Domaine Michel Lafarge, Pinot Noir, Volnay Vendanges Selectionnées, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France 2020

At Domaine Michel Lafarge 100% Pinot Noir from vines that are 50 years old on average. The grapes come from multiple parcels in the middle of Volnay that border 1er Crus (including Mitans), all facing southeast, in clay-limestone soil.

Domaine Michel Lafarge is certified organic (Ecocert) and biodynamic (Demeter). 2 weeks in tank, indigenous yeast fermentation. Aged for 18 months in barrel (7% new), one racking.

This cuvée is made only in good years when yields are high enough in Volnay to warrant putting aside grapes from the older vines.

Perhaps more than any man alive today, Domaine Michel Lafarge best exemplifies all that is soulful and ethereal about the wines of Burgundy. Eighty-eight year-old Michel, still fully engaged in the viticulture and winemaking at the Domaine, works seamlessly alongside his son and daughter-in-law, Frederic and Chantal, and recently their daughter, Clothilde.

Built over cellars in Volnay first dug by the Dukes of Burgundy, Domaine Lafarge was established by Michel’s great-great-grandparents early in the 19th century. Michel rejected the mid-twentieth century embrace of chemical farming, and the vineyards have never varied from traditional, organic methods. Domaine Lafarge is certified organic and biodynamic.

Although their wines have long achieved cult status and routinely sell at auction for dizzying prices, the Lafarge family remains true to their traditions, connected to their soil, and committed to the pure expression of their vineyards.