1995 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes 1er Cru

My favorite Lafarge offering is the dark ruby-colored Volnay Clos Des Chenes. It possesses an enticing nose of dark fruits, roasted herbs, hazelnuts and fresh blood. In the mouth this is a sublimely refined, concentrated, full-bodied wine with flavors of cherries, blackberries, currants, and underbrush. A judicious use of oak provides additional complexity. Sharp-tongued readers will also notice the subtle flavors of roasted herbs in its prodigiously long finish. Awesomely delicious out of barrel, this wine will be at its best between 2000 and 2008. It is only appropriate that a producer who crafts the top generic bottlings in Burgundy should also be responsible for some of its finest village wines. As always, ratings with a score in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle. A Becky Wasserman Selection, French Fax # 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers, including Esquin Imports, San Francisco, CA; tel (415) 398-1200, Martin-Scott, Lake Success, NY; tel (516) 327-0808.

A shade darker than the Clos du Chateau des Ducs. More perfumed, nuanced aromas of cherry, spices and fresh herbs. Bigger, sweeter and more expressive today; has a tactile quality and depth of flavor that I find in too few '95s from the Cote de Beaune. Finishes with substantial tongue-coating tannins. Classy juice, requiring patience.