Wine Advisor
Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Montrachet Grand Cru 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting, the 2014 Montrachet Grand Cru from Domaine des Comtes Lafon has a clean and fresh bouquet, perhaps just a bit too much lime for my liking, although there is mineralité tucked in just behind. The palate is fresh and saline on the entry with a superb line of acidity. There is weight and presence to this Montrachet, and it gains weight and delivers a knockout, extremely persistent finish tinged with lemon thyme and sherbet. Though a little disjointed at present, I suspect this will turn into a wonderful Montrachet with style and class. But be warned that it will require several years in bottle.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2014 Montrachet Grand Cru has a gorgeous bouquet: very complex with scents of dried quince, citrus lemon, almond and minerals -- all set off with a very subtle reduction, à la Porusots 2014. The palate is very well balanced as you would expect, but it's the purity here that really makes the Montrachet, building in the glass to what is quite a feisty, bravura of a finish. There is a completeness and bewitching sense of harmony here, and though you feel duty-bound to analyze and intellectualize over this Montrachet, the devil inside is urging you to just drink it and enjoy its untrammeled deliciousness.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(still in tank): Distinctly wild aromas of pineapple, iodine, resiny oak and caraway seed lifted by a floral topnote. Then brooding and a bit lower-toned on the palate than the Perrières but with a texture of liquid velvet to its plush, soil-driven flavors of ripe stone fruits and smoky minerality. This youthfully musky, extremely backward wine does not currently display the sheer verve of Lafon's supernal Meursault Perrières but it boasts outstanding sweetness for the year and a wonderfully tactile, building, palate-dusting finish. This wine will need extended cellaring.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright yellow. Knockout nose combines pineapple, flowers and a buttery suggestion of reduction. Offers outstanding sweetness and fullness without weight, conveying a powerful, building impression of salty dry extract. For all its richness of fruit, this wine boasts outstanding inner-mouth tension. Mounts inexorably on the aftertaste. The crop level here was a decent-for-the-vintage 30 hectoliters per hectare and Lafon told me these grapes were among the most beautiful I've ever seen.
About the Producer
Domaine des Comtes Lafon is a renowned wine estate located in the Mâconnais region of Burgundy, France. The domain has been in the Lafon family's possession since the late 19th century, with Dominique Lafon leading the estate's operations since the 1980s. Domaine des Comtes Lafon is particularly renowned for its exceptional Chardonnay wines, which are produced from the domain's esteemed vineyards in Meursault, Volnay, and Monthélie. The estate's winemaking approach emphasizes minimal intervention, allowing the terroir to shine through in the wines. Domaine des Comtes Lafon is recognized as one of the top producers in the Mâconnais, known for its focus on quality, elegance, and minerality.
