We drank this over two days, putting the bottle in the fridge with about half left overnight, re-corked only.
The wine has developed nicely and some sweet black cherries that I did not notice in younger Lafarge Volnays have come out to add to the fresh red fruited core. The acidity is there, but there is also some early secondary flavors with autumnal forest floor.
A drop of balsamico tells me that it may have reached its highest peak but the structure is very intact and the fruit is there, so I think this is likely to have at least a fiver year plateau from now on.
We paired this with a piece of slow roasted pork neck and a pasta with a sauce made from grilled Savoy cabbage, some Speck, a little finely diced carrots, some white wine, cream, parmignano and freshly shaved white Alba truffle from Hungary. Beautiful matching.
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Volnay 1er Cru Virtual tasting (Planet Earth): In 07/01/95 vertical. Red and black cherry with meat and spice hints. Still on the firm side, with a good combination of robust fruit and evolved flavors. Similar to the 1995, but a little brighter. Probably further upside.
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Pre La Paulée Dinner (The Morris, SF): Nowhere near ready yet. Medium nose of red cherry with some florals and spice, but not all that intense. The palate is still brooding - with some coaxing and focus you can see and feel the depth, but it's not giving all it can yet. Hold for 5+ years. A glass on day two was fairly consistent, but it did add a subtle meaty note which was interesting.
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Over the Hill. Wine was tart and acidic with bitter cherries and slight sourness. The fruit hinted at what it could have been a few years ago. Hope others have better luck with their bottles.
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Tom Reddick visits NYC. (Peking Duck House- Midtown): Would you believe another controversial wine? This was a bruiser, filled with piss and vinegar from the start. It's a masculine wine with burly, unyielding structure. Austere, with some meat notes, but with not a lot of fruit showing, most in the group believe it's just young and is a correct profile for the domaine, but with air I got a sense of a beef broth note that, when combined with how austere and devoid of fruit the wine was, lead me to believe that the wine may have seen elevated temperatures at some point and was not as it should be, so my judgment is reserved. NR.
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decanted 60min (further improvement over the next 180min). eye: translucent garnet, 3mm fading, some bricking on the rim, fine sediment. nose: sous bois, cooked red fruit, wet stone, hint of lactic acid, altogether mature and seductive. palate: perfect balance and weight, medium body, good acid backbone, silky tannins cover the mouth, making this still a bit tight, sufficient for 5+ more cellar years, 16 Caudalie, stable. anticipated peak ~2013. very Volnay.
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Starting to some nice mature notes on the nose, very much Volnay particular the spice notes. Kicking superfine sediment that coats the bottle. Acidity is pushing structure through though some fruit is still retained. This wine seems to be settling into a very nice place. Definitely in the top tier that Lafarge deserves.
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doorzichtig rood met een kleine bruine rand, neus is nog fruitig, aardbei mooie klein rood fruit, theeachtig, vurig, intens, smaak is fris met goede zuren, mineraal en geconcentreerd, mooie ontwikkelde wijn die nog volop in het leven staat, prima
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Tasted blind. I was a bit thrown off by this one due to its relative weight and sweetness...which struck me for an older Sonoma Coast pinot. This had a pretty floral tone to it with sweet red fruit. Palate is feminine with silky tannins and a floral lift on the finish. Seems to be in a good spot.
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had this at Restaurant August in NOLA. Long discussion w sommelier about whether it was drinking well and also that this was "very Burgundian" and "not for people who like New World Pinot". She noted that it had recently really needed a significant decant to show its best. Decanted as suggested; lovely deep red with slight browning. Intense Burgundian nose with a hint of iron that I have found in NSG more than Volnay but very clean. On the palate quite intense with a little tightness which dissipated with time in the class, showing more roundness and integration of the flavors; excellent finish. Probably needs a few more years to reach its peak. This was a good bottle for sure.
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Tonight's gonna be a good night (Ah Orh): Lifted flowers slightly soy saucy with zesty citric peel. With time, this revealed more earthiness but shut down again to a tight nutshell of prunish tannins and hard earth. Think this cam keep for another few years
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Dinner at Ah Orh, aka - A Wonderful Night of Serious Wines (Ah Orh Seafood, Bukit Merah): A good bottle, but it was straddling the no-mans-land between between the reticence of an adolescent Burg and the developed openness of adulthood. Indeed, it was all bit tight at first, with secondary scents of of soy, earth and umami on the nose being accompanied by some black tea and a little spice and wood but little in the way of fruit on the nose. All very savoury. With time though, some dried dark cherries, plums, prunes and lifted flower notes, almost chamomile-like, started emerging. Most of us guessed a top Volnay 1er Cru. The palate had lots of live acidity, almost tingly, making me think it might be a 1996, along with fresh dark cherries, tangerine orange and kumquat notes, along with a meaty undertone, a little woodiness and some earthy mineral, all coated with a layer of fine tannins. It had a nice longish finish full of fresh dark fruit and hanging spice notes. Again, it took a little time to coax out some riper blueberry flavours. I liked the depth on the wine, and I thought it had quite powerful concentration. Nice, but just a bit on the tough, woody side at the moment - this certainly is not as giving as some of the 2001s I have had recently. The secondary flavours are just about emerging too, and I think another 3-5 years would really do this bottle a world of good.
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There seems to be a lot of variation with this wine. This bottle was not as great as my first, but not flawed as the second... notes of fruit compote, figs, black cherries, along with savory, meaty notes. Medium weight, quite a good finish and nice balance. Slightly high alcohol (or so it feels). Half the bottle was left vacuuvined for the next day, and was perhaps slightly improved...
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I'm sorry but Rovani had this wine completely wrong. With it's bright cherry nose, this is still young and vigorous and would benefit from another 3-4 years of aging. Fantastic balance, great core of fruit and a long finish. A great wine.
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11/29/2020 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 93 Points
We drank this over two days, putting the bottle in the fridge with about half left overnight, re-corked only.
The wine has developed nicely and some sweet black cherries that I did not notice in younger Lafarge Volnays have come out to add to the fresh red fruited core. The acidity is there, but there is also some early secondary flavors with autumnal forest floor.
A drop of balsamico tells me that it may have reached its highest peak but the structure is very intact and the fruit is there, so I think this is likely to have at least a fiver year plateau from now on.
We paired this with a piece of slow roasted pork neck and a pasta with a sauce made from grilled Savoy cabbage, some Speck, a little finely diced carrots, some white wine, cream, parmignano and freshly shaved white Alba truffle from Hungary. Beautiful matching.
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4/30/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Volnay 1er Cru Virtual tasting (Planet Earth): In 07/01/95 vertical. Red and black cherry with meat and spice hints. Still on the firm side, with a good combination of robust fruit and evolved flavors. Similar to the 1995, but a little brighter. Probably further upside.
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2/28/2018 - Nanda wrote: 90 Points
Pre La Paulée Dinner (The Morris, SF): Nowhere near ready yet. Medium nose of red cherry with some florals and spice, but not all that intense. The palate is still brooding - with some coaxing and focus you can see and feel the depth, but it's not giving all it can yet. Hold for 5+ years. A glass on day two was fairly consistent, but it did add a subtle meaty note which was interesting.
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5/23/2016 - Nicholas81 wrote:
Over the Hill. Wine was tart and acidic with bitter cherries and slight sourness. The fruit hinted at what it could have been a few years ago. Hope others have better luck with their bottles.
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3/21/2014 - AtoZ wrote: 92 Points
More masculine and closed. Needed a decant I think. Fruit came out at the end.
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4/10/2013 - AtoZ wrote: 92 Points
Lovely. Soft. Very ready. Wine of the flight. 1st of three wines in fourth flight.
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5/16/2012 - BradKNYC wrote:
Tom Reddick visits NYC. (Peking Duck House- Midtown): Would you believe another controversial wine? This was a bruiser, filled with piss and vinegar from the start. It's a masculine wine with burly, unyielding structure. Austere, with some meat notes, but with not a lot of fruit showing, most in the group believe it's just young and is a correct profile for the domaine, but with air I got a sense of a beef broth note that, when combined with how austere and devoid of fruit the wine was, lead me to believe that the wine may have seen elevated temperatures at some point and was not as it should be, so my judgment is reserved. NR.
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12/30/2011 - microbox wrote: 89 Points
decanted 60min (further improvement over the next 180min). eye: translucent garnet, 3mm fading, some bricking on the rim, fine sediment. nose: sous bois, cooked red fruit, wet stone, hint of lactic acid, altogether mature and seductive. palate: perfect balance and weight, medium body, good acid backbone, silky tannins cover the mouth, making this still a bit tight, sufficient for 5+ more cellar years, 16 Caudalie, stable. anticipated peak ~2013. very Volnay.
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11/7/2011 - wrrntl wrote: 88 Points
Starting to some nice mature notes on the nose, very much Volnay particular the spice notes. Kicking superfine sediment that coats the bottle. Acidity is pushing structure through though some fruit is still retained. This wine seems to be settling into a very nice place. Definitely in the top tier that Lafarge deserves.
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10/24/2011 - Biglama wrote: 92 Points
doorzichtig rood met een kleine bruine rand, neus is nog fruitig, aardbei mooie klein rood fruit, theeachtig, vurig, intens, smaak is fris met goede zuren, mineraal en geconcentreerd, mooie ontwikkelde wijn die nog volop in het leven staat, prima
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10/8/2011 - tooch wrote:
Tasted blind. I was a bit thrown off by this one due to its relative weight and sweetness...which struck me for an older Sonoma Coast pinot. This had a pretty floral tone to it with sweet red fruit. Palate is feminine with silky tannins and a floral lift on the finish. Seems to be in a good spot.
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4/2/2011 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
had this at Restaurant August in NOLA. Long discussion w sommelier about whether it was
drinking well and also that this was "very Burgundian" and "not for people who like New World Pinot".
She noted that it had recently really needed a significant decant to show its best. Decanted as
suggested; lovely deep red with slight browning. Intense Burgundian nose with a hint of iron that
I have found in NSG more than Volnay but very clean. On the palate quite intense with a little tightness
which dissipated with time in the class, showing more roundness and integration of the flavors; excellent
finish. Probably needs a few more years to reach its peak. This was a good bottle for sure.
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11/5/2010 - Alex H wrote: 87 Points
Tonight's gonna be a good night (Ah Orh): Lifted flowers slightly soy saucy with zesty citric peel. With time, this revealed more earthiness but shut down again to a tight nutshell of prunish tannins and hard earth. Think this cam keep for another few years
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11/3/2010 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
Dinner at Ah Orh, aka - A Wonderful Night of Serious Wines (Ah Orh Seafood, Bukit Merah): A good bottle, but it was straddling the no-mans-land between between the reticence of an adolescent Burg and the developed openness of adulthood. Indeed, it was all bit tight at first, with secondary scents of of soy, earth and umami on the nose being accompanied by some black tea and a little spice and wood but little in the way of fruit on the nose. All very savoury. With time though, some dried dark cherries, plums, prunes and lifted flower notes, almost chamomile-like, started emerging. Most of us guessed a top Volnay 1er Cru. The palate had lots of live acidity, almost tingly, making me think it might be a 1996, along with fresh dark cherries, tangerine orange and kumquat notes, along with a meaty undertone, a little woodiness and some earthy mineral, all coated with a layer of fine tannins. It had a nice longish finish full of fresh dark fruit and hanging spice notes. Again, it took a little time to coax out some riper blueberry flavours. I liked the depth on the wine, and I thought it had quite powerful concentration. Nice, but just a bit on the tough, woody side at the moment - this certainly is not as giving as some of the 2001s I have had recently. The secondary flavours are just about emerging too, and I think another 3-5 years would really do this bottle a world of good.
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6/26/2010 - Rani wrote: 89 Points
There seems to be a lot of variation with this wine. This bottle was not as great as my first, but not flawed as the second... notes of fruit compote, figs, black cherries, along with savory, meaty notes. Medium weight, quite a good finish and nice balance. Slightly high alcohol (or so it feels). Half the bottle was left vacuuvined for the next day, and was perhaps slightly improved...
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7/19/2009 - Rani wrote: 88 Points
Unfortunately this bottle was very slightly corked. It was still drinkable and even pleasant, but the fruit was subdued.
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6/25/2009 - Rani wrote: 92 Points
I'm sorry but Rovani had this wine completely wrong. With it's bright cherry nose, this is still young and vigorous and would benefit from another 3-4 years of aging. Fantastic balance, great core of fruit and a long finish. A great wine.
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1/10/2009 - jimbomatic wrote: 83 Points
Limpid. Shows the weakness of '01 in Volnay. Not up to Lafrage standards.
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