Domaine Michel Lafarge

The Lafarge's have been vignerons in Volnay since the 18th century. They started bottling in the early 1900's, a rarity for a small estate. They have had loyal customers for generations, selling their own wine in barrels to Parisian restaurants as far back as the 1850's. Their history may not be as visible as a Domaine de la Romanee-Conti but is perhaps even more remarkable. For it is easier, if not less honorable, for people whose income does not solely depend on an estate to pursue quality. And it is also harder to allow oneself to slip when one is constantly in the limelight. The greatness of these wines will hit you after you've visited the whole vintage, after you're familiar with everybody else's take. It's a year later and you've tasted back and forth throughout the Cote, you've done your work, you're intellectually armed. You spot that bottle of Lafarge. You know the estate intimately, you're a fan. What could possibly surprise you more than it being excellent. But at the first sip, the word genius escapes in a whisper. Because these wines are exactly what the vintage should be. And this, vintage after vintage, come rain or shine. The wines of Domaine Michel Lafarge are infallible. And they are so great they don't come to you, you have to work up to them.