Lafarge Volnay 1er cru Clos des Chênes 2006

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2006 Clos des Chênes should prove to be yet another brilliant vintage for this great bottling, as the wine delivers great purity, complexity and intensity of flavor. The superb and very deep bouquet offers up notes of red and black cherries, red plums, vinesmoke, gamebirds, a fine base of soil, notes of coffee and a pungent topnote of violet. On the palate the wine is medium-full, long and very transparent for the Clos des Chênes out of the blocks, with ripe, fine-grained tannins, beautiful acidity, great focus and a very long, palate-staining finish. This is not as powerfully built as the great 2005 Clos des Chênes, but in terms of ultimate quality, it may well give that fine wine a run for its money. 2018-2045+. (Mar/Apr 2008)"

93 points David Schildknecht (Wine Advocate): "An explosively-concentrated 2006 Volnay Clos Des Chenes mingles cherry, redcurrant, ginger, orange peel, iodine, and bitter-sweet herbal and cherry pit concentrate, projecting confidence in its role as the Lafarge flagship. A wealth of largely ineffable but prominently chalky and saline mineral nuances lends intrigue, while hints of marzipan and caramel sneak onto the back palate, enhancing the sense of ripeness to this wine's sappy fundament of fruit. It manages to be texturally plush while displaying fine-grained underlying tannic structure, and finishes with detonative dynamic of tumbling fruits and minerals, uniting both refreshing brightness and a persistent sense of richness. Here is one 2006 that will surely be worth following for 12-15 years. (Dec 2009)"