Wine Advisor
Michel Lafarge, Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Chateau des Ducs 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Chateau des Ducs is the 0.57-hectare monopole of Lafarge from an average of 80-year-old vines. Despite coaxing it remains stubbornly reticent on the nose, coquettishly revealing sea cave scents, perhaps a suggestion of what is to come with bottle age. The palate is more expressive with silky tannins, very pure red berry fruit, fine mineralite and a sophisticated, focused finish that lingers in the mouth. This has a wonderful weightless quality to it. Very classy. I visited Domaine Michel Lafarge, tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Volnay village, where winemaker Frédéric Lafarge, Michel’s son who has worked at the domaine since 1978, escorted me through his cramped 13th-century arched cellars that are covered head to toe in thick black mold. You could imagine a witches’ coven in a dark corner. Instead, the only thing being conjured up here is magical wine. In any case, space is not so much of an issue these days since Frédéric told me that he lost 80% of the biodynamically cultivated crop in 2012 that affected all his parcels. Nevertheless, the show must go on and Frédéric seemed sanguine about the travails. Ever a thoughtful, softly spoken gentleman, I can imagine that he would take it in his stride, with recourse to his father if necessary. He commenced picking on September 20, but in earnest from September 24. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes natural ferment with prudent pigéage. These were generally light and tensile, predominantly Volnay wines surfeit with minerality and poise, the prudent use of oak (around 15% maximum) allowing the individual terroirs to be expressed articulately. They will provide pleasurable early drinking, yet Lafarge’s wines tend to be deceptively long lived if you can manage to track them down. Importer: A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803; Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640
About the Producer
The vineyards of the Lafarge estate cover an area of about 12 hectares and have their own plots in the five major first-class gardens in Volnay, including the oak garden (Clos des Chenes), the duc garden (Clos du Chateau des Ducs). , Les Caillerets, Chanlins and Les Mitans, and mainly grow old vines Pinot Noir and a small amount of Gamay. In addition, in Meursault, La Farge has 1.28 hectares of Chardonnay and 1.1 hectares of Aligote. Lafarge Manor has always followed tradition. As the winemaker of the winery, Frederic Lafarge is humble and intelligent. He insists on inheriting family traditions and is very respectful of nature. Frederick believes that winemakers need to know how to adapt to local conditions and treat each vine carefully, and only in harmony with nature can they produce wines that express terroir and unique style. Lafarge estate rarely uses modern mechanical tools. The winery began to implement the biodynamic method in 1997 and completely transformed in 2000, stocking pullets in the vineyard to eliminate various potential pests. The winery will manually prune the plants at the right time, and use hand picking during the harvest season. During the winemaking process, the Lafarge estate uses native yeasts to freeze the grapes and ferment them for extended periods of time. According to the ripeness of the grapes in that year, the winery will also appropriately adjust the time and temperature of the grape fermentation. In addition, the winery also minimizes human intervention, only gently pressing and simply gluing the wine, and almost no filtration of the wine. The Lafarge estate basically does not use new oak barrels, and the wine is matured for 18 months in old barrels with wood trees aged 2-5 years before bottling. Lafarge estate has launched more than ten wines so far. These traditionally brewed wines are fruity, well-structured, rich in layers, and have strong aging potential, and are deeply loved by wine critics and consumers.
