2003 Volnay Village

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)