant style develops with air. More structural, wider, more intensity behind the energy. Wide finishing. That’s really lovely
‘This is the transition between northern and southern 1ers of Meursault’ Later harvesting – ‘but you still have to go very quickly when it’s ready…’
Wide and high toned – but beautifully so. Structural, mouth-filling but also mouth-watering – waves of great finishing flavour here. The structural wine of the series, but compared to many other domaines’ Porusots this is such a honey – bravo!
For me, this is the classic nose – spiced, complex, almost a little brown sugar – of Genevrières. A little more depth to this texture but still a wine of mobility of complexity and completely delicious flavour – it’s my new favourite. Bravo – such a great finish.
2019 Meursault 1er Charmes
Old vines – 96-years-old.
A more vertical nose and of more clarity – it’s less overtly complex but time brings floral perfume too. More directly mouth-filling and transparent. Growing in mouth-watering flavour – the clarity is super – the shape is great, the flavour a bit simple after the Genevrières – today. Wider and ‘cleaner’ finishing. Super long – soooo good!
2019 Meursault 1er Perrières
Wide and a bit more intensity to the aroma – chalky. A little more up-front intensity here. A subtle richness of texture, a wine that develops and develops over the palate releasing more and more flavour in mouth-watering style. Super as you would expect.
Not a full power nose, but very faintly reductive and showing fine complexity even a faint acacia. Here is a width and an intensity, but super textured, a wide, wide wave of finishing flavour – certainly the class of the wines here as good as the others were!
