2007 Volnay Clos des Chenes
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Tasting notes
The 2007 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru from Domaine des Comtes-Lafon is blossoming into a lovely wine. It has a gorgeous cherry pit and tomato vine bouquet, fragrant and airy and revealing touches of desiccated orange peel with time. The beautifully balanced palate is linear and crunchy in texture, displaying slightly grainy tannin and hints of bell pepper toward the sappy, slightly abrupt and conservative finish. I thought it might be Lafarge, because occasionally I find Dominique Lafon’s Volnays heavier, but the style of the growing season impinges upon what is now an elegant and classic Volnay.
Critic scores
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David Schildknecht, Vinous
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Cooked cherry, cassis, and espresso on the nose of Lafon’s 2007 Volnay Clos des Chenes lead to a palate whose bark- or leather-like tannins are reinforced by peppery, gingery pungency. This boasts impressive grip and may well be worth following for 4-6 years, but it needs serving in contexts where its tannin will prove advantageous. Dominique Lafon’s vineyards were hit hard by the July, 2008 hail, with his largest site – Santenots du Milieu – worst hit, and reduced in production by two-thirds, all of which he bottled together, rather than (as more usually) declassifying the young vines portion to village Volnay. Crop loss was due to dehydration as well, a factor compounded by late harvest. (“But before October,” relates Lafon, “the fruit simply was not ripe.”) Lafon’s chagrin – coming on the heels of two challenging vintages for Pinot – was more than assuaged, though, by the superb quality of his Meursaults in both 2007 and 2008 (on which I shall report soon in these pages). A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers), fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040
Medium red. Wild red cherry, redcurrant and spices on the nose. More minerally than the village wine, showing less easy sweetness today to its cherry and licorice flavors. This one has a tighter structure and requires a couple years of patience. Lafon noted last year that this was the only 2007 Volnay that was chaptalized.
Good medium red. Subdued but pure aromas of red fruits, minerals and flowers. Sweet and minerally but reserved and in need of further elevage But the tannins are fine and the finish persistent. This was the only 2007 that was chaptalized, noted Lafon, as these vines are higher on the hill and were harvested at about 12.5% potential alcohol, vs. 13% to 13.2% for his other sites.