Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er cru Santenots-du-Milieu 2018

96 points Bettane & Desseauve Guide 2022: "Sustained color, nose mixing black fruits, spices and notes of brambles are on display with this terroir. If the mid-palate softness is exceptional in the vintage, the full-bodied finish will require a little patience."

94-96 points Fine Wine Review: "As is typical, the Santenots-du-Milieu has more structure than the previous wines. There’s also more restraint here for the moment. The wine is pure and features dark fruits that are deep. It is a complete wine with finesse and structure, and it potentially could develop into a great wine. (11/19/19)"

95 points Jasper Morris, MW: "Fine depth of colour. The nose from the start suggests that this is a complete wine. Plums as much as dark raspberries, with its clay based weight, a few tannins but in proportion to the fruit, just the right thread of acidity, a fabulous weighty but balanced Volnay Santenots. (Oct 2020)"

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "2018 is unequivocally a great, great year for the Lafon family’s Santenots du Milieu, and I would not be surprised to see this gorgeous young Volnay eventually age along the lines of the stellar 1978 version (which remains the single finest mature red wine from Comtes Lafon that I have been fortunate enough to drink). The bouquet is pure and stunning, soaring from the glass in a blend of black cherries, sweet dark berries, woodsmoke, bitter chocolate, a complex base of dark soil tones and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and shows off outstanding mid-palate depth, with superb focus and grip, a fine sense of sappiness, great backend mineral drive, fine-grained tannins and a very, very long and complex finish. This will be a great bottle of Volnay in due course. 2028-2065. (Nov/Dec 2019)"

94 points Tim Atkin, MW (Decanter): "Generally the biggest and boldest of Dominique Lafon's line up of Volnays, sourced from a 3.9ha vineyard in the commune of Meursault that produced 49 barrels of wine in 2018. Focused, taut and layered, it has fine, scented one-third new oak, plenty of minerality and freshness and layers of black cherry, plum and raspberry fruit topped by pepper spice. Drinking Window: 2028-2038. (Oct 2019)"

92-94(+) points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "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. (Jan 2020)"

93 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "[$235 list] The 2018 Volnay Les Santenots-du-Milieu 1er Cru has a high-toned and quite opulent bouquet, very seductive and vibrant, delivering copious dark cherries, blueberry and touches of bilberry. The palate is velvety-smooth with a fine bead of acidity, very harmonious and voluminous. It feels very dense toward the finish and though it lacks the elegance of the 2017 and 2019, it has the legs to last 20–30 years. Drink: 2025-2045. (Dec 2020)"

93 points/'Outstanding,' Allen Meadows (Burghound) (Apr 2021).