Michel Lafarge - Volnay 2020

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Volnay wine is produced in the commune of Volnay in Côte de Beaune of Burgundy, and in some vineyards in the commune of Meursault. The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) Volnay is only used for red wine with pinot noir as the main grape variety. There are no Grand Cru vineyards within Volnay, but several highly regarded Premier Cru vineyards. The AOC was created in 1937 (87 years ago).

In 2008, there were 206.7 hectares (511 acres) of vineyard surface was in production for Volnay wine at village and Premier Cru level, and 7,733 hectoliter of wine was produced, corresponding to just over 1 million bottles.

The AOC regulations also allow up to 15% total of chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris as accessory grapes in the red wines, but this not very often practiced. The allowed base yield is 40 hectoliter per hectare. The grapes must reach a maturity of at least 10.5% potential alcohol for village-level wine, and 11.0% for Premier Cru wine.

The style of Volnay wine is typically light and aromatic, and elegant rather than powerful, with considerably less tannin than the Pommard wines from the neighboring village.

Decanter: 93 Points

A View from the Cellar: 91 Points

The 2020 Volnay villages from the Lafarge family is excellent. The refined bouquet wafts from the glass in a fine mix of red plums, black cherries, raw cocoa, gamebird, a complex base of dark soil tones and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is svelte, full and very refined in personality, with a sappy core of fruit, lovely complexity and soil signature, ripe, seamless tannins and excellent balance and grip on the long, complex and focused finish. Village wines do not get much better than this!

Inside Burgundy: 91-94 Points

Glowing mid purple. Super sensual fruit on the nose, and this is just the basic Volnay, a perfect expression of the appellation. And then a level of density that I wasn't expecting in this cuvée. How can you do better? Only by going further up-scale chez Lafarge, I suspect.