Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Premier Cru, Les Santenots du Milieu 2023

Lafon's Santenots is a reference for the appellation in each vintage; 2023 is no exception. It offers a ripe, forward blackberry and blueberry fruit character with earth, smoke and spice notes. The texture is substantial, with firm tannins and abundant extract, but there is nothing heavy or astringent here. Although Pierre Lafon has begun to experiment with whole clusters in the ferment, there was none in any wine this vintage. This wine was racked after harvest 2024 and will be bottled in the spring.

The 2023 Volnay Les Santenots-du-Milieu has another very delineated, quite floral bouquet that is cut from a similar cloth to the Champans, with just a touch of violet emerging with time in the glass. More powerful than the other Volnays, the palate is well balanced, with great depth and white pepper/graphite notes toward the very persistent finish. This is a Volnay Santenots with well-placed ambition, much more elegant than vintages 10 or 20 years ago.

The 2023 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu is the most textural and concentrated of Lafon's reds this year, wafting from the glass with notes of dark berries, vine smoke and spices, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Medium to full-bodied, layered and satiny, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by sweet tannins, it will offer a broad drinking window.