As I read the board, an obvious darling is Lafarge. In general my palate is well aligned with so many on here, so I’ve been expecting to see the light on this producer, yet I haven’t. And not for lack of trying. Check out this bad run I’ve had:
1996 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay - corked
2017 Domaine Michel Lafarge Bourgogne Passetoutgrains L’Exception - good but simple
2x 1993 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Vendanges Sélectionnées - pure vinegar
2007 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Grèves - good but tight
1999 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes - maderized
2016 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Aigrots Blanc - not good
2000 Domaine Michel Lafarge Bourgogne - mediocre
Not a single bottle out of eight that generated any excitement.
I assume what has happened here is I’ve had bad bottle condition luck on the good stuff (1996 Volnay, 1999 Chenes, 1993 Volnay Selectionnees), and the rest isn’t really Lafarge’s best (Bourgogne, Blanc).
Tell me what I’m missing and where I should be looking. Specific cuvees/vintages. Age sweet spot.
I really liked Lafarge’s 2017s, esp. the Volnay VV. Did not have the Bourgogne Passetoutgrains.
With respect to the wines you did have, did you buy them young and age them yourself or did you buy them with age on them already. Seems like there were a bunch of poorly stored wines - pure vinegar, maderized, etc.
But more generally, do you like wines from other Volnay producers?
Aside from the faulted wines, I think all the reds you’ve had save the '07 are too old. I think it’s asking a lot of any producer to have their village or Bourgogne wines hold up for 30 and 20 years, respectively. I also had a 1993 Volnay VS that I opened last year and it was shot, but I was not surprised.
I think Passetoutgrains is meant to be simple and pleasureable - can’t say I’ve ever had a PTG that has blown my mind and the best (Lafarge & Ramonet) are just solid, delicious wines.
I buy Lafarge every year, and while my vertical only goes back to 2017 I open one of the Volnay village when I get them and they have all been lovely, pretty wines.
Next time you’re in Toronto, come by and I’ll open something!
I was ready to chime in having only misses with blind tasting Lafarge 1er crus in my burgundy group in recent years. But then I noticed we’d had an ‘04, an ‘08 and an ‘11 at various events. Not great years for sure, but the wines generally seemed stemmy and hard in a way time wouldn’t seem to remedy. I agree, you can’t draw much from PTG or Bourgogne Rouge, especially older ones. Any hits in that range are wonderful but not expected. I think one should judge producers first on their top offerings in the best vintages. I like the adage that great producers make good wines in lesser years but if/when they don’t, I can’t judge too harshly.
I love Lafarge and it’s either my largest or second-largest Red Burg holding. I think you’ve had bad luck and also have not had the ideal cross-section to judge the producer. Or, of course, Lafarge might end up not being your cup of tea.
At its best (or even at its most typical), I find Lafarge to be intense and concentrated but not big; soulful and textured but not rustic; structured but not impenetrable; ageworthy but also lovely while young. Lafarge is usually a bit rough around the edges–they can be sharp-elbowed–but the fruit is very pure and I find them as complex and interesting and sometimes deep as anything in the Cote de Nuits. For my palate, Lafarge is usually a half-click above d’Angerville and de Montille, which are my 1b and 1c of the Cote de Beaune.
I also love the wines up and down the range. Chenes has historically been the class, with Ducs close behind – though in recent vintages Lafarge has pushed Ducs to the top. Both are lovely. So are the rest of the Volnays. The VS is one of the great values in all of Burgundy. If you want to drink something on the younger end, the VS or the Beaune Aigrots Rouge would be my choice.
In my very limited experience, the whites have been unexciting. A recent '20 Meursault was forgettable, especially in the context of the vintage.
The only infuriating part of Lafarge is finding them at the right place on the maturity curve. As I said, I actually enjoy them young. The 16s and 17s were great, and I’m not sure anyone made better 18s than Lafarge. I haven’t tried any of the top wines yet in 19 or 20, but the lower wines have been magnificent. I have comparatively less experience with older vintages, but I’ve had memorable sips of Lafarge 1ers from 90, 93, and 99 (all great vintages, obviously). I’ve also had some shut-down and impenetrable Lafarge from vintages in between.
Lafarge’s wines are 100% destemmed, so they shouldn’t have been stemmy.
I hosted a blind tasting last month of Lafarges and I came away underwhelmed. These came from two friends’ cellars and had been purchased on release.
We had four Beaune-Greves (2002, 2005, 2016, 2019) and three Volnay Vendages Selectionee (2006, 2013, 2014) and a 2004 Clos des Ducs.
The standouts to me were the 2016 and 2019 Beaunes, which had both fruit and structure and great balance.
There was only one flawed wine (a corked 2005 Beaune) but the fruit in the 02 Beaune was a bit tired and showed a trace of oxidation.
The others were OK but not exciting to me. Some seemed a bit too tannic, while others seemed to lack depth. I think some others in the group liked them better.
The 04 Clos des Ducs was tannic, but I didn’t think unduly so, and I think it is by reputation the most structured of the Lafarge wines. (Full disclosure: I have had no problem with '04 Burgundies in general.) The '14 V.S. was a bit more tannic than I’d have liked. I didn’t have tannin issues with the others.
Overgeneralization, but '14s broadly have been more tannic than I would prefer. I hope they will emerge, because it’s overall a pretty classical vintage.
I would avoid the whites. As far as the reds go, as with all producers one simply has to take the rough with the smooth, that’s why they are not worth the absurd prices they now command.
I’m loving recent vintages of Lafarge, finding them less rustic, softer, purer, more polished in recent vintages than the older vintages which have their own fanbase. Try a 2018-2020. Have recently had 2018 VS, 2019 VS, 2018 Aigrots and I think a 2020 Aigrots all great. 2018 Ducs is a world class wine, was tight when I had it last year but still spectacular quality. As Ryan and William Kelley noted, Lafarge killed it in 2018. Haven’t tried any of the whites. If you don’t like a 2018 Lafarge Chene or Ducs, you may just not like Lafarge…
Last I heard 2014 1ers were still closed, but showing well with a bit of air. Truthfully, I’ve been waiting for a thread to start on WB declaring “2014s are now open!” which I thought could happen soon…
This crossed my mind, but if true I’d find that disappointing for such a respected producer. I’ve bought a ton of 70s, 80s, and 90s burgundy at auction from negotiants and unknown producers across village, 1er, and GC. My hit rate has just been so much higher there and Lafarge is so respected. So my conclusion has not been that age has been the problem, it’s this:
Mix of auction, retail (some late releases from the winery), and restaurants (fortunately could be sent back).
I think in principle I should. But looking back through my tasting notes I seem to have had better experiences with just about every other village in Burgundy!
I quickly came to that conclusion after tasting my first white from Lafarge.
I suggest trying the 2018 Aigrots. I also enjoyed the 2019 Volnay VS a few years ago, but haven’t had a 2019 village. I also think Ducs/Chene are on another level (I scored them 95 vs Aigrots at 92)
2018 Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Aigrots - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Beaune 1er Cru (7/2/2024)
Silky, pure, dark berries with seamless acidity. Will get more silky in time. Paired well with an air fried wagyu. 92+ (92 points)
2018 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (9/4/2023)
Scored on potential. Wine opened very tight and slowly opened up over a 1.5 hour decant, but was consumed before it ever got open. On a reticent nose, there was sandalwood spice with a tinge of red raspberry and red strawberry. Palate of bright red and crystalline cherry and strawberry, sour strawberry, ever so slightly dusty tannin. After 1.5-2 hours in the glass more dark red tones pop up, giving a better sense of what this wine can offer when it will re-open. Not touching any more of these for another 5 years, but this will has the stuffing to be excellent many years thereafter. (95 points)
2018 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (4/27/2023)
Can't drink Lafarge young? Beautiful translucent dark red color. Complex nose with black cherry, black raspberry, orange rind, spice, dried flowers, powder. The raspberry and orange rind grows with air (a common theme in the wine). After opening, the crystalline palate shows blackberry, black cherry, loads of slightly bitter cherry pits, black tea. With air, the bitter pits fade away and raspberry and lots of orange rind become present… I suspect in time this wine will show cherry/raspberry/orange more prominently then the black cherry of youth. Med+ concentration (less concentration than I was expecting given multiple CT notes implying big concentration and soil notes). Med/med acidity. Clean and polished mouthfeel. Extremely/shockingly tannic on open, softening a bit with air. Discarded fine sediment. Effortlessly drunk now with air and some food, better in ten years, and won’t “need” 20. (95 points)
