Comtes Lafon 2010 Burgundies

Domaine Lafon is the greatest producer in both Meursault (sorry Coche) and the Maconnais and one of the very best producers in all of Burgundy. The 2010 vintage at Lafon is very much a repeat of 2009. Stupendous quality. All of Lafon's wines perform at the very highest level. His village drink like many producers' premiers crus and grands crus.

Alas, as always, the wines are some of the hardest to find. Our allocation, which all comes from Lafon's US agent in California, is tiny. We will receive them by end of this month.


Terms: Expected arrival is by end of this month of March 2013. Extremely limited availability. Full payment upon order. Please, no reservations accepted without payment. Limited to stock on hand. We reserve the right to allocate quantities. All orders subject to confirmation. To order email us or call 800.580.8588.


Reds:

Volnay, Domaine des Comtes Lafon 2010 $90.00
A baby Volnay-Santenots as this comes from declassified young vines in that premier cru vineyard. In this great vintage, it shows overachieving concentration and the finesse of a true premier cru.


Volnay Premier Cru Santenots du Milieu, Domaine des Comtes Lafon 2010 $155.00
One of the top Volnays in 2009. Lafon's large parcel in this vineyard allows him the luxury of sorting severely and declassifying the rest to further improve quality. Plus the parcel is in the best part of the vineyard with rocky soils and high clay content that accounts for the richness of the wine. Poweful and with very good concentration, full of violets and cassis with a smooth, long finish. This will easily evolve over several years.


Whites:

Meursault, Domaine des Comtes Lafon 2010 $115.00
Marvelous fat and richness with a crunchiness and minerality that's very lovely. A perfect blend of declassified premier cru and village fruit, it captures Meursault's power and tension.


Meursault "Clos de la Barre", Domaine des Comtes Lafon 2010 $140.00
From a vineyard surrounding the domaine with a base of solid calcareous rock that's penetrated by vines' roots. This is always brilliant and consistent in quality. Shows spectacular layers of fruit intertwined with nutty flavors and minerals. Seductive creaminess on the palate and finishes with extraordinary persistence. Like previous great vintages of this wine this offers outstanding potential. Wine critics usually underrates this Meursault because it's always tight and firm in its youth.


Meursault Premier Cru Charmes, Domaine des Comtes Lafon 2010 $218.00
Charmes is one of Lafon's top wines and typically rivals top grand cru white Burgundies. From this perspective it is a great buy and very highly sought-after.
 

Benjamin Leroux's Overachieving 2010 Burgundies

Benjamin Leroux, the brilliant, young régisseur and winemaker at Comte Armand Domaine du Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard, is quietly making small batches of wines under his own name. The fruit is purchased from small parcels owned by growers whom he closely works with. He's converting their vineyards to organic viticulture, but meanwhile everything is farmed sustainably, or lutte raisonnée.

We have been selling Benjamin Leroux's wines since he debuted impressively in the 2007 vintage. Each vintage confirms the refined quality of his wines from the Bourgogne to the grands crus in both reds and whites. The 2010 vintage, given the quality of the raw material, is marvelous for Benjamin Leroux. Those looking for values in 2010 Burugndies should load up both his Bourgogne Rouge and Volnay. On the humblest appellations Leroux always overdelivers.

Benjamin Leroux's 2010 Bourgogne Rouge is a joy to drink. Scented with cut roses and fresh cherries, with flavors of stunning richness and concentration. Open and expressive, it wears its heart on its sleeve. As in previous vintages, the fruit is declassified premiers crus from Santenay and St.-Aubin. What a bargain!

The Volnay is put together from various Volnay vineyards of which about 60% is from the Volnay Premier Cru Ronceret, and so this is a village Volnay of surprising power!

But for someone who made his name making Pommard, I'm blown away by how brilliant Benjamin Leroux is in crafting white Burgundies. Since starting to make his own wines under his label with the 2007, his flagship wine has been the Auxey-Duresses Blanc. Anyone who wants to check out how good Benjamin Leroux is should simply taste his Auxey-Duresses Blanc. This is a marvelous wine with a richness that hints of its Meursault proximity, but with a sharpness and finesse that recall more a Puligny, especially in the 2010 vintage. The wine comes from a vineyard that borders Meursault, lying on a slope at an elevation of 350 meters facing east/southeast. The sunny morning exposure and stony soils of white marl over a limestone base is an excellent terroir for the Chardonnay vines to produce wines with finesse. This expression is clear in the 2010 Auxey-Duresses, a wine with fragrance and depth and tingling tension on the fruit.


Bourgogne Rouge, Benjamin Leroux 2010 $31.00 (Click to buy!)


Volnay, Benjamin Leroux 2010 $55.00 (Click to buy!)


Auxey-Duresses Blanc, Benjamin Leroux 2010 $39.00 (Click to buy!)