The finest producer of the village. Such a wonderful family. RIP.
Such a wonderful family. Frederic and Chantal have always been so warm and accepting along with Frederic’s father, Michel. I wish them all peace.
Michel was a man with a quick wit and great insight. So interesting to see his take on the modern vintages. A man who has seen it all. RIP.
One of my very first connections to burgundy, I met him first at a dinner hosted by Woodland Hills wine club. I would always be granted an appointment, and the family (son Frederick) were always incredibly warm and cellar door prices incredible priced (pro consumer). Amazing wines, I’d often run to the ATM after tasting the wines at the domaine.
May he rest in peace. Sad news indeed.
My first introduction into great Burgundy was my first visit to Burgundy and tasting the 1980 vintage at the estate. Always in awe of Lafarge, RIP
Adapted from a recent blog post, which seems much more pertinent today:
I am no Burgundy expert, but I know enough to know that the Domaine Lafarge Clos du Château des Ducs Volnay 1er Cru is one of the top handful of wines from the Côte de Beaune, which places it in rarified territory indeed. I have been lucky enough to visit the domaine a couple of times.
First down into the ancient cellar – drawing samples from barrels, shivering from the damp, warming the tasting glass with the palms to coax delicate aromas, ancient bottles resting peacefully under thickening black mold. Then outside into the bright sun and just behind the cellar, hemmed in from above by the village of Volnay, sits the domaine’s prized monopole vineyard, the Clos du Château des Ducs. Neat rows of sparse-yielding stumpy old pinot noir vines, insect control by free range chickens. Wonderful. There is no place like Burgundy.
I took recent delivery of a few precious bottles and had to open a mini-vertical.
2005 Domaine Michel Lafarge Clos du Château des Ducs Volnay 1er Cru. Definitely the darkest and most opaque of the flight. Dark fruit, brambly, not billowing from the glass. But great floral lift in the mouth. Riper and rounder than the others, a meaty note. Fine tannins, heavier still than the younger wines.
2013 Domaine Michel Lafarge Clos du Château des Ducs Volnay 1er Cru. More fragrant than the 2014, nice red fruit. And more masculine on the palate, tighter, bit creamy texture shaped by barrique. Less overtly fruity today than the 2014 and I’m not sure it’s as long.
2014 Domaine Michel Lafarge Clos du Château des Ducs Volnay 1er Cru. The lightest and clearest of the three. The nose here more herby than the 2013, silky red fruit and bright acidity on the palate. Open and quite a friendly wine today.
They are lovely wines, and it’s always a joy to taste what comes from what one has seen. If I am candid, having experienced the romance of the domaine tints my objectivity toward what’s in the glass. Even at favourable ex-cellar prices, these are not inexpensive wines and for what they cost I would like a bit more wow. That’s Burgundy – supply and demand at work and not a soul to blame for it. But that is not the discussion for today.
They are the purest, cleanest wines of all, and whatever people want to pay for these simple agricultural products is more than fine by me.