2008 Monthelie Les Duresses

The 2008 Monthelie Les Duresses is a beguiling, inviting wine laced with dark red fruit. This beautifully balanced, vibrant red carries through nicely to the finish. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2020. I arrived at Lafon just as the last of the 2009s were being bottled. Dominique Lafon describes the 2009 harvest as a generous one, which I am sure he was quite happy about given 2008. The approach at Lafon can be best described as gentle. The wines are mostly made from 100% destemmed fruit (the 2009 Monthelie is an exception, with 25% whole clusters). The fruit undergoes a cold soak of 4-5 days followed by a maceration of three weeks on the skins. After pressing the wines are left in steel for two weeks to encourage natural decantation, and are then racked into barrel with the fine lees. New oak is about 25% for the Monthelie, 33% for the Volnay and Clos des Chenes, and slightly more for the Champans and Santenots. Vintage 2008 was not an easy one for Dominique Lafon. In Volnay, the cold spring and ensuing irregular flowering lowered yields by a third, until hail in July took care of another third. Lafon said these were the lowest yields he had ever seen in his career. The remaining fruit, though, was quite pretty, as these sublime 2008s amply demonstrate. Lafon may be best known for his whites, but readers should pay just as much attention to these superb reds. Readers can find notes on Lafon’s 2009s, which I tasted from barrel, on www.erobertparker.com. Importers: Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300

(this was Lafon's only vineyard without hail in 2008): Good medium red. Spicy raspberry and a sweet hint of chocolate on the nose. Spicy and tight, with lovely acid cut and energy to the crunchy red fruit flavors. Finishes with firm but ripe tannins and good length. Lafon notes that a good portion of these vines were replanted in 1986, and that the wine has improved in the last five years. He's also doing less punching down of the cap to avoid getting rough tannins. A very good showing.

From Monthelie’s only east-facing Premier Cru which ripens late (‘good for global warming’) and has particularly interesting subsoils. Dominique Lafon has been so pleased with it since 2003 that he has increased his holdings in it. Bright cherry red. Light, fresh nose. Still almost petillant. Very pretty and charming though quite light and a bit tart. Slight bitterness on the finish. (JR)