2010 Domaine des Comtés Lafon Volnay

The 2010 Volnay (from young vines in Santenots) boasts incredible depth and power. The intensity and structure of the vintage come through in spades. This is a decidedly muscular style of Volnay. Today it is the richest of Lafon's 2010s. It will be interesting to see the direction the wine takes over the next year.

(I tasted the finished blend): Good red-ruby. Fresh black cherry, bitter chocolate and licorice on the nose. Dense and juicy, with lovely inner-mouth sappiness and lift to the black raspberry, chocolate and floral flavors. With its seamless texture, substantial balancing acidity, very fine tannins and noteworthy persistence, this should make a strong village offering.

The 2010 Volnay (from young vines in Santenots) boasts incredible depth and power. The intensity and structure of the vintage come through in spades. This is a decidedly muscular style of Volnay. Today it is the richest of Lafon’s 2010s. It will be interesting to see the direction the wine takes over the next year. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030. There are two recurring themes every time I taste with Dominique Lafon; this is always one of the top visits in Burgundy, and there never seems to be enough time to explore all of the nuances in each of these wines. Lafon was fortunate to escape the vintage with just 20% lower yields than 2009, which here translates to 32 hectoliters per hectare as compared to 35 in a normal year and 40 in an abundant year. The malos were very, very slow. In fact, there were a few barrels still finishing their malos in early December, 2011. The 2009 reds have also turned out beautifully. I will report on those wines in the April issue. Importers: Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300