Domaine Michel Lafarge Beaune Les Aigrots Premier Cru 2020
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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.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.