From his young vines in the Santenots du Milieu, Lafon's 2006 Volnay smells subtly fungal and musky, pungently herbal, as well as of ripe, fresh cherry. A corresponding amalgam dominates on a refreshing, smoothly-textured palate. Here elegance and lift have come at the price of lightness and a restrained although attractively juicy finish. I would plan on drinking this over the next 2-3 years. Dominique Lafon picked his 2006 Pinots only in the last days of September and then – like most of his colleagues – took pains to extract and to handle the young wines very gently so as to emphasize fruit. "I don't like to carry grey rot in the picking boxes," says Lafon, "so the first selection of botrytis was done by the pickers in the vineyard, and then we finished on the sorting table." He estimates that there was at most 10-15% tainted fruit, with some parcels largely rot-free. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers), fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040