Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Cru Champans 2017

robert_parker92

Reviewed by: William Kelley

The 2017 Volnay 1er Cru Champans is effectively an old vine cuvée, as the parcel planted in 1922 gave a sufficiently generous crop for Dominique Lafon to relegate most of the fruit from the domaine's 1989 planting to the Volnay Village. The resulting wine is excellent, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis, dark chocolate, dried flowers and candied peel. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with more concentration than the Clos des Chênes, and more length on the finish, too. I'm looking forward to seeing it from bottle.

vinous91

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2017 Volnay Champans 1er Cru has plenty of fruit, though the oak is a little prominent and distracting at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit and a fine bead of acidity. Fresh in the mouth but not as complex on the finish as the bottle I tasted at the domaine. Still, this is a pleasant, taut, crisp Volnay to drink over the next 15 years. Closure is Diam 30 Organic. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2017 tasting.