2008 - Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets, Michel Lafarge

Good medium red. Pure but reticent aromas of black cherry, violet, licorice and mint, plus a hint of chocolate. Dense and chewy but folded in on itself, with strong acids keeping the dark fruit, violet and saline flavors under wraps. Most impressive today on the bright, rising finish, which saturates the mouth with fruits, violet and minerals. The crop level was less than 25 hectoliters per hectare, according to Frederic Lafarge, as there was some hail here.

The Lafarges’ 2008 Volnay Caillerets reflects the ongoing influence of proper vine husbandry on a parcel that had been sadly neglected when they took it over in 2000. White pepper, chalk, and cherry pits seem to suffuse the tart red fruits on display here, for an austerity, brightness and piquancy more typical for this site than are many of the surprisingly winsome renditions I have encountered this vintage. This finishes with vibratory energy, saliva inducement, and sunglass-donning brightness, but don’t look here for richness, or for caresses, because it will slap you down. Give it a half dozen years in the cellar and follow it for another 8-10 thereafter. Frederic and Michel Lafarge are understandably enthusiastic about their admittedly millerandage-, hail-, and triage-reduced 2008 crop, but insisted that rot was not a significant problem. And even the hail, they report, was minimal in their portions of Clos des Chenes and Caillerets, being largely confined to certain village and generic sectors. All of the 2008s here (even of minor appellation) were still in barrel when I tasted them in March, and would, as usual at this address, be assembled only immediately before bottling. Malos were late here by the estate’s normal standards, but still largely finished by August, and the Lafarges insist that they did not have musts with unusually high levels of malic acidity, in regard to which Frederic observes that a matter of just a few days in picking date in 2008 could make a big chemical difference. Michel Lafarge opines that one needs several months after malo to let a young red Burgundy collect and express itself before one ought even to contemplate bottling, in light of which he cannot comprehend – much less agree with – the many growers who bottled 2008s during the winter. He also emphatically resists the suggestion that 2008 is, in any sense, a throwback to the old normalcy – a subject on which Michel Lafarge has to be one of Burgundy’s most seasoned experts