Monthélie 1er cru "Les Duresses" 2018 - Domaine des Comtes Lafon

Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses 2018 — Domaine des Comtes Lafon

This Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses 2018 from Domaine des Comtes Lafon expresses one of the most interesting and structured terroirs of Monthélie, on the border of Volnay and Auxey-Duresses. From an emblematic Meursault domaine, renowned for the precision of its élevage and the depth of its wines, it offers a Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir that is firm, elegant and perfumed: red cherry, Morello cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, plum, rose, violet, fine spices, liquorice, fresh earth, light forest floor and a long mineral finish.

Domaine des Comtes Lafon is one of the major references of the Côte de Beaune, celebrated worldwide for its great white wines from Meursault, but also capable of producing reds of great finesse and true terroir depth. Les Duresses often gives a Monthélie that is more structured, more earthy and more energetic than the village’s gentler expressions. The 2018 vintage brings ripeness, generous fruit and texture, while preserving a fresh and mineral frame.

Terroir: Les Duresses, tension and relief in Monthélie

The Les Duresses climat is located in a sector of Monthélie renowned for producing wines of structure, freshness and relief. Close to Auxey-Duresses and neighbouring the fine balance of Volnay, this terroir gives Pinot Noir a firmer, more mineral and earthier expression than some softer cuvées of the Côte de Beaune. It produces wines of character, with a real backbone and fine ageing ability.

The clay-limestone soils, slopes and presence of stones contribute to the wine’s tension, the finesse of its tannins and a fresh, lightly saline finish. At Comtes Lafon, Les Duresses translates into a precise, pure and elegant expression: ripe red fruit, floral notes, fine spices, fresh earth, liquorice and minerality. In 2018, the solar ripeness of the vintage reinforces flesh and generosity of fruit, without erasing the structure of the climat.

Tasting notes

Appearance: bright ruby with garnet and purple reflections, luminous, clear and still youthful. The colour reflects the ripeness of the 2018 vintage, with measured intensity and the natural transparency of Côte de Beaune Pinot Noir.

Nose: fresh, ripe and expressive, with red cherry, Morello cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, plum, ripe 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, broad, fresh and structured, with ripe red fruit carried by fine energy. Flavours of cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, spices, liquorice, fine earth and stone unfold with precision, supported by fine but present tannins. The finish is long, fresh, lightly saline and mineral, with an impression of straightness, finesse and seriousness.

Expression of the 2018 vintage

The 2018 vintage in Burgundy produced red wines that are ripe, expressive and generous, with fine fruit richness and often accessible textures. In Monthélie, this ripeness brings flesh and aromatic brightness, while more structured terroirs such as Les Duresses preserve freshness, tension and balance. The result is a wine that is charming, serious and well defined.

Today, this Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses 2018 can already be very enjoyable after measured aeration, thanks to its ripe fruit and supple texture. It nevertheless has enough structure to evolve for several years, gradually developing more forest floor, fine leather, melted spices, black tea, fresh earth and mineral nuances around the core of red fruit.