2009 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay

The 2009 Volnay is a soft, caressing wine. The bouquet is open and expressive, while the fruit reveals considerable nuance. There is a hint of firmness to the tannins, but there is enough fruit to provide balance. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. This is a stunning set of wines from Michel Lafarge. The estate farms biodynamically. The wines were left on their gross lees through the malos, which ended in April-May. Lafarge did one racking, in August, 2010, when he moved the wine off their gross lees, leaving just the fine lees. I tasted the 2009s from barrel. Lafarge planned to bottle later in Spring 2011 with no fining or filtration, as is his usual custom. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803; Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640

Medium red. Pretty, floral aromas of red raspberry and cherry. Smooth, pure and fruit-driven, with good lift and underlying spiciness. Not particularly sweet or fleshy but juicy and bright, with a firm, persistent finish. (Incidentally, the Lafarge Passetoutgrain, a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and gamay from very old vines on gravelly soil, should be a standout in its category.)

Delicate and lively and fresh on the nose. Not big but pleasing and very burgundian. A little stringy. Certainly no make-up here. Just ‘what you see if what you get'. Vibrant but bone dry and little brutal. (JR)