Volnay 1er Cru “Mitans” 2016

Winery Domaine Michel Lafarge produces Burgundy wines and is located in Wolnay, in the region of Côte de Beaune. The family-owned winery was founded in the 18th century by Michel Lafarge's great-great-grandfather. In 1995, Michel Lafarge was one of the first in Burgundy to experiment with biodynamic viticulture, and he is also known for his techniques of minimal interference with the processes taking place in the winery and vineyards. Michel Lafarge and his son Frederic work together to produce wine from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, which they grow on 10 hectares in Wolnay. Winery Michel Lafarge is known for its red wine from Pinot Noir, which is grown in a Premier Cru vineyard called Clos des Chênes in the village of Volnay. All wines are aged in oak barrels (5% new) and are minimally cleaned and filtered before bottling.

Pinot Noir has very aromatic profile, very fresh acidity and low level of quaite soft tannins. The nature of Pinot Noir wine is its flavors of red berries and cherry (red sour cherries in lighter wines and cooked black cherries in bold examples). This wine matures very exating, developing notes of berry jam, violets, leather, moss and mushrooms.

Volnay is famous for its elegant red wines - they are refined and seductive, but their aromas of ripe red berries are adored by wine lovers around the world. The soil is soft and spoiled by sunlight and reflects in the quality of the particularly delicate and tender wines produced here. Volnay was also the first appellation to introduce the law „Mis en Bouteille au Domain” which states that wine must be bottled in the same place it is made - this has become an indicator of quality throughout Burgundy.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) can be confusing because of the multiplicity of its appellations - all the small vineyards are divided between multiple producers so it can often be difficult to understand this diversity. However, it is the exact reason why the wines of Burgundy are considered to be the finest in the world. A common topic of discussion, when talking about Burgundy, is the concept of "terroir" - a unique combination of soil and climate conditions that affects the taste of wine in the appellations, making it unique to each village. Winemakers mainly use the capricious Pinot Noir and the classical Chardonnay to create true masterpieces, while Gamay and Aligote are used to make wines of a bit simpler style. Particular attention should be paid to the hierarchy of wines. First there are the regional and village wines, a step higher - the Premier Cru wines and the outstanding Grand Cru - at the top. Due the complex and inconsistent weather that can notably impact wine quality especially in bad harvest years, a very important factor here is the so called millesime - the harvest year of the grapes the particular wine is produced of, because each of these years has its own unique taste. Purchasing Burgundy wines is not easy because there are many details that should be taken into consideration - the class of the vineyard, the assessment of the manufacturer, the age of the vines, the quality of the wine as well as the millesime and, of course, the potential of ageing. The sellers play a big role here - they must be truly passionate about wine and able to offer only the best quality producers with a good reputation. That is exactly the way "Noble Wine" works!