Lafarge Volnay 1er cru Clos du Château des Ducs 2007

92-95 points Fine Wine Review: "Here, at one of the Côte de Beaune’s greatest estates, the selection of wines continues to grow. But you will be assured that there is top quality in each wine... The Volnay-Clos du Château des Ducs, from vines that literally form Lafarge’s backyard, has spicy, floral red fruit aromas. In the mouth, the wine is pure and fine with great elegance, even laciness, although there is also an underlying steeliness. This is a complex wine and also one that is very typical of Volnay. (Issue #125; 2009)"

92+ points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2007 Volnay 'Clos du Château des Ducs' from Domaine Michel Lafarge is a superb example of the vintage, but, not surprisingly, it is still on the young side and needs quite a bit more cellaring to blossom. The deep and classy nose offers up scents of red and black cherries, a nice touch of meatiness, dark chocolat3e, fresh herb tones, still a bit of youthful stemminess, a fine base of soil and just a whisper of spicy oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and very well-balanced, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil inflection, excellent balance and focus and a long, nascently complex and ripely tannic finish. Give this very promising wine a bit more time in the cellar. (Drink between 2019-2040. (Jan/Feb 2014)"

92 points/'Outstanding,' Allen Meadows (Burghound): "(from 50+ year old vines; a monopole of the domaine). This offers a clear step up in overall complexity relative to the Mitans, both on the ultra pure and slightly riper nose of both red and blue berry fruit plus violet notes and this floral character can also be found on the round, rich and mouth coating flavors that are impeccably well balanced, long, linear and brimming with dry extract. This is a wine of harmony, indeed to the point where this is a Zen wine. Terrific. Drink: 2017+. (Apr 2010)"

92 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "Good medium red. Ripe cherry, smoke and chocolate on the nose. Silky, lush and aromatic in the mouth, with captivating flavors of red fruits and chocolate. Wonderfully suave, vibrant wine with considerable charm. Expands impressively on the back end, finishing long and perfumed. A lovely Volnay. (Mar 2010)"

(Note on bottle condition: These older Lafarge wines are from a perfect French cellar, and its relatively high humidity has incurred some mold and cosmetic degradation of the labels. These cellar conditions are identical to the Lafarge cellars themselves, where bottles are not labeled until immediately prior to shipment, as they're blanketed with black mold until that point. The bottles are otherwise pristine with excellent fills and capsules. Images may be furnished upon request. -WHWC, May 2024)