Volnay Champans 2017 - Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Volnay 1er Cru Champans 2017 — Domaine des Comtes Lafon

This Volnay 1er Cru Champans 2017 from Domaine des Comtes Lafon expresses one of the noblest, most complete and most sensual climats of Volnay. From an emblematic Côte de Beaune domaine, celebrated for the precision of its élevage and the purity of its wines, it offers a Pinot Noir of great elegance, at once floral, silky and luminous: red cherry, Morello cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant, rose, violet, fine spices, liquorice, fresh earth, light forest floor and a long mineral finish.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon is one of the great references of the Côte de Beaune, recognised worldwide for its Meursaults, but also a producer of red wines of great finesse and remarkable terroir depth. The Champans climat often gives Volnay wines that are more structured, deeper and fleshier than the village’s most ethereal expressions, while preserving the grace and silky touch that define the appellation. The 2017 vintage brings aromatic brightness, freshness, balance and a particularly harmonious expression of Pinot Noir.

Terroir: Champans, depth and sensuality in Volnay

The Champans climat is among the most renowned Premier Crus of Volnay. Located on a favourable slope, it gives wines that are broad, perfumed and structured, capable of combining Volnay’s traditional finesse with fleshier depth. It is a terroir that offers Pinot Noir an elegant, floral, earthy and persistent expression.

The clay-limestone soils of Champans bring the wine a silky texture, fine tannins, good tension and a mineral finish. At Comtes Lafon, this terroir translates into a pure and precise expression: fresh red fruits, floral notes, fine spices, fresh earth, liquorice and minerality. In 2017, the balance of the vintage particularly highlights the delicacy of the fruit, textural finesse and the clarity of the climat.

Tasting notes

Appearance: bright ruby with garnet and purple reflections, luminous, fine and still youthful. The colour reflects the balance of the 2017 vintage and the natural transparency of Volnay Pinot Noir, with measured and elegant intensity.

Nose: fine, fresh and expressive, with red cherry, Morello cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant, fresh red fruits, rose, violet, fine spices, liquorice and fresh earth. With aeration, nuances of light forest floor, black tea, sweet pepper, bark, fine leather, dried herbs and limestone minerality may appear.

Palate: medium-bodied, silky, fresh and elegantly structured, with precise red fruit carried by fine energy. Flavours of cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant, spices, liquorice, fine earth and stone unfold with finesse, supported by fine tannins and clear acidity. The finish is long, fresh, lightly saline and mineral, with an impression of purity, balance and great harmony.

Expression of the 2017 vintage

The 2017 vintage in Burgundy produced red wines that are often luminous, balanced and expressive, with fine fruit purity and structures that are more accessible than in the most massive years. In Volnay, this harmony particularly highlights the delicacy of Pinot Noir, the purity of red fruit and the floral dimension of the terroir. In Champans, the 2017 stands out for its grace, silky touch and mineral finish.

Today, this Volnay 1er Cru Champans 2017 is entering a very pleasing phase, with fruit still bright and the first signs of elegant evolution. It can show expressiveness after measured aeration, while gradually gaining more forest floor, fine leather, melted spices, black tea, fresh earth, light truffle and mineral nuances around the core of red fruit.