2017 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay-Santenots du Milieu 1er Cru 750 ml

There was nearly unprecedented anticipation as we gathered around the tasting table with the 2017 Volnay-Santenots du Milieu Premier Cru from Burgundy’s iconic Domaine des Comtes Lafon. As we expected, the exquisite Pinot Noir dazzled us, and as soon as we confirmed our first-ever allocation, you can bet we wanted to shout it out to the world. 

Volnay is synonymous with sexy Burgundian grace, and this Pinot from Comtes Lafon’s precious plot of old vines in one of the appellation’s top Premiers Crus shows why. It’s swirling with intoxicating aromas of violets, rose petals, dried cherry, and cranberry. Lithe on the palate, it boasts a spectrum of red fruits, a deep, earthy bass note of mushroom, all invigorated with dried citrus rind. Showing the excellent mineral drive, solid streak of acidity, and fine tea-like tannins that make for a long-lived Burgundy classic, this packs immediate pleasure but begs to be cellared for decades.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon’s story goes back to the late 19th century, when Jules Lafon married Marie Boch, who came from a family of estate owners and wine merchants in Meursault, and brought significant vineyard holdings to the partnership. For most of the 20th century, this land was farmed by sharecroppers. When Dominique Lafon took over in 1984, he gradually terminated the existing farming agreements, and took control of the entire estate. And over the past three-plus decades, he has built Comtes Lafon’s reputation as the exemplar of organically and biodynamically farmed Burgundian excellence—one rooted in the most famous Crus of the region. 

The original Lafon holdings (from the marriage) included a plot in Santenots du Milieu, the most prized lieu-dit in the 75-acre Santenots vineyard. In fact, it was characterized as the vineyard’s “Tête de Cuvée” by Dr. Jules Lavalle, whose 1855 book Histoire et Statistique de la Vigne et des Grands Vins de la Côte d’Or famously documented Burgundian terroir. 

In the early 20th century, estate founder Jules Lafon added to the original Santenots du Milieu plot, which now stands at ten acres. Facing east at a 5-10% grade, the vineyard ripens early due to that perfect exposure. While vines of varied ages grow on the parcel, this cuvée is sourced solely from the most mature vines, which were planted between 1944 and 1965. Rooted in hard limestone sitting atop heavy red clay, they give grapes of exquisite concentration, deep color, profound tannins, and considerable power, especially for graceful Volnay.

In 2013, the Wine Advocate’s Neil Martin had a retrospective tasting of Lafon’s Volnay-Santenots du Milieu dating back to 1969, and left prescribing ten to fifteen years of age for this wine. It’s cellar material of the first order, and a bottle that we know our most ardent Burgundy collectors will savor far into the future.