2006 Volnay Clos des Chenes

The Lafon 2006 Volnay Clos des Chenes offers distinctly chalky an crushed stone notes even in the nose, and in the manner familiar from other wines of this vintage reflects the cool, rocky character of its site in an element of austerity. Cool, fresh and distilled red fruits wreathed in herbs and spiced with site-typical ginger offer delightful pungency and counterpoint of flavors that seem able to use the wine's mineral foundation as a sounding board, and finish with juicy, effortless refreshment. This elegant if slightly austere Clos des Chenes should, I suspect, best be enjoyed over the next 4-5 years. Dominique Lafon picked his 2006 Pinots only in the last days of September and then – like most of his colleagues – took pains to extract and to handle the young wines very gently so as to emphasize fruit. "I don't like to carry grey rot in the picking boxes," says Lafon, "so the first selection of botrytis was done by the pickers in the vineyard, and then we finished on the sorting table." He estimates that there was at most 10-15% tainted fruit, with some parcels largely rot-free. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet (various importers), fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70; A Daniel Johnnes Selection imported by Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, NY, tel. (516) 677 9300; Classic Wine Imports, Norwood, MA, tel. (781) 352 1100; Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040