The 2021 Volnay 1er Cru is a blend of all the domaine's five premiers crus, a first in the estate's history, cropped at a mere eight hectoliters per hectare. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of sweet red berries, rose petals, orange zest and sweet spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with terrific concentration, ripe tannins and a long, precise, mineral finish. Only 10 barrels were produced.

The 2009 Volnay 1er Cru possesses gorgeous inner perfume and energy in its dark red fruit, flowers, minerals and sweet spices. This finishes with notable persistence and fine overall harmony at its level. The 1er is made from vineyards in Pitures. The Mitans parcel that had been used previously is now bottled entirely on its own. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021. This is a stunning set of wines from Michel Lafarge. The estate farms biodynamically. The wines were left on their gross lees through the malos, which ended in April-May. Lafarge did one racking, in August, 2010, when he moved the wine off their gross lees, leaving just the fine lees. I tasted the 2009s from barrel. Lafarge planned to bottle later in Spring 2011 with no fining or filtration, as is his usual custom. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803; Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640

The Lafarage 2005 Volnay 1er Cru is pure Chanlin, and that will be the make-up of future vintages, as a newly acquired parcel of Mitans has allowed them to reach critical mass for a separate bottling. (They reasoned that there were too many customers familiar with the “Volnay 1er Cru” label to risk replacing it with “Chanlin”.) Tart red raspberry and currant, bitter-sweet floral perfume, and pink grapefruit zest in the nose lead to an overtly chalky, brightly-fruited, subtly floral and spicy palate presence. Like most of Lafarge’s wines, this certainly doesn’t lack for structure, but the tannins are fine and don’t get in the way of its infectiously juicy fresh fruit. Revisit it in 3-5 years. 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

Sweet raspberries, bing cherries, and hints of rose petals are found in the aromatic profile of the 2003 Volnay 1er Cru (red). Loaded with fruit, this medium-bodied wine’s flavor profile combines fresh dark berries with red cherry syrup. Notes of licorice can be found in its long yet tannin-studded finish. Projected maturity: 2009-2016. A Becky Wasserman Selection / Le Serbet; French Fax: 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers, including Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808

The most foursquare of Lafarge’s 2002s, the Volnay 1er Cru is light to medium-bodied and structured. Fresh red and black berries can be discerned in this effort’s tightly wound yet impressively endowed character. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2015. A Becky Wasserman Selection / Le Serbet; French Fax: 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers