Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu 2015

vinous93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2015 Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu 1er Cru has a lovely ripe blackberry, raspberry and undergrowth-scented bouquet that opens nicely with aeration, shaking off just a touch of reduction. The palate is well balanced with sappy red fruit, gentle grip and crisp acidity. There is just a slight veneer of new oak toward the finish that will inevitably be subsumed within the next few months. This is a very classy offering. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting. (DIAM 30 closure)

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Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Bright medium ruby-red. Purple fruits, licorice and violet on the nose; a bit darker and less plummy than the Champans. Then wonderfully sweet, seamless and mouthfilling, offering captivating inner-mouth perfume and outstanding pliancy for a wine with a pH of 3.35. Tightens up a bit on the back end, finishing with serious but suave, harmonious tannins and subtle rising length. This wine is a good bet to go on in bottle for two decades, but will it go through a dumb stage along the way?

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

(entirely destemmed; 20 hectoliters per hectare produced): Bright medium ruby. Darker and more brooding on the nose than the Champans, offering scents of black cherry and blackberry. Densely packed and penetrating, with dark raspberry, medicinal black cherry, licorice and bitter chocolate flavors nicely framed by surprisingly firm acidity. With its substantial but ripe tannins, this wonderfully concentrated, balanced wine seems set for a 25-year life in bottle. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was accessible earlier than the Champans.