2002 Volnay 1er Cru

Michel Lafarge described 2003 as "a year of panic.No one waited, but we stayed calm.After all, we had no rot and plenty of sun."Still, Lafarge began harvesting on the early side, on August 22, and picked only until shortly after noon, chilling the grapes that came into the cuverie after 10:00 in the morning.Lafarge eschewed acidification, in the belief that the wines had the tannic structure to take the place of acidity, "as in Bordeaux."The wines went into barrel as soon as the alcoholic fermentations finished, and most of the malos took place in November and December.They were racked in May, as usual, and were still on their lees in November.Yields ranged from 14 to 23 hectoliters per hectare, held down more by spring frost than summer heat."We knew since May that we'd have a small crop," explained Lafarge.I asked Lafarge to compare 2003 to 1976."The big difference is that in 1976 we had no rain from the end of February on.In '03 we had several small rains.In '76, the vegetation was completely blocked, even before the flowering, and there was no sap flowing through the vines.The berries were ultimately even smaller than those of 2003, and we had hard, astringent tannins." (A Becky Wasserman Selection, imported by Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY; Wines Unlimited, New Orleans, LA)

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).