1996 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 1er Cru Clos du Château des Ducs

Community Tasting Notes (33) Avg Score: 91.6 points

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  3/8/2024 - acyso wrote: 93 Points

  Heater week; 3/8/2024-3/17/2024 (Chicago, IL): Another surprisingly accessible 1996 that isn't overloaded by acid structure. Elegant and refined, with that spicy Volnay perfume and red fruit on the nose. Light and crystalline and showing younger and fresher than the Chênes alongside. For a structural producer and vintage, this really is drinking very nicely now.

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  4/7/2020 - jhngo Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Fresh bright like unripened cherries. A little rustic touch and grippy finish.

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  7/14/2019 - acyso wrote: 90 Points

  Burgundies for Bastille Day (Chicago, IL): I think others today liked this more than I did. I've never enjoyed the 1996 vintage too much, as I think there's a hard acid edge to them on the palate, and this wine shows it too. The nose was initially quite mute, but it did develop with more air, showing some red fruit, earthiness, and a hint of spice. The palate unfortunately isn't as integrated here though -- there are many of the elements I love here, but the acidity of the vintage pokes out a bit, giving this a slightly prickly texture.

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  7/14/2019 - cfrances33 wrote: 94 Points

  Served in a Grassl Cru. Fruit / 1018b hPa
  
  Color is a dark cherry leading a ruby and bricking rim. Nose takes some time to get rolling - but once it does, it's lovely. Ripe cherry, strawberry compote, cranberry, spice, and sous bois. The nose builds in intensity, shifting between the spice and dark fruit, and bright red fruit. The palate is more driven from the get go. Strawberry compote, ripe raspberry, dried cherry. Minerality still shows itself bolstered by the acidity with a bit of limestone angularity. Lots of sous bois and even some brown spice. Tannins are still fairly present, but rather fine. The '96 acidity shows prominently, but is definitely to my taste, providing energy to a lot of the secondary flavors going on. I'd say this was probably at the end of its peak, but right in the zone of enjoyment for my tastes right now. A real privilege to drink - delicious and giving in all the aspects I expected from it. Just lovely.

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  4/26/2019 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points

  1996 Burgundy Retrospective - The First Session (Clarity - Vienna, Virginia): Very youthful nose displaying ripe red fruit with a hint of black, strawberry and rhubarb tart, cranberry sauce, tar, charred steak, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, nicely layered slight dry red fruit, round yet slightly masculine due to coarse tannings, bright acidity, strong earthy mineral and a medium to long concentrated red fruit driven finish. Still not showing much of sous bois. There is enough fruit to improve further. I am not a big fan of the earthy note in red Burgundy and my rating reflects my preference. Nevertheless, my wine of the flight.

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