2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Premier Cru, Les Santenots du Milieu

For reports and full tasting notes, go toTim Atkin MW's website.

Lafon's finest red this year is, as usual, the 2018 Volnay 1er Cru Les Santenots-du-Milieu, a wine that combines the finesse of the Clos des Chênes with the power and depth of the Champans. Exhibiting a complex bouquet of cherries, smoky wild berries, rich soil tones, violets and dark chocolate, it's medium to full-bodied, lively and concentrated, with refined tannins and a sense of controlled power.

The 2018 Volnay Santenots-du-Milieu 1er Cru has a generous bouquet with red cherries, wild strawberry and cranberry, quite pastille-like in style. The palate is well balanced with pliant tannins, fresh acidity, gentle grip with a vibrant and pure finish that exhibits judicious spiciness. Commendable length, this is a well-crafted Volnay that is a cut above the rest. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 red tasting.

In cask until April 2021. Quite an evolved, savoury nose. Deep and rich on the nose. But just a bit tart and lacking on the palate. Not a good moment to show this wine? Seems a bit hollow. And raw. (JR)