Domaine Michel Lafarge - Volnay 2022

The Lafarge family has been making wine in Volnay since before the French Revolution, and what Michel and Frédéric do today is informed by the collective wisdom passed down through many generations of Lafarge.

Everything father and son do, therefore, is based on experience and a deep respect for tradition, rather than in following trends. As Michel told The Great Domaines of Burgundy author Remington Norman, “The only way of improving quality is to review what has been done and achieved before.”

For Lafarge, this means everything from using only sélection massale cuttings for replanting to a very minimal use of new oak for aging. As with his fellow Volnaysien Marquis D’Angerville’s wines, Michel and Frédéric allow the wine to essentially “make itself.”

The fruit is picked at ideal ripeness, destemmed, given a long, cool fermentation with the native yeasts, and all handling of the wine, including extraction and movement is gentle to preserve its quintessential Volnay delicacy. As Michel told Remington Norman, “Every pump is bad.”

The results are stunningly pure Volnays of haunting perfume, underpinned by the firm structure for extended aging. They are quintessential examples of the Burgundian model of intensity without heaviness, deceptively long-lived for their exhilarating elegance.

“Ruby crimson in colour. Gentle and graceful aromatics. The firmer structure of this wine is apparent in the mouth, though there is enough pure red berry fruit to cover the bones. Undemonstrative yet harmonious and balanced. Drink from 2028-2035.” - 92 Points, Jasper Morris MW

“From a mix of vines that average about 40 years of age in Brouillard, Buttes, Famines, Pasquiers and Cros Martin. Spicier aromas of poached plum, dark currant, violet and a hint of crushed fennel are rimmed in more subtle wood influence. Once again there is a really lovely texture to the more mineral-inflected medium-bodied flavors that possess a caressing mouthfeel, all wrapped in a firm, punchy, lightly austere and equally well-balanced finale. Lovely and understated.” - 91 Points, Burghound

“A blend of six parcels spread around the appellation, the 2022 Volnay Village has a well-defined and quite Pommard-like nose. The palate is medium-bodied, quite robust for a Volnay, and grippy with a slightly muscular but focused finish. A gutsy Volnay in the making, and as such, it will require 3-4 years in bottle. It may land at the top of my banded score.” - 90 Points, Vinous

Producer: Domaine Michel Lafarge

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Appellation: Volnay

Vintage: 2022

Size: 750ml