2012 Bourgogne Aligote Raisins Dores

The 2012 Bourgogne Aligoté Raisins Dorés comes from 75-year-old vines that tend to produce small berries that were picked around 8-9 days after the harvest started. It has an elegant, candied bouquet with touches of apricot blossom. The palate is nicely balanced with a bell pepper note towards the satisfying finish. I visited Domaine Michel Lafarge, tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Volnay village, where winemaker Frédéric Lafarge, Michel’s son who has worked at the domaine since 1978, escorted me through his cramped 13th-century arched cellars that are covered head to toe in thick black mold. You could imagine a witches’ coven in a dark corner. Instead, the only thing being conjured up here is magical wine. In any case, space is not so much of an issue these days since Frédéric told me that he lost 80% of the biodynamically cultivated crop in 2012 that affected all his parcels. Nevertheless, the show must go on and Frédéric seemed sanguine about the travails. Ever a thoughtful, softly spoken gentleman, I can imagine that he would take it in his stride, with recourse to his father if necessary. He commenced picking on September 20, but in earnest from September 24. The fruit is destemmed and undergoes natural ferment with prudent pigéage. These were generally light and tensile, predominantly Volnay wines surfeit with minerality and poise, the prudent use of oak (around 15% maximum) allowing the individual terroirs to be expressed articulately. They will provide pleasurable early drinking, yet Lafarge’s wines tend to be deceptively long lived if you can manage to track them down. Importer: A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803; Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640