This was my first opportunity to taste Lafon's Puligny Montrachet Champ Gain. He recently took on this vineyard in what is known in Burgundy parlance as "fermage." In short, Lafon cares for the vineyards and makes the wine, providing the vineyard owner with half of the finished product. In 1995, only 50 cases were made, and Lafon does not intend to sell any of his 25 cases to his US importer (therefore, any bottles readers find in the U.S. will have entered through the gray market). This is a delicious bottle of Puligny. A nose of perfume and honeysuckle complemented by roasted fruits is followed by a full-bodied, candied mouth of explosive and elegant, ripe fruits. Medium-to-full-bodied, it will be delicious upon release yet age well for 8-10 years. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. Ratings with a range of scores in parentheses indicate the wine was tasted from cask, not bottle.
Dominique Lafon, who has run this estate on his own since 1987, feels his '95s are the best set of wines he's made to date. I would ignore this kind of statement from most growers in Burgundy as they are often given to hyperbole, but Lafon walks the walk in addition to talking the talk. His reputation is such that his wines sell-out instantaneously irrespective of what critics might write. Secondly, he's not the type of man who would risk his credibility, nor is he given to immodest boasting. His '95s are outstanding wines that may have better structure than those from previous vintages, and, therefore, may age and evolve more gracefully. He has produced fatter, lusher wines in the past (the '89s for example), but, in general, cellaring hasn't improved them. I believe the '95 will be different.
Importer: Classic Wine Imports, Boston, MA; tel (617) 731-6644.
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