From: Burgundy, France
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Taste & Critical Acclaim: 92 Points, Charles Curtis MW, Decanter: "The ripe red raspberry and black plum aromas of this delicious wine are accented with hints of lavender and earth. The texture is supple and velvety, with well-mastered tannins and enough freshness for balance. Lafarge relates that he finished the harvest with this parcel (on 4 October) and felt that firmer extraction with more punching down was necessary here than in sunny years – the sign of someone who trusts the healthiness of the grapes he has picked. (Drink between 2025-2040)" 11/22
90-93 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound: " A super-fresh nose freely offer up is essence of red cherry that is trimmed in a beautiful array of floral elements. There is a pungent minerality to the attractively textured, plump and punchy medium weight flavors that conclude in a linear, youthfully austere and bitter pit fruit-inflected finish. This is firm enough to offer up to a decade of improvement. (Drink starting 2029)" 04/23
Neal Martin Notes
89-91 Points, Neal Martin, Vinous: " The 2021 Beaune Clos des Aigrots 1er Cru has an attractive nose with crushed strawberry and raspberry scents, becoming more floral in the glass with aeration. The palate is lively with a fine backbone, slightly chalky in texture with a stern, minerally, quasi-Pommard-like finish. Give it a couple of years in bottle. Promising. (Drink between 2024-2038)" 01/23
Domaine Profile, courtesy of Becky Wasserman & Co.
Location: Volnay, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy
Size: 12.00 ha (29.65 ac)
Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté
Viticulture: Certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Demeter, since 2000)
Vinification: 100% de-stemmed, ambient yeast fermentation, 25% new oak maximum. Reds unfiltered, whites fined and/or filtered if necessary.
Domaine Lafarge was run for the last 60 years by the legendary Michel Lafarge. Frédéric, his son, starting in 1978. As of 2018, they have been joined by the next generation, Clothilde Lafarge, daughter of Frédéric and Chantal.
About. This domaine is famous for producing some of the greatest traditional Volnays, from biodynamic farmed vineyards.The domaine traces its history back to the early 19th century, the iconic Clos du Château des Ducs having been bought in 1900 by Michel Lafarge’s father. The first wines bottled at the domaine in 1934 included Clos des Chênes, the domaine’s largest Volnay premier cru holding and one of the village’s flagships. The domaine consists of over 11.6 hectares under vine, most of them in Volnay and Beaune, including a 0.9 hectares holding of Clos des Chênes and many top 1er cru vineyards in the appellation.
The vinification is traditional with 100% destemed grapes, and the elevage is done using very low percentage of new oak (around 5%) and are famous for their great transparency of their respective teroirs. Michel and Frédéric converted to biodynamic viticulture in 1996 and the domaine is now at the forefront of the movement.
The wines are pure, age-worthy and yet quite beautifully delicate.
