I’ve been lucky enough to both drink and taste a reasonable amount of Comte Lafon’s wines, but I’m ashamed to say that I’d none in my cellar before I bought this. There’s plenty of white Lafon for sale at auction – no surprise in these times of p.ox – but the reds are much rarer, so it is with some irony that the first of this immaculate looking 6-pack turned out to be lightly corked – grrr, that’s two in a row – but what about the second?

1992 Comtes Lafon, Monthélie 1er Les Duresses
Beautiful medium-red colour, no obvious browning or bricking. The nose is highly engaging (this time!); a macerating, baked redcurrant note with just the merest hint of a creamy coating – interestingly there’s a little 2004-style pyrazine here too – of ~2/10 green meanie intensity – a level that adds interest, rather than turns the stomach. It starts with a narrow flavour profile, but it’s balanced, indeed fresh – a little time in the glass allows the shape of wine to fill out some. The fruit has just enough ripeness and a very faint astringency (still). I might be tempted to say that I’m drinking this a little young, but I’m finding much of interest here. At a good price I certainly might buy again.
Rebuy – Maybe

For interest, just like young oak can mask parts per trillion of pyrazines, it seems so can parts per billion of TCA – it was possible, but very much harder to discern the pyrazine component in the corked bottle, whereas (at my level of sensitivity) it was rather easy for this wine. Blind I would have 100% guessed it was a 2004, indeed, this actually has better colour than many 2004s!