Aromas of smoked meat, freshly-grated ginger, and intensely concentrated cherry and red currant offer a call to the forceful attack mounted on the palate by the Lafarges’ 2005 Volnay Clos des Chenes, incisively reaching every corner. But for all of its brightness as well as obvious tannic structure, this is imposingly creamy in texture, and low tones of dark chocolate, meats (running the gamut from ham hocks to bloody beef), chalk and wet stone emerge – along with subtle and complex spiciness – in an evocative finish. As usual, this will offer a fascinating decade or more of comparison with the Clos du Chateau des Ducs. (The 2004, incidentally, displays cut, clarity, and more concentration than its vintage stable mates – because, says Lafarge, the fruit from this site permitted greater fermentative extraction than that from his other hailed-on Volnay vineyards.) The entire Lafarge collection was predictably still in barrel when I visited in February, with even the generic cuvees due for assembly only in March. Speaking of generic bottlings, I don’t know of another domaine that has three of them, and I certainly doubt that there is one with three routinely worthy of attention even by those with the disposable income to afford premier crus. A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

Aromas of smoked meat, freshly-grated ginger, and intensely concentrated cherry and red currant offer a call to the forceful attack mounted on the palate by the Lafarges’ 2005 Volnay Clos des Chenes, incisively reaching every corner. But for all of its brightness as well as obvious tannic structure, this is imposingly creamy in texture, and low tones of dark chocolate, meats (running the gamut from ham hocks to bloody beef), chalk and wet stone emerge – along with subtle and complex spiciness – in an evocative finish. As usual, this will offer a fascinating decade or more of comparison with the Clos du Chateau des Ducs. (The 2004, incidentally, displays cut, clarity, and more concentration than its vintage stable mates – because, says Lafarge, the fruit from this site permitted greater fermentative extraction than that from his other hailed-on Volnay vineyards.) The entire Lafarge collection was predictably still in barrel when I visited in February, with even the generic cuvees due for assembly only in March. Speaking of generic bottlings, I don’t know of another domaine that has three of them, and I certainly doubt that there is one with three routinely worthy of attention even by those with the disposable income to afford premier crus.A Becky Wassserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70