Michel Lafarge - Volnay Pitures 2018 (1.5L)

Add to Wish List

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.

A View from the Cellar: 93 Points

With all of the beautifully red fruity wines chez Lafarge in 2018, I was surprised to see just how black fruity both the Pitures and the Mitans have turned out, but this is the signature fruit tones of both of these terroirs. The 2018 Pitures in a lovely wine in the making, delivering a fine nose of dark berries, black cherries, venison, espresso, dark soil tones and a bit of bonfire. On the palate the wine is deep, black fruity and complex, with excellent soil signature, plenty of sappy fruit at the core, fine-grained tannins and a long, poised and promising finish.