2001 Volnay Clos du Château des Ducs 1er Cru

Following two difficult years for the Volnay appellation, 2002 brought far better conditions-on which Michel Lafarge has capitalized by producing an utterly delicious set of wines, right down to his red-fruity Bourgognerouge The vintage was a bit of a miracle, according to Lafarge: The early-September deluge went only as far north as Macon, and then the north wind dried the vines.Cool nights were perfect for finesse and delicacy, for the purity and elegance of pinot noir."Lafarge ranks the vintage with 1999 and 1990 as the most successful of the last generation for this domain.Best of all, Lafarge had a normal crop level in the 35 to 40 hectoliters-per-hectare range in 2002.The previous year, the damaging hailstorm at the beginning of August had cut yields to 15 to 20 hectoliters per hectare in the Lafarges' Volnay crus, and production in 2003 won't be much higher.Incidentally, Lafarge harvested from August 22 to 29 in 2003, the earliest at this estate since 1873.(A Becky Wasserman Selection, imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Esquin Imports, San Anselmo, CA; and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA).

According to Frederic Lafarge, this estate harvested late in 2001, then carried out careful vinifications "for fruit, structure and length of flavor," stopping the punchdowns earlier to avoid getting dry tannins. (A Becky Wasserman Selection, imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Esquin Imports, San Anselmo, CA; and Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)