2007 Volnay Champans

Scents of lightly-cooked mushroom, strawberry, and cherry in Lafon’s 2007 Volnay Champans lead to a gentler palate than his other 2007s, and a soothing, lingering sweetness of fruit. Alkaline, charred, and moss-like notes complement the typical fungal notes of this site and make for considerable complexity. This will keep well for a half dozen years, but there is no need to defer gratification. 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

Good medium red. Wild red berries and complex soil tones on the nose. Quite reserved on the palate, with a medicinal black cherry flavor and a solid stony underpinning. Gained richness with aeration, finishing with broad, sweet tannins and lingering smoky and saline nuances.

Good bright red. Vibrant aromas of black cherry, licorice and minerals. At once dense and juicy, with a medicinal reserve and underlying minerality giving a serious aspect to the sweet fruit flavors. Like the 2006, this boasts solid structure for the year. Finishes with noteworthy length and broad, ripe tannins. Lafon told me that this vineyard produced the best-looking grapes in both '07 and '06.