Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu 2016

vinous93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2016 Volnay Santenots-les-Milieu 1er Cru is cut from a different cloth to Dominique Lafon’s previous vintages. This is more reserved and earthy in style, less generous but complex and involving. It develops a lovely floral/rose petal scents with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity. This is very well balanced with fine depth, a little foursquare in style and perhaps just missing a little flesh towards the finish. Is this holding something back for later? Give it three to five years. Tasted at the Domaine Direct Tasting in London.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

(these vines produced just 11 hectoliters per hectare in 2016): Healthy dark red. Fully ripe aromas of kirsch, boysenberry and dark chocolate. Quite rich and voluminous for the vintage, a step up in sweetness from the Champans. This seamless, juicy, perfectly balanced fruit bomb is not at all clenched or overextracted. Finishes with superb palate-saturating length and wonderfully refined tannins. It's quite striking today the way these wines in fûts maintain perfect clarity. When I asked Lafon to compare this wine to a previous vintage, he responded that he'd have to go back to 1985 or 1978.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Aromas of dark cherries, incense, baking chocolate and rich soil tones introduce the 2016 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu, a medium to full-bodied wine with superb depth and dimension, juicy balancing acids and powdery structuring tannins. The finish is long and sapid. It's an excellent Santenots that has really fleshed out since I tasted it from barrel.