2019 Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Premier Cru, Clos des Chenes

The 2019 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru sports a bit of reduction on the nose, and this suppresses the terroir expression at the moment. It begins to open after 10-15 minutes, but I wish I could have decanted and left this for an hour. The palate is medium-bodied and, as expected, there is some reduction, yet there is plenty of fruit in situ, all bound together with quite firm tannins that exert impressive grip. There is a potentially and excellent Volnay here, but patience is required—more so compared to its peers. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.

There are four barrels of the 2019 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes, a pretty, delicate, medium-bodied wine that's perfumed and charming, evoking notions of petals, plums and red berries. As is often the case, this is a refined middleweight.