Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chenes 2023
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The Land
Clos des Chenes occupies the middle and lower slopes of Volnay's southern end, where four of the appellation's premier crus converge: Clos des Chenes, Caillerets, Taille Pieds, and Champans. Lafarge's parcel sits on the lower, convex portion of the slope, where soils are shallow red clay — just 28 to 38 centimeters deep — over limestone bedrock. That iron-rich ground gives the wine a darker, more structured profile than the lighter soils higher on the hill. Among Volnay's premier crus, Clos des Chenes is the site most associated with density and age-worthiness, and Lafarge has farmed it long enough to understand exactly what the parcel wants.
The Wine
100% Pinot Noir, destemmed entirely, fermented with ambient yeasts over a 2 to 3-week cuvaison. Aged 18 months in French oak with 10 to 20% new barrels, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. The 2023 vintage was Burgundy's warmest on record; a hail event on July 11 caused 35 to 40% crop losses in some Volnay plots, concentrating what remained on the vine. The Clos des Chenes shows dark cherry, cassis, dried rose, and iron-laced earth, with firm tannins and a long, structured finish that sets it apart from Volnay's more silky, earlier-drinking styles. This is the Lafarge wine that most rewards patience.
The People
Domaine Michel Lafarge has been farming in Volnay since the 1950s, when Michel Lafarge began estate-bottling his wines rather than selling to négociants — an unusual choice at the time that helped establish the appellation's identity as a serious, age-worthy region. He passed away in 2020 after more than six decades of winemaking. His son Frédéric and granddaughter Clothilde now run the estate, farming biodynamically throughout and holding both Demeter and Ecocert certification. The winemaking approach has not changed: ambient yeasts, minimal cellar intervention, and no fining or filtration at bottling. Imported in the US by Becky Wasserman.
Food Pairing
A wine built for a real meal and, ideally, some time in bottle. Roast duck with cherry and juniper sauce, lamb shoulder braised with herbs and red wine, cassoulet on a winter evening, or aged sheep's milk cheese with honeycomb. Give it an hour of air or a few more years of cellar time — either works.
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Burgundy, in eastern France, encompasses several subregions, but it is the Côte d'Or that is home to many of the world's most expensive and revered wines. The region, primarily a single east-facing slope, has mixed limestone soils that vary dramatically from village to village and even vineyard to vineyard. White wines, crafted from Chardonnay, range from rich and opulent to lean and intensely mineral, while Pinot Noir produces silky, perfumed red wines of exceptional finesse and complexity. Centuries of winemaking tradition have resulted in every plot being meticulously recognized and scrutinized, making the Côte d'Or a true capital of terroir.
Burgundy - Cote d'Or
Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned, notoriously difficult-to-grow, low-yielding grape that finds its ancestral home in Burgundy, France, where it produces some of the world's most elegant and nuanced wines. While Burgundy remains its spiritual heartland, Pinot Noir has since traveled the globe, finding success in other cooler climates, notably in California, Oregon, New Zealand, and Germany. This grape is a challenge for any grower, as it requires specific conditions to show its best, and yet the wines it produces are capable of such a captivating and singular character.
