Description
Frédéric Lafarge and his daughter Clothilde—who is increasingly involved at the estate—were on fine form during my early-December visit to the domaine, and they have every reason to be, as these are quite simply some of the finest wines produced in all the Côte d'Or in the 2018 vintage. "We debudded aggressively in spring to control yields," Lafarge told me, adding that the team refrained from working in the vineyards in the summer afternoons when the weather was warmest and the vines at their most stressed, as well as retaining a maximum of foliage to shade the fruiting zone from the intense sunshine. "Burgundy's rhythms are changing, and we have to adapt," Frédéric concluded, but he seems energized rather than daunted by the challenge. The 2018 portfolio chez Lafarge is deep, concentrated, exquisitely elegant and—above all—lively and dynamic, in a vintage where the nexus of all four of those qualities is rare, for all the lovely wines that have been produced. I hope to devote some time to a longer piece on this benchmark estate, but for now, as the accompanying tasting notes will make clear, all these wines come warmly recommended.