Domaine
Michel Lafarge
En Primeur 2021

This comes from a 1.2-hectare parcel of 85-year-old vines of Aligoté Doré. Bright apple and pear fruit, with a seated natural concentration and white flower perfume. Fine, defined grip on the finish. Harvested in October 2021. 

This comes from three parcels in the south of the village. Chalky-mineral and fine, with bright white peach fruit and that luminosity which is a hallmark of the Lafarge wines. Very fresh and linear – as Frédéric says, there is absolutely no stamp of a “solar” vintage here.

This is 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Gamay, inter-planted, from 1.2 hectares of vines close to the Route Nationale just below the village of Meursault. The two varieties tend to reach maturity at the same time. These are very old vines, 93 years of age. Highly attractive spicy, peppery dark berry aromas. The palate’s bright, dark berry fruit is framed by fine, detailed tannins. Aged in used oak barrels. Cropped at 11hl/ha in 2021.

The domaine’s Bourgogne Pinot Noir comes from four low-lying plots of vines between the village of Volnay and the Route Nationale. Pale ruby colour, with wild strawberry perfume, leading into a fine-boned palate of crystalline raspberry fruit. This spends 18 months in barrel, as do all the reds. 

This comes from four lower-lying parcels, located at opposite sides of the appellation (three in the north and one in the south), totalling 1.5 hectares. This year, there is only one Volnay cuvée, meaning this is from a larger area of 2.6 hectares, including the Vendanges Sélectionées. Lacy and lattice-like, with pure raspberry fruit and a sumptuous velvety texture. 15 barrels were made. 

The domaine has a 0.65 hectare plot of nearly 50-year-old vines in 1er Cru Aigrots, the first hill to the north of Pommard, whose heavier soils make for a weightier, more corporeal style. The name comes from Grives – thrush. Fine peppery spices, darker fruited in character than the Volnays and with a smoky insouciance. Just one new oak barrel was used this year, accounting for 5% of the total volume. 

The domaine’s vines in Grèves, at the heart of this gravelly vineyard, were planted in 1921. 2021 is therefore the centenary vintage, which will be commemorated with a special label. These are the oldest vines at the domaine, although a sub-parcel was replanted in 2017, having been grubbed up in 2014. This is an ethereal style: peppery and darkly perfumed. The most Volnay-like of Beaunes! The name comes from graviers, gravel. 5% new oak in 2021. 

Such was the devastating effect of the April 2021 frosts, Domaine Lafarge has taken the unprecedented step of making just one premier cru, comprising a blend of Mitans, Pitures, Caillerets, Clos des Chênes and Clos des Château des Ducs. Made from the domaine’s entire 2.5 hectares of Volnay premier cru, the yield was just 8hl/ha. Tactile redcurrant and raspberry fruit, redolent of small, thick-skinned berries, luminous and expressive. This is wonderful and, despite the conditions which necessitated it, a truly unique wine. It will bear a special label explaining this one-off bottling. 

This is a blend of two parcels, Bel-Air and Cercillon, totalling 1.7 hectares. It tends to be sweetly red-berried and supple, a delicate wine with an upbeat personality, reflecting the innate elegance of Fleurie. It is vinified in 350 litre barrels and a large oak foudre. 

This is a higher, south-east facing parcel of 1.33 hectares, on the first slope in Fleurie, approaching from Moulin-à-Vent. It is quite steep (20% gradient), surrounded by meadow and woodland. The nearly-50-year-old vines are planted on granite and quartz soils, perhaps contributing to the mineral tension often found in this wine.