Domaine des Comtes Lafon is one of those seemingly untouchable producers; you’ve probably seen their bottles stashed behind glass walls in Michelin-starred restaurants or high-end retail shops. Their exquisite Meursaults are some of the most sought-after whites in the world, but today we focus on a lesser-known—if no less superlative—red.
This Premier Cru Volnay competes with the greats. Dense, deep, and wildly expressive, “Santenots-du-Milieu” is a towering achievement from one of Burgundy’s top organic and biodynamic producers: Dominique Lafon. This man spearheaded the movement toward organics in Burgundy and is widely celebrated for crafting singularly pure, terroir-defining wines—wines that are at once “natural” but also sublimely clean and precise in every way. “Santenots-du-Milieu” is ground zero for classic Pinot Noir: Unadulterated, idiosyncratic, and boosted by the richness of 2015, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another bottle that comes close to to this downright monumental ’15. This is destined for an incredibly long life—multiple decades—and will undoubtedly be the highlight of any cellar. That said, we only secured a few cases of this highly allocated wine, so we must limit everyone to three bottles.
The Lafon name originates in the Pyrénées of southwest France. Patriarch (and future mayor of Meursault) Jules Lafon hailed from there before meeting Marie Boch—the heiress of a wine merchant family whose Meursault-based estate is still home to the current domaine. Upon their marriage in 1894, Jules absorbed the ‘Boch inheritance’ and that’s how Comtes Lafon came to own several land holdings today—their Premier Cru “Santenots-du-Milieu” parcel is one of the original sites. Although Jules and Marie’s disinterested son, Henri, relinquished a majority of holdings to sharecroppers, Henri’s son, René, not only saved the domaine, but implemented the then rare practice of estate bottling in 1961. A quarter-century later, Dominique assumed control from his father (René) at the underripe age of 26.
Dominique had to learn everything from scratch, from vine work to winemaking. At this point in time, he had never even operated a tractor (to the amusement of neighboring vintners) and critics expected this ‘greenhorn’ to sink rather than swim. Now, Lafon is a world-renowned vigneron, praised not only for his precise Chardonnays and seductive reds, but for his integral part in shifting farming practices throughout the Cote d’Or. He championed a group of innovative winemakers to employ organic and biodynamic viticulture in Burgundy, convincing even the most conventional houses to stop using chemicals and pesticides. Dominique also proactively worked to end all sharecropping agreements and successfully returned vine ownership back to the domaine. With sole control over vineyard practices and quality, Comtes Lafon was granted organic certification in 1995 and was fully biodynamic by 1998 (well ahead of the curve on that front).
Dominique’s 10 modest acres in “Santenots-du-Milieu” make up the majority of the Premier Cru. Looking at a
map of Volnay, you’ll notice that all the “Santenots-” designated Premier Crus are located on Meursault’s side. Due to the soil similarities between these Premier Crus and Volnay, they are permitted to use Volnay on their labels, seeing as this is largely a Pinot Noir-growing commune. Soils here are limestone and red clay (more than you’d find in Volnay), and Comtes Lafon’s vines enjoy a great deal of age: on average they are 30 years old, but some plantings date to 1944. As mentioned, Dominique was an early converter to both organic and biodynamic farming so everything is meticulously farmed out by hand. After harvesting and twice sorting, the Pinot Noir is 100% destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts with a daily
pigeage (“punch-down”) regimen. After settling in temperature-controlled tanks, the newborn wine is transferred via gravity into French oak (33% new) where it ages on its fine lees for 22 months.
In the glass, Comte Lafon's “Santenots-du-Milieu” shows a brilliantly deep ruby core leading out to soft pink reflections on the rim. Lots of concentration is immediately apparent and the nose quickly confirms the ‘seriousness’ of this wine: dark-fruited, spice-tinged, and predominantly earth-driven. You can expect a waterfall of aromatics to pour out of the glass: black cherry, black raspberry liqueur, elderberry, blackcurrant, cedar undergrowth, aniseed, violet, rose petal, turned earth, damp clay, baking spice, and wild herbs. The wine is medium-plus bodied, but it envelops your entire palate, creating a full mouthfeel with structured, brawny tannins alongside energetic rushes of acidity. This is an incredibly focused Burgundy that doesn’t suffer from the intense ripeness and extraction of many 2015s. It’s wonderfully balanced and classically Comtes Lafon—this will age decades and decades. You should ideally stow this away for 3-5 years before it starts revealing its true colors, but for those who would like to experience this masterpiece now please decant a minimum of two hours before pouring into your largest Burgundy stems. When you feel the time is right to open this bottle, try out this sous vide quail (don’t forget the high heat sear afterward) enhanced with pancetta, lemon, and thyme. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds, I promise!
