2005 - Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Chateau des Ducs, Michel Lafarge

From their monopole immediately above the village, the Lafarge 2005 Volnay Clos du Chateau des Ducs combines black cherry and cassis with concentrated meat stock, displays flattering creaminess of texture for such a youthful and richly tannic Pinot, and finishes long on a myriad of low-toned bitter-sweet notes including fruit skin, fruit pits, dark chocolate, caramel, marrow, black truffle and wet stone. This concentrated Volnay, preciously eloquent and elegant though it is (and more typical of the vintage than its stable mates) bids fair to reward 10-12 years in the cellar. (After that, as becomes the case with most Pinots, it is risky to speculate and personal preference plays the deciding role. I recently polished off my last bottle of 1989 Clos de Chateau des Ducs, and found it not only stronger than its age or the general character of that vintage would have led me to expect, but thoroughly delightful in the fungal culinary context that was at hand.) The entire Lafarge collection was predictably still in barrel when I visited in February, with even the generic cuvees due for assembly only in March. Speaking of generic bottlings, I don’t know of another domaine that has three of them, and I certainly doubt that there is one with three routinely worthy of attention even by those with the disposable income to afford premier crus. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

Deep red-ruby. Very closed nose hints at black cherry, black pepper, shoe polish and bitter chocolate, along with a suggestion of superripe fruit. Broad, rich and liqueur-like, and currently showing less of the treble quality of the premier cru. But this is wonderfully rich and ripe, and finishes with big, broad tannins and a hint of surmaturite This atypically rich wine probably won't reach its peak until 2020 or so.