It was fitting that I began my tastings at Michel Lafarge: my first visit to review Burgundy for The Fine Wine Review started at this estate, and I’ve visited every year since, making this the thirtieth consecutive year I’ve visited. Throughout that time, Lafarge has been consistent in upholding the highest standards, notwithstanding the many years that posed very difficult conditions such as rain, hail, and now frost.
It was Michel Lafarge who received me on that first visit and for many years thereafter. In more recent years, Michel’s son Frédéric has received me, but I often see Michel to say hi, too. Frédéric is about the same age now as Michel was on that first visit, and Michel will be turning 89 in just a few weeks. Time flies!
Lafarge’s vines suffered from the freezes on the nights of 27, 28, and 29 April. Losses amounted to about 70%. Following the freezes, there was lots of mildew, but the estate was equipped to handle it well.
Harvesting began on 21 September with the Volnay 1er Cru, Clos du Château des Ducs. As always, all grapes were destemmed by hand. Generally, the wines finished their malolactic fermentations in March or April, but the Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains was considerably later. Alcohols are in the 12.8-13.0º range and there was very little chaptalization.
Frédéric characterizes the vintage as joyous, and I agree. The style here, as with many of the 2016s that I’ve tasted, is similar to 2014 but with more gentleness to it. Without knowing the story of 2016, one would not guess that these wines came from a very small harvest. The wines are very good expressions of their respective terroirs.
Overall, in the last five years, Lafarge has made as much wine as it makes in two normal years; to put it another way, the average for each of the past five years is only 40% of a normal year’s harvest. This, alas, is typical of the producers on the Côte de Beaune. (In 2017, there was a harvest of normal quantity, the first since 2009.)
We start with the whites here:
2016 Bourgogne-Aligoté Raisin Doré
Because of its unusual richness and suave texture, Lafarge’s Raisin Doré is atypical of Aligoté-based wines and perhaps and acquired taste. But once one learns to understand it, there’s plenty to like here. The wine is rich, oily, and smooth with good minerality. (86-89)
2016 Meursault
Lafarge has one hectare of Meursault vines and made 900 bottles, a yield of just 2.25 hl/ha. The wine has typical Meursault butter and hazelnut and flavors. It is balanced and long, and there is a nice tang to it. (86-90)
2016 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Aigrots
Here we have a floral nose. The mouth is more shy than that of the Meursault, but there is nice acidity and good finesse and length to this wine. It should provide plenty of enjoyment. (88-92)
Moving to the reds:
2016 Bourgogne-Passetoutgrains L’Exception
The late malolactic fermentation put this wine in a different stage from the others I was tasting at the domaine. The wine has strawberry fruit in a medium-weight body with good finesse and length. Although there is Gamay here, too, the Pinot Noir is dominating the wine (the freeze affected vines of both type equally, so the proportions of the two grapes are as usual). (85-89)
2016 Bourgogne Pinot Noir
Lafarge’s Bourgogne is always an excellent introduction to the wines here. The nose shows some spice, and the spice continues in the mouth with red cherry and strawberry fruit and overall finesse. The vineyard once was classified as village Volnay. (88-91)
2016 Volnay
Because of the small harvest, the grapes that usually go into the Vendange Sélectionnée bottling are included in this wine (and so there is no 2016 Vendange Sélectionnée). As one would expect, the Volnay shows great depth and density than the Bourgogne. The wine is very pure and has great finesse. It is an excellent example of Volnay. (90-93)
2016 Beaune Clos des Aigrots
There was no freeze here, but as the vines are very old, yield was only about 25 hl/ha. The wine shows very good finesse with a bit more firmness than the Volnay. It is light on the palate and features red fruits. (90-93)
2016 Beaune 1er Cru Grèves
Like the Clos des Aigrots, the old vines here (oldest in the domaine) kept the yield to 25 hl/ha, even though the vines were not affected by the freeze. The wine shows density and depth with more substance than the Clos des Aigrots, and it also has darker fruit. It should be outstanding. (92-95)
2016 Pommard 1er Cru Les Pézerolles
Affected by the freeze, the vines here yielded only enough grapes to make wine to fill a 350 l barrel (i.e., 466 bottles). Thus, it is one of many wonderful wines you will read about from this vintage that you have almost no chance of ever finding. The wine is mineral and stony in the nose. The mouth shows the finesse of Pézerolles compared to other Pommards, and it is light on the palate with length and purity. (92-95)
2016 Volnay 1er Cru Pitures
Here is another wonderful wine that you likely will never come across. There is just one barrel of it, and it will be bottled only in magnum. The nose is floral and stony. The mouth has Pitures firmness with red cherry fruit, penetration, and excellent finesse. (92-95)
2016 Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans
This vineyard and the Caillerets below froze and so lost half a normal harvest, something Michel Lafarge has never seen for those two vineyards. The nose is stony and floral and a bit broader and darker in fruit than that of the Pitures. The mouth, too, is broader and the fruit darker than in the Pitures, with blueberries leading the way. This is a very pure expression of the Mitans terroir. (92-95)
2016 Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets
The Caillerets has floral and red fruit aromas. In the mouth, the wine displays the usual finesse and Caillerets texture. The wine is light on the palate, pure, and penetrating with dark fruits. (91-95)
2016 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes
The Clos des Chênes came in at 28 hl/ha, quite good for the vintage. The wine is pure with dark berry fruit and plenty of substance, but it also shows finesse. There’s good energy here, although not as much as I’ve seen in some other vintages. (92-95)
2016 Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs
The last wine shown at Lafarge is almost always either the Clos des Chênes or the Pézerolles, so when I was tasting the Clos des Chênes, I noted that we hadn’t tasted the Clos du Château des Ducs and wondered if it had been passed over by accident or if there was so little that it was not offered to tasted. It turns out that Frédéric presented it as the last wine because because of its quality. He thinks it is the greatest Clos du Château des Ducs the estate has made. Having tasted from barrel every vintage of that wine produced, I agree. This was the first vineyard picked and then there was a pause before going on to the next vineyards, so as an experiment, the grapes were destemmed by hand. It took 25 hours to accomplish the task. Was that the difference? I don’t know, but the wine is notable for the depth and intensity of its dark fruits. It is mineral and long and overall a complete wine. 30 hl/ha here, so the wine will be in reasonable quantity. (92-96)