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The wines of of Comtes Lafon, with James Handford MW
Handford Wines, London
Tasted June 19, 2012 by Papies with 527 views
Introduction
Another great tasting at Handford Wines. Always on the informal free-flowing (and never patronising) side yet of Grand Cru level with respect to quality and depth.
Today James Handford MW presented a flight of select wines of Comptes Lafon going back to 1992.
We were blessed with no premox or maderisation in the wines. James mentioned he would have preferred to lightly decant the old whites but constraints of the tasting prevented him from doing so. Good note though.
Flight 1 - The Whites - 1. The Villages (4 notes)
White
2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault
91 points
From the vintage of hale. Light yellow in colour. Restrained on the nose, ever so Burgundian, green lemon citrussy focussed, oak. On the palate it is a mix. Although can be seen a bit mono dimensional , focussed simply on green fruit andante acidity, still at times it had 1er level depth and roundness. Lacks meusault "fatness" . Interesting wine but so it's the price.... 91
White
2007 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault
92 points
2007 is shaping to be a brilliant vintage for whites. Restrained on the nose, citrus notes, light exotic fruits, a bit more profound oak ( even more than the 2008). Good fruit and depth on the palate, roundish clean feel to it. Good fruit with length. Will not dissapoint and a lot better than when we tried it last. 92
White
2005 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Désirée
93 points
A patch of white vines amongst a vineyard of red! Not even on the map ( this exclusive village parcel lies in the red wine marked Les Plures in the north.
Good colour, shows its age. Light herby (some petrolly notes too for Andreas) on the nose, light oak ( JH mentioned custard cread notes which apparently are a mark of white grapes grown among red - we couldn't pin point this) Fatty with good weigh on the palate, mineral, vibrant and long. Some chalky acids spoil the fun a bit but this is of 1er level ( unfortunately of price too). 93
Good colour, shows its age. Light herby (some petrolly notes too for Andreas) on the nose, light oak ( JH mentioned custard cread notes which apparently are a mark of white grapes grown among red - we couldn't pin point this) Fatty with good weigh on the palate, mineral, vibrant and long. Some chalky acids spoil the fun a bit but this is of 1er level ( unfortunately of price too). 93
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White
1986 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre
94 points
JH advises to decant white burgundies of this age just before serving.
It's alive! The gold colour creates the expectation for something great and such a nice experience that the wine delivered. Rich, honey dense notes, still a lot of fruit here, herbal ( JH mentioned truffle - we didn't get it). Long on the finish and really an experience. 94 from us.
We have tried before old whites from Lafon and these are amazing wines when alive. (https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=123968 & https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1241565)
It's alive! The gold colour creates the expectation for something great and such a nice experience that the wine delivered. Rich, honey dense notes, still a lot of fruit here, herbal ( JH mentioned truffle - we didn't get it). Long on the finish and really an experience. 94 from us.
We have tried before old whites from Lafon and these are amazing wines when alive. (https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=123968 & https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1241565)
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Comment
Flight 2 - The Whites 2- The Premier (3 notes)
White
2002 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Gouttes d'Or
90 points
A touch closed on the nose to begin which developed more of an oaky character as time went on. True it is fatty and round on the palate but seemed to be lacking, especially for a 2002, and disappointing. Or was it that it came right after the brilliant 1986 clos de la barre? 90-91 from us but with a question mark.
White
2001 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Genevrières
94 points
2001 , much like 2007, proved to be an excellent white wine vintage.
Shows some colour which makes the correct opening salvo for the rich wine , from nose to palate, that follows. A lot of fruit here, lush, mineral and very balanced. Complex and with a good 2 minute finish. We are talking proper meursault here! 94+
Genevrieres is proving to be one of or favourite terroirs. We would suggest the wines of Bouchard which with along with les perrieres are our greatest find in the appellation vs price.
Shows some colour which makes the correct opening salvo for the rich wine , from nose to palate, that follows. A lot of fruit here, lush, mineral and very balanced. Complex and with a good 2 minute finish. We are talking proper meursault here! 94+
Genevrieres is proving to be one of or favourite terroirs. We would suggest the wines of Bouchard which with along with les perrieres are our greatest find in the appellation vs price.
White
1992 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes
92 points
Full on wine, ever the crowd pleasing meursault terroir, rich, lots of fruit the ( for us charmes is the New Yorker in the group of meursault terroir friends in the way that it doesn't shy away from making his point, good mannered stereotype here pls!) Ripe, a touch of smoky bacon mentioned. Has aged so gracefully. 92-93
Flight 3 - The Mystery White (1 note)
Was really hoping it would be Montrachet :-)
White
2002 Domaine François Mikulski Meursault 1er Cru Les Poruzots
91 points
Blind tasted. The wild card post the flight of Comtes Lafon wines.
Youthful, elegant, good amount of ripe rich fruitiness . Good structure and length and we thought it was another vintage of Lafon's Goutte d'Or. Indeed we like this more than the 2002 Lafon ! 91-92
Youthful, elegant, good amount of ripe rich fruitiness . Good structure and length and we thought it was another vintage of Lafon's Goutte d'Or. Indeed we like this more than the 2002 Lafon ! 91-92
Flight 4 - The Reds (4 notes)
Much like his Macon ( or even more so) here on average we believe you buy more the name than the wine. Interesting to try but we were not impressed, and our light tasting notes are a reflection of that.
Red
2008 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Monthélie 1er Cru Les Duresses
88 points
Nice good Pinot nose, red fruit which lingers on on the midpalate, well made and enjoyable but that's about it. More name than wine. Still impressive amount of fruit from a 2008. 87-89
Red
2007 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay
89 points
Ripe, good fruit and acidity. Feels a touch new world in the level of extraction, smoky notes. Very nice village wine. 89-90
Red
2006 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu
90 points
Side by side with the 2004. This is a much better wine. Open red fruit, Pinot nose, balanced. Good amount of fruit on the palate, elegant and very pleasant. As a bit of critisism we found it too similar to the 2007 village.. 89-90
Red
2004 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Volnay 1er Cru Santenots-Du-Milieu
87 points
Side by side with the 2006. In all fairness it is very good for a 2004, with the lightest of bitterness and other foul issues attributed to the ladybird vintage( more of a north issue anyway) Light green notes, good fruit but a wine that maybe ( and hopefully) time will help. 86-88 for now though.
Closing
This is our second Comtes Lafon tasting this year ( first one was at BBR in February - https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=16946) interesting to see a different perspective to these wines and it felt almost been read the same great novel by a different teacher. Jasper Morris in the Ivy League BBR style vs James Handford in a more dead poets society closeness.
We liked both events and the wines even more!