Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs

Echoing the last note before this one...don't open this now. but you knew that...Lafarge always seems to need 30 years....blind...a little clunky or at least unsexy. Rustic. Didn’t feel too young. Just didn’t exactly move me. 18 isn't doing it any favors. I don;t get the CT notes on this wine. Maybe check back in 5 years.

Don’t open this now. Structured and tight, acid prominent. One day slow O softened, but still the glasses needed time for fruit to come out. Unfortunately the window into the youthful fruit and balance is now masked. Impressive for a 2018! Give this 5 years. 93 now. 95 potential.

Fête de Lucie (Hoogan & Beaufort) : Texture tellement élégante, douce et envoûtante, on ne sent pas les tanins. On le croirait presque prêt et il est déjà délicieux. Dense et parfaitement équilibré, il enchante par sa présence en l’instant et par la promesse d’un avenir fascinant. Grand vin. 95+ pts

Completely delicious now. Beautiful smooth ripe lovely dark black and red fruits, lots of fun and nuance really delicious now but of course no hurry - great future

Lafarge KILLED '18. This is just a beautiful Volnay. It's fragrant and seductive, but with lots of stuffing from the ripe vintage. It is a touch rough around the edges, as Lafarge usually is, but in a way that only adds character. This is great now and has decades of improvement ahead. A real triumph and my score may be conservative.

Scored on potential. Wine opened very tight and slowly opened up over a 1.5 hour decant, but was consumed before it ever got open. On a reticent nose, there was sandalwood spice with a tinge of red raspberry and red strawberry. Palate of bright red and crystalline cherry and strawberry, sour strawberry, ever so slightly dusty tannin. After 1.5-2 hours in the glass more dark red tones pop up, giving a better sense of what this wine can offer when …

Didn't love it, felt frayed.

tasted at the domaine; incredible explosive nose; leans more red fruited than the 2020 clos des chenes just tasted before; mineral, floral, along with cherry, red currant and plum; large scaled palate with plenty of structure and yet it feels velvety and silky with the fruit; again a long lingering finish; this was hand destemmed with a wicker table that the grapes were rolled over and is always the first plot to be harvested; another long term player; killer stuff

This felt like an off bottle. Somewhat disjointed and not on par with the climat or the prodicer. It’s possible the bottle was corked as there was a very subtle cork flavor to it.

This is another wine that has coped with the heat of 2018 in a very nice way. Elegant in scent, primarily red fruit, before a hint of blueberry strikes. In relation to d'Angerville, I would say that the fruit is a little more textured and warmer at Lafarge. More texture, matte vs smooth. This texture makes the wine look very charming. But it lacks some of the complexity of the aroma and taste picture that was found in Clos de …

Concentrated and traditional in style, but also typical of the vintage with aromas that will emerge with a wonderful dark summer flower that lies over a dense mass of concentrated redberry fruit, almost gravel aromas and something against the tough herbal. Good full-bodied, fresh and dense wine with properly concentrated raspberry fruit, purple fruit peel, fantastic deep soil with minerals that make the body sizzle. Long complex and beautiful finish, where the tannins tighten. The acidity does not challenge, and …

Visite au domaine Lafarge (mars 2020) (Au domaine) : Habituellement mon préféré, c'est la première fois que j'ai eu une légère préférence pour le puissant Clos des Chênes. Celui-ci offre un nez floral, avec des notes de petits fruits frais, tellement suave. Bouche aérienne, très élégante, fraîche, avec une finale d’une finesse exceptionnelle. Un autre très grand vin, sans aucune trace de millésime solaire. 96+ pts

Burgundy, Day 1 (Beaune, France) : Barrel sample. Hand-destemmed. This is an outstanding expression of Volnay; the fruit is pure and there is an intensity to the red fruit and spice here that no other wine seems to have. It's held together with some taut acids, but there is ample sweet fruit to balance everything out. Without a doubt a wine that will get significantly better with age, but also drinking quite deliciously right now.

Barrel Tasting at Domaine Lafarge (Volnay) : Hand de-stemmed. "Magic terroir" - according to Frederic. The wine is stuffed and concentrated but already showing a dizzying array of flavors across the red, blue and black fruit spectrum with spice and florals. Long and delineated. 95+

Barrel Tasting at Domaine Lafarge (Volnay) : Less forthcoming aromatically with dense red fruits. The palate is just chockfull of fruit and structure. A real step up in terms of stuffing but the elegance and refinement is still there. Will need 15+ years to show its best. Excellent 95+

Domaine Lafarge Cellar Visit and Tasting (Volnay) : Barrel tasting at the domaine. In recent vintages they have been destemming this cuvee by hand using a wicker basket of sorts, which seems to be adding to its complexity. It also had a prolonged 21 day fermentation in 2018. So much depth in the complex array of berry and cherry aromas and flavors, with the wine clearly very large scaled for Volnay, but also balanced already. One of the best young …