Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chênes 2020

The New York Times reports: 'Over the last 25 years, the world has fallen in love with Burgundy — the wines, the people and the culture. Perhaps nobody has embodied the allure of Burgundy as well as Michel Lafarge, whose family estate in Volnay makes wines that Burgundy lovers prize for their deep, soulful beauty. They are modest wines in the best sense of the word, not showy but respectful and expressive of their terroirs, graceful, dignified and altogether captivating. The Lafarge domaine was established by Michel Lafarge's great-great-grandparents early in the 19th century, and it has been worked by Lafarges ever since. Michel's son Frédéric, 56, whose first vintage was 1978, manages the domaine, and Chantal is next in line.' 

'Michel and Frédéric Lafarge have done an immense amount to put Volnay at the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to great Burgundy wine. Armed with a choice selection of premier crus, they have foraged a path creating understated Pinot Noirs that are deceptively long lived. It’s as if their greatest wines come with a bit of prestidigitation, a conjuring trick, whereby as time passes they magically gain intensity and presence (as evinced by a remarkable 1972 Volnay Clos des Chêne). Visiting in the Côte de Beaune, Frédéric told me that he was lucky enough to be bestowed with healthy grapes that suffered no fruit fly infestation, those pests preferring to stay up in the Côte de Nuits. He harvested between September 17 with the Bourgogne Aligoté and finished on September 23. He feels that the 2014s have a nice sense of energy, a phrase used by several producers during my trip, describing them as “classic wines,” which he intends to bottle at the end of February. As you will see from my tasting notes, some of the vineyards especially around Beaune were decimated by hail, for example, their Beaune 1er Cru Les Aigrots Blanc depleted down to a derisory single barrel.' WINE ADVOCATE DECEMBER 2015