Volnay, Clos des Chênes is a 15.41-hectare Premier Cru climat in Volnay. Clos des Chênes is situated in the southern end of Volnay, above Route Nationale 73 at the border with Monthélie. The name attests to the onetime presence of an ancient oak forest on the vineyard site. At one time the vineyard belonged to the Knights Templar, but was later inherited by the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament. Clos des Chênes faces southeast from an altitude of between 280 and 320 meters, with soil composed of limestone marl and clay-limestone scree. Along with Les Caillerets, Les Taillepieds, Clos du Château des Ducs, and Les Santenots-du-Milieu, Clos des Chênes is ranked among the best in the appellation. Excellent Clos des Chênes is produced by Domaine des Comtes Lafon and Domaine Michel Lafarge.
Archive for the ‘Vineyards’ Category
Vineyard Description: Volnay, CLOS des CHÊNES, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Clos des Chênes, Clos du Château des Ducs, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Domaine Michel Lafarge, Dominique Lafon, Les Caillerets, Les Santenots-du-Milieu, Les Taillepieds, Volnay on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Vineyard Description: Volnay, LES SANTENOTS-DU-MILIEU, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Domaine Mikulski, Dominique Lafon, François Mikulski, Volnay. Meursault on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Volnay, Santenots-du-Milieu is a 22.36-hectare Premier Cru climat situated within the appellation Santenots. Santenots is physically located within the commune of Meursault (although adjacent to Volnay), but is by law entitled to use the appellation Volnay, Santenots. Thus, although the vineyards are actually in Meursault, the wines are entitled to be called Volnay. The reason for this apparent anomaly is that the red clay soil in Santenots has long been viewed as better suited for Pinot Noir than Chardonnay, and the appellation Volnay is much better known for red Burgundy than is Meursault.
The best section of Santenots is Santenots-du-Milieu, having been classified by Dr. Lavalle as tête de cuvée. At an elevation of 240-280 meters, Santenots-du-Milieu faces southeast on soil shallow, red, heavy clay soil, above a subsoil of Bathonian limestone. The wines are deep in colour, rich and sturdy, with deep tannins , and, if somewhat lacking in the elegance of characteristic of the best Volnay, is lush and supple.
Excellent examples of Santenots-du-Milieu are made by Domaine Mikulski and Domaine des Comtes Lafon. In fact, the parcels of these two winemakers formed a single vineyard in the first part of the twentieth century until it was split and sold off to the grandfathers of Franςois Mikulski and Dominique Lafon.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, CLOS DE LA BARRE (Monopole)
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Comtes Lafon, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Dominique Lafon, Meursault on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Clos de la Barre is a village-level 2.12-hectare monopole of the Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault. The lieu-dit Clos de la Barre is comprised of a vineyard entirely enclosed within the walls of the Domaine, where the family home is situated, at the northern edge of the town of Meursault. The gently-sloping and east-facing vineyard is planted in three parcels, the first (.8 hectare) planted in 1950, the second (.8 hectare) in 1975, and the third (.5 hectare) replanted in 2004. The soil is an admixture of clay and marl over a hard limestone base. The Chardonnay-based wines of Clos de la Barre rich with pronounced minerality and a crisp finish.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, DESIRÉE (Monopole)
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Comtes Lafon, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Dominique Lafon, Meursault on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Désirée is a village-level .45-hectare monopole of the Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault. Desirée is actually situated in Les Plures, a Premier Cru climat situated at the northern part of Meursault, and could, accordingly, be bottled as Meursault, Les Plures, Premier Cru. Nevertheless, Dominique Lafon has chosen to label the wine simply as “Desirée” (an old cadastral name) both out of a sense of tradition and because he does not think that the wines warrant Premier Cru designation. East facing, Les Plures is rich in red clay, not very deep, and well-suited to the Pinot Noir which produces the Volnay Santenots which predominates in the vineyard. Lafon plants Desirée entirely with Chardonnay, however, and crafts an atypical Meursault that is seductive, slightly spicy, and rather exotic.
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Vineyard Description: Meursault, LES PORUZOTS, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine on April 7, 2010| 1 Comment »
Meursault, Les Poruzots is an 11.44-hectare Premier Cru climat in Meursault. Les Poruzots is itself comprised of three subclimats (Porusots-Dessus, Porusots-Dessous, and Le Poruzot) and lies just north of Les Genevrières, east of Les Bouchères and south of Les Gouttes d’Or. The vineyard faces east from an altitude varying between 230 and 280 meters, and enjoys a soil rich in clay. The wines are very similar to Les Bouchères and Les Gouttes d’Or, with perhaps less finesse than Les Charmes, but are more fruit-forward and better structured.
One of the finest examples of Les Poruzots is produced by Domaine Franςois Mikulski, whose two parcels, planted in 1948 and 1985, aggregate .6 hectares and are well- situated in Poruzots-Dessus.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, LES GOUTTES D’OR, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Domaine Franςois Mikulski, Meursault, Thomas Jefferson on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Les Gouttes d’Or is a 5.33-hectare Premier Cru climat of Meursault, situated in the central part of the commune, south of the town and north of Les Bouchères and Les Poruzots. The name, “drops of gold,” was perhaps coined by some proto-marketing guru. In fact, the wine has been renowned at least since the time of Thomas Jefferson, who preferred Gouttes d’Or to all other white Burgundies, save Le Montrachet itself. East facing on a slope, at an altitude varying between 240 and 260 meters, the soil is composed of heavy clay over a limestone base. Gouttes d’Or resembles Les Charmes in weight and texture, but is a little firmer and exhibits fuller structure.
Excellent examples of Meursault, Les Gouttes d’Or is produced by Domaine Franςois Mikulski and by Domaine des Comtes Lafon.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, LES CHARMES, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Les Charmes is a 31.12 hectare Premier Cru climat in Meursault. Lying at the southern end of the commune on the border of Puligny-Montrachet, just down slope from Les Perrières and adjacent to Les Genevrières, Les Charmes is the largest of Meursault’s Premiers Crus and each of its two subclimats, Les Charmes-Dessus (the upper parcel) and Les Charmes-Dessous (the lower parcel) is larger than Les Perrières and almost as large as Les Genevrières. Les Charmes faces south and southeast from an altitude varying between 230 and 260 meters. The soils of Les Charmes are deep clay and limestone, silty and pebbly with traces of iron. Due to their lower position on the slope, Meursault Les Charmes are richer and heavier than the thin, stony soils of Les Perrières above it, and more typical Meursault Premier Cru. Though less steely and racy than Perrières, and less spicy than Genevrières, Charmes produces round and lush Meursault of great elegance, style and harmony
In the view of many critics, the better wines originate from the upper section of the vineyard, Les Charmes-Dessus. Clive Coates has even suggested that the lower climat, Les Charmes-Dessous, could be downgraded to village status. Notwithstanding this criticism, however, it remains undisputed that the quality level of Les Charmes-Dessus, rivals that of Les Perrières and Les Genevrières. The name Les Charmes comes not, alas, from any special allure or enchantment of the vineyard, but derives more prosaically from the pre-Latin root of champs, and means simply field or meadow. .
Among the best parcels of Les Charmes are those produced by François Mikulski and Dominique Lafon, all of which are well-situated in Les Charmes-Dessus. Mikuksi’s two parcels, which total .80 hectares, were planted, respectively, in 1913 and 1930. Lafon’s 1.71 hectare parcel includes vines at the extreme southern part of the vineyard, immediately next to the Les Combettes climat of Puligny-Montrachet. Lafon’s oldest vines were planted in 1946 by Auguste Morey; the next oldest by Pierre Morey in 1963; and the most recent by Dominique Lafon in 1996.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, LES GENEVRIÈRES, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Burgundy, Dominique Lafon, François Mikulski, Meursauly on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Les Genevrières is a 16.48 hectare Premier Cru climat in Meursault. The vineyard is itself comprised of four contiguous sub-climats and lies in the southern section of the commune of Meursault, just north of Les Charmes. The vineyard faces east from an altitude varying between 240 and 280 meters, and enjoys a soil with a higher proportion of clay than most other limestone-based Premiers Crus in Meursault. The name Genevrières derives from the supposed presence there, generations ago, of juniper bushes. (Tasters who claim to detect the faint tang of juniper berries in Genevrières should seek professional counseling.) By reputation, the Genevrières climat is considered qualitatively second only to Perrières, although many thoughtful gourmands, as well as several notable winemakers, Dominique Lafon and François Mikulski included, express a culinary preference for Les Genevrières. Without doubt, Les Genevrières is paradigmatically Meursault: lime blossom, honey and hazelnut. The wines are noticeably less steely than Les Perrières, but more exotically spiced, rounder and with greater finesse.
Among the most exemplary parcels of Les Genevrières are the two parcels (planted in 1948 and 1993) of Domaine Franςois Mikulski, aggregating .5 hectares and situated in Genevrières-Dessus; and the two parcels belonging to Domaine des Comtes Lafon, totaling .55 hectares. The Lafon parcels are similarly located in Genevrières-Dessus, almost adjacent to Les Perrieres, and face east from slopes with a 15% gradient. The older and larger Lafon parcel was planted in 1946 and is about .37 ha; the younger parcel, at around .18 ha, was planted in 1993.
Vineyard Description: Meursault, LES PERRIÈRES, Premier Cru
Posted in Appellations, Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Comtes Lafon, Dominique Lafon, François Mikulski, Les Perrières, Meursault on April 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Meursault, Les Perriéres is a 13.71 hectare Premier Cru vineyard in Meursault, comprised of four climats, which is commonly believed to produce the most outstanding wine of Meursault’s Premiers Crus. In fact, two of the climats, Les Perrières-Dessous and Clos-des-Perrières are often touted for promotion to Grand Cru status. Les Perrières lies near the southwestern corner of the commune of Meursault, just down slope from Blagny, and abuts Puligny-Montrachet on the south. The soils are thin and stony and are sometimes said to share more in common with Puligny than Meursault. The vineyard takes its name from a word meaning quarry, but only figuratively: the vineyard contains an abundance of limestone outcroppings and scree, but stone was never actually quarried there. The wines from Les Perrières are quite powerful with an exuberant minerality and steeliness.
Among the finest in parcels in Les Perrières are those belonging to the Domaine des Comtes Lafon. Lafon owns two parcels in Les Perrières, both in Les Perrières-Dessous, one of about .67 hectares planted in 1955 and the other of almost .10 hectares planted in 1983. The Lafon vines are planted on a very steep slopes (10%-16%) and face east/southeast. The underlying soil is limestone and white marl over limestone schiste.
Vineyard Profile: Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-St-Denis, LES BONNES MARES, Grand Cru
Posted in Burgundy, Vineyards, Wine, tagged Georges de Vogue, Georges Roumier, J-F. Mugnier, Vougeraie on April 1, 2010| 5 Comments »
Bonnes Mares is a 15-hectare Grand Cru climat that straddles the border of Chambolle-Musigny (where 13.5 ha are located ) and Morey-St-Denis (the remaining 1.5 ha). The vineyard is situated north of the village of Chambolle-Musigny, and borders the Route des Grands Crus in the east and Clos de Tart in the north. The east-facing vineyard lies on a very gentle slope that varies only between 265 and 300 meters in elevation. Bonnes Mares is bifurcated geologically, with the northern half (the Morey side) – called terres rouges — comprised of heavier soil with a larger component of clay; and the southern half – called terres blanches — comprised of lighter soil, with a greater concentration of rocks and limestone, and containing an abundance of fossilized seashells. The wines coming from the two sections differ considerably, with terres rouges producing more robust and sturdy wines, while the terres blanches wines more delicate and elegant. In either case, as Clive Coates has written, the wines are hardly Chambolle-Musigny. Instead Bonnes-Mares is sui generis: wine that is fully-textured, deep, tannic and rich.
The name Bonnes-Mares likely derives from a cloistered order of Cistercian nuns (the good mothers) that lived nearby. A more charming etymology suggests that the name derives from a now-lost bas relief unearthed that portrayed a trinity of Roman goddesses of the harvest whose images protected the vineyard.
Distinguished proprietors of the vineyard include Comte Georges de Vogüé, J-F. Mugnier, Vougeraie, and Georges Roumier.
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