PRESSOIR.WINE DIRECT ACCESS: DOMAINE CLOS DE LA CHAPELLE IN VOLNAY

2/14/2023

Raj Vaidya

The first trip I took to Burgundy with Daniel was, to say the least, a memorable one. We visited the great domaines I’d been following throughout my career; Rousseau, Roumier, Roulot, DRC, and indulged in tasting some of the greatest bottles we could find. It was around the middle of the trip where we found ourselves dining with a friend in the courtyard of the Hotel de Beaune and drinking a fancy bottle of Jayer Cros Parentoux 1990, a very generous gift from said friend. Given that we had such a fancy bottle on the table, it was no surprise that other diners at the restaurant stopped over to say hi (perhaps hoping against reason that our host would share a taste with them?) and amongst the visitors was an American gentleman who introduced himself as Mark O’Connell. Mark knew Daniel and our host well and after a little chit chat to catch up told us he had just signed a deal purchasing a Volnay domaine which he was renaming after the most famed climat amongst the holdings, Clos de la Chapelle. This was back in 2010 and so began Mark’s deep dive into Burgundian culture, along with his business partner and winemaker, Pierre Meurgey.

The wines have soared in quality, and many more appellations have since been acquired since 2010. Today marks the occasion of our fourth offering of the domaine’s wines via our Direct Access program, and I couldn’t be happier to present the stellar 2020 vintage to our club!

Dear friends,

We are pleased to share this exclusive offer of the great 2020 vintage from a superb estate in Volnay,  Domaine Clos de la Chapelle.

The domaine is named after its signature monopole vineyard which can trace its history back to 1789 when it was purchased by the négociant Patriarche et Fils. The Boillot family acquired it in the mid 19th century and were the first to ever use the name Clos de la Chapelle. In 2010, Mark O’Connell was approached by his friend Pierre Meurgey who asked him if he had ever considered the life of a vigneron. Mark has had a great love for Burgundy for decades, and had been buying barrels from the Hospice de Beaune auctions since 2005, and so had dipped his toe into the métier, but had never considered it possible to become an owner of a vineyard. With Pierre’s help and partnership, he found that opportunity and bought the domaine in 2010, with 2011 being their first commercial vintage. Since then Pierre and Mark have grown the domaine to 11 appellations and a total of 4 hectares.

Orders must be placed and paid by Monday, February 20. Check or ACH preferred. Credit card payments will add a 3% surcharge.

Thanks, and as always, feel free to reach out directly with any questions.

Raj Vaidya
raj@lapaulee.com

What's Pressoir Drinking - Domaine de la Pousse d'Or Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrées 1996

Edouard Bourgeois
Octobr 21, 2022

Volnay, the Côte d’Or village whose charm reminds of the wines that bear the same name, is beautifully nestled in the Côte de Beaune between its northern neighbors of Pommard to the north and Meursault to the south. The few houses, home to barely 250 inhabitants, surround the typical gothic church, proudly standing as it chimes the hours going by.

Volnay suggests finesse, the silky mouthfeel and the irresistible bouquet of delicate wild strawberries, rose and griotte cherries. I was thrilled with an exquisite bottle of Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrées 1996 tasted last week in Beaune. This wine was the last vintage made by legendary winemaker Gerard Potel. The agronomist vigneron settled with his wife Francoise in Volnay in 1964, the same year he started working at Domaine de la Pousse d’Or. M. Potel had been making wine there until his death in 1997, and his legacy is immense, being among the handful of winemakers who seem to have gold in their hands. Even in a challenging vintage, M. Potel could make a magnificent wine thanks to his magic touch and rigor. 1996, the vintage I was lucky to taste that night, is often known for its high acidity in red Burgundies, but not here. Note that this bottle was tasted after a long day and many other fantastic bottles. That Volnay provided an intense pleasure and perfect drinkability, immediately bringing smiles of delight around the room.

Domaine de la Pousse d’Or, officially founded in 1954 by the families of Chavigné and Lavoreille traces wine growing back to the 4th century and later with the ducs de Bourgogne in 1100. Today, the domaine is in the hands of Patrick Landanger and his son Benoit. Seventeen hectares are organically farmed in the some of the most prestigious vineyards of Burgundy. Among them, no less than seven Grands Crus and eleven Premiers Crus are spread around the communes of Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Aloxe-Corton, Pommard, Puligny-Montrachet, Santenay and Volnay, of course. One cannot miss the large bourgeois house when driving by on the route des Grands Crus.

The domaine proudly owns three monopoles, among them the Clos des 60 Ouvrées I tasted, a vineyard that is part of the 1er Cru climat “Caillerets” in Volnay. The name of Clos des  60 Ouvrées is a reference to its size. If the hectare is the most common measure system for the surface of land, the ouvrée, once used in viticulture, represents the estimated size of land a vineyard worker would cover in one day. Clos des 60 Ouvrées represents 2,39 hectares, almost 6 acres. Although there is no official size to calculate one ouvrée, it is considered that there are 24 ouvrées in one hectare.

The imposing house of La Pousse d’Or as seen from the road

Recap Dinner Volnay - Pommard

by Edouard Bourgeois
June 8, 2022

So, is Volnay indeed a lighter version of its neighbor Pommard, known for its rustic edges and powerful structure?

Tuesday’s dinner at Winner may have provided some answer to that question. Ultimately, defining each village’s wine style in broad strokes seems pointless. It is no secret that each commune offers a wide diversity of styles depending on their specific climat, winemaking apart.

A special kudos to Chef Daniel Eddy who once again prepared an impeccable menu, featuring his signature roasted chicken and one of the best bread in New York.

Below are my tasting notes:

1st course

Domaine Clos de la Chapelle Volnay 1er Cru En Carelle 2018

Created 150 years ago, the domaine has been recently purchased by American Burgundy lover Mark O’Connell. “En Carelle” is in fact in the climat “Carelle sous la Chapelle” which, as the name indicates is located right below the 16th century chapel. Carelle was already designated “Tete de Cuvée”, the highest classification by Dr. Jules Lavalle in 1855. In a recent exchange with Mark, he explained to me that he preferred to change the label to “En Carelle” instead of Carelle sous la Chapelle” to avoid confusion with their flagship cuvee “Clos de la Chapelle”.

The wine provided an excellent start for the dinner, with fresh aromas of small, concentrated black fruits, certainly a signature of the heatwave from the 2018 summer.

Domaine de la Pousse d’Or Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or 2018

Great showing here. The illustrious domaine that was once part of Domaine de la Romanée Conti and Clos de Tart became an icon when in the hands of winemaker Gerard Potel. It was eventually acquired by the Landanger family in 1996 who converted the winery into a state-of-the-art facility with modern, gravity fed equipment. I found the wines from this new era to become a bit too polished for my taste, with sometimes a lack of “rusticity”. But this bottle made me (and all the guests I spoke to at dinner) very happy. A bit shy at the opening, it developed great depth and an intricate multi layered profile. A beauty.

Domaine Clos de la Chapelle Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots 2018

Back to the first producer featured here, and entering Pommard with the famous “Grands Epenots” climat, located on the northern portion of the Pommard vineyards, closer to Beaune. If there is no Grand Cru in Pommard (and in Volnay in fact) “Grands Epenots” has been in serious consideration to be elevated to that rank. The wine felt much more youthful than the first two - promise for graceful and long aging. Aeration helped but more time will be needed to tame its strong personality and let the fruit express itself more. The alcohol can be felt here.

Domaine de la Vougeraie Pommard Les Petits Noizons 2018

Created in 1999, the empire of Domaine de la Vougeraie, owned by the Boisset family, covers top vineyards. This village level “Petit Noizon”, located rather high on the slope, enjoys a southern exposure and overlooks the Premiers Crus of Pommard’s northern section. It seems that the village level ranking of this wine was felt, providing a bit less length and density than the other wines thus far. A bit thin in my opinion but a sound bottle.

2nd course

Domaine Rougeot Père et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots 2017

This organic producer is an advocate of whole cluster winemaking. The bottle showed a touch of volatile acidity that seemed to linger, even after aeration. Outside of that distraction, this Volnay was elegant and pure, with high notes of fresh fruit. Quite surprising for a “Santenots”, a unique climat effectively located in Meursault, but allowed to register as Volnay when planted with Pinot Noir. Typically the Volnay Santenots is a much denser wine, quite the opposite of what one might expect of the delicate reputation of Volnay wines,

Domaine Yvon Clerget Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens 2017

For these Pressoir dinners, I usually start by opening most if not all the wines right before starting the dinner (depending on the age of the wines presented). For this Volnay-Pommard event, I opened all the bottles at around 6pm. First, I just smell each one without tasting them, which I do later in the evening. When I put my nose on this “Rugiens”, it was the most expressive wine. The palate later confirmed the strong personality of this excellent climat. To those who think of Pommard for its flesh and grandiose stature, this is the perfect example. The iron rich clay soils of “Rugiens”, perched over 300 meters on the hill, give this bloody aromatic characteristic to the wine. One of the wines of the night for sure.

3rd course

Domaine Nicolas Rossignol Volnay 1er Cru Chevret 2011

This wine reminded me once again that “Nico” Rossignol does very well in cool vintages. 2011 was far from easy. The rot pressure in the vineyard forced producers to meticulously sort the harvest. If the signature green notes of the vintage could be felt at first, they quickly vanish to let the fruit shine and deliver a very pretty wine. Located right under the magnificent “Cailleret” climat, “Chevret” is usually a delicate wine.

Domaine Pierre Morey Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots 2011

Pierre Morey, and now his daughter Anne, are certainly known for their superior white wines, but this Pommard was excellent. Biodynamic and fully destemmed, this wine also dodged the unappealing vegetal notes one expects from the vintage. A bit more earthiness in this “Grands Epenots” compared to the one from Domaine Clos de La Chapelle tasted earlier.

Benjamin Leroux Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Cave des Ducs 2010

Ben Leroux’s ability to make really fine wines, even from modest appellations and in both colors makes him quite a prodigy. The young man runs a 28-hectare operation, 8 of which are vineyards he owns, the rest being purchased from trusted growers.  The Clos de la Cave des Ducs is located just outside of the village of Volnay and often seem overlooked. A bit shy at first, the wine quickly gained some weight and confidence. Excellent mouthfeel, full and rounded with juicy, sweet cherry.

Nicolas Rossignol Pommard 1er Cru Les Fremiers 2010

Nico Rossignol likes to show that Pommard can be elegant and not necessarily this powerhouse tasters may expect. Note: the climat “Fremiers” has the particularity of being in both Pommard and Volnay. In the latter, it is spelled “Fremiets”. This was a great showing with plenty of violet aromas and earthiness.

4th course

Bouchard Pere Fils Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets Ancienne Cuvee Carnot 1999

I always like to finish these dinners on a high note and this wine really put a smile on everyone’s face. “Cailleret” is a magnificent site and among the best Premiers Crus of Volnay, perfectly located mid-slope, with many small rocks that add a lift of minerality to the wine. Once owned by the Carnot family, this plot, right below the “Clos des 60 Ouvrées”, was the first acquisition of Domaine Bouchard in 1775. The beautiful secondary notes here were truly delectable. Unlike some of the younger wines of the previous flights, this Volnay was in full bloom, exploding with violet, truffle and juicy small red berries. Great bottle.

Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles 1999

The heavyweight champion of the night. 1999 is a superb vintage all along the Cote d’Or but it performed particularly well in the Cote de Beaune, where a bit less rain fell. Sometimes compared to 2017 because of the generous quantity produced, 1999 is marked by a little more concentration which today is rewarding those who waited to open their bottles. Once again here, just like with the “Rugiens”, this “Pezerolles” had an iron rich aromatic profile and the power of the wine stretched its wings in a lingering finish.

Recap: Dinner featuring the wines of Domaine Michel Lafarge @ Anton's

by Edouard Bourgeois
Friday, April 15, 2022

Everyone gathered last night at the charming neighborhood restaurant Anton’s in Greenwich Village to indulge in creamy Cacio e Pepe and perfectly roasted heritage chicken, but the star of the show at the table was certainly in the glass of our happy guests.

Twelve wines from Domaine Michel Lafarge were poured, all Volnay except for one Beaune from the Clos des Aigrots, drinking excellently by the way from the 2017 harvest.

In addition to this Beaune, the first flight included a very interesting comparison of two renowned Volnay Climats, Clos des Chenes 2017 and Clos du Chateau des Ducs 2018. Although only one year apart, the two wines were quite different and expressed the expected bright fruit from 2017 while the richer vintage of 2018, combined with the warmer site and rich soil of Clos du Chateau des Ducs, showed more weight and an almost authoritative personality.

If on paper the second flight may not have seemed to be the most exciting, all twelve guests and I ended up being very pleasantly surprised with the so-called “vegetal” 2011 vintage. Both the Volnay Vendanges Selectionnées, a wine sourced from different parcels including Les Mitans, and the Caillerets 2011 displayed great class and elegance. The greenish, stemmy character of the vintage seemed to be more present in the Cailleret but the finish was quite beautiful. I noted a touch of volatile acidity in the Volnay Vendanges Selectionnées, a trait that I find neither rare or disturbing in the Lafarge wines. And finally, 2012 Cailleret. In 2020, a portion of it got replanted in an intriguing spiral shape after an idea from Frederic Lafarge. Today, his daughter Clothilde, who represents the 9th generation at the estate, runs the operations and particularly enjoys ploughing this unique site with her beloved horse named “Quille”. Cailleret 2012 was a bit shy on the nose and the palate a bit tight. Some more time is needed for this vintage that I have always found quite heterogeneous among producers and therefore difficult to qualify overall.

The third flight really brought a smile upon everyone’s faces. This highly anticipated 2002 horizontal of Cailleret, Clos du Chateau des Ducs and Clos des Chenes, was admirable. Once again, I found the Clos du Chateau des Ducs to be a touch raisiny and stewy. A characteristic that did soften up a bit with oxygen though. I also understand that the chicken proved to be the ideal companion for that flight. Although a touch of volatile acidity was felt, I really enjoyed the damp, earthy notes of the Caillerets which paired well with the morels. My favorite performer was certainly the Clos des Chenes where I found the balance to be nearly perfect. Just enough flesh and volume while the crunchy cherry-like fruit made you beg for more.

I am pretty sure everyone could hear the imaginary drum roll that preceded the last flight: a 1990 duo of Clos des Chenes and Clos du Chateau des Ducs followed by the grand finale: a pristine bottle of 1980 Clos des Chenes, hands down the wine of the night. The same cooked fruit, jammy prune profile showed in the Clos du Chateau des Ducs. But once again, it was not so much “in the way”of the wine. Once again, I really thought the Clos des Chenes won the medal. Reading my notes from last night, this is what words came rushing down my pen: Incredible, pure, very long, majestic. Yep, I really liked that wine!

Nothing makes me happier than finishing a wine dinner with the wine of the night. If this is certainly a goal, it is also quite ambitious since typically the older wine is supposed to be the most memorable, it can also easily be faded or too old. This was certainly not the case last night. Another large vintage of very variable quality as magazine “Decanter” qualifies it, 1980 is easily overlooked. I was lucky enough to taste several amazing red burgundies from that vintage that also happened to be Raj’s birthyear, hence my multiple, lucky opportunities to taste it.

Legend Dominique Lafon Officially Retires

After nearly 40 years at the helm of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Dominique Lafon has hung the pipette and has officially retired from his function as winemaker of the legendary domaine. His daughter Léa and his nephew Pierre are the new generation in charge of the iconic estate. Dominique launched a separate négociant business in 2008 under the label “Dominique Lafon” and he will focus on that project from now on. The Lafon family established itself in Meursault as far back as the late 19th century. Back then, it was Jules Lafon, Dominique’s great grandfather, who was wise enough to buy some of the best plots in the appellation, including a spot in the supreme Montrachet Grand Cru.

Dominique certainly inherited a prime domaine but his personality, talent and hard work proved that he was the right person to take over in the early 1980’s. Always questioning himself, he continually experimented and faced challenges such as the tricky premature oxidation white Burgundy started to struggle with thirty years ago. His honesty and open mind pushed him to consistently try to tweak details here and there. For example, Dominique decided to switch to biodynamic practices entirely. He also switched to using exclusively Diam corks for the whole production with the 2013 vintage. A visionary, he was also among the first ones to look outside of his hometown of Meursault, starting with the southern tip of Burgundy where, in 1999, he bought great parcels in the Maconnais where his wine label “Héritiers du Comte Lafon” still produces delicious and zippy whites. Dominique also consulted for wineries around the world, in Oregon for example, at Evening Land and more recently with MS Larry Stone of Lingua Franca.

Our team decided to honor the man with a wine dinner last week and to change things up a bit, we thought of pairing his Meursault and Volnay with the superb food of Korean joint Atoboy. The lineup was very successful and flawless.

The three first courses were built on three verticals of 2012, 2009 and 2007. First with Charmes, then Genevrières and finally the unmistakable Perrières.

Overall, I was particularly impressed with the 09’s. Such a warm year typically meant Chardonnays that lacked acidity and freshness. Not at Lafon. all three Meursault were really clean and airy without great texture. 2012 is a strange vintage for white Burgundy and impossible to judge as a general style for the region. Although, if there is one common thing to say for all producers is that they struggle with challenging weather conditions, reducing their yields dramatically. Once again here, Lafon struck gold with wines that are singing and pure. The Genevrières really displayed the floral tones it is famous for.

Finally, 2007 kept its promise of a great vintage. I adored the mouth watering quality of the wine where the acidity makes you salivate but the sugar immediately coats your palate, leaving an irresistible fruity, candy feeling.

It was also a fascinating educational experience to distinguish the difference between Charmes, Genevrières and Perrières in such an ideal context.

Moving on to the reds, the focus was on the 2009 vintage, covering three Volnay climats: Champans, Clos des Chenes and Santenots du Milieu. Once again, each climat was true to its identity, with Champans exhibiting a lighter profile and delicious small red fruits, Clos des Chenes perfectly balanced and aromatic while Santenots, the “hybrid” climat that also covers the Meursault appellation, was tighter and more tannic.

News from the Vineyard

September 15, 2021
By Edouard Bourgeois

After seeing a recent post from the always informative and beautiful Instagram account of Domaine Lafarge, I wanted to share a few thoughts on the magic of fermentation. In the social post, Clothilde Lafarge shows pictures describing the making of “a pied de cuve”. The French expression translates to “foot of tank” and is basically the winemaking equivalent of a sourdough starter to make bread. The idea is to cultivate local yeasts also referred to as indigenous yeasts, naturally present in the environment of the winery and the vineyard. Without yeasts, the alcoholic fermentation cannot occur and wine cannot be made. It is then essential to pay attention to the quality of these yeasts and their origin. Terroir? Did you say terroir?

The process aims to build a population of viable (alive yeast) and vital (strong) elements in the wild yeast culture in a small volume of wine. This helps the winemaker to complete a clean fermentation (low volatility and reduction, without spoilage yeast or bacteria) that successfully consumes all of the sugars leaving a dry wine.

The process involves picking a small amount of grapes a few days to a week before all of the grapes are going to be picked. The grapes are crushed and allowed to start fermenting. This builds the population of the native yeasts that were present on the grapes. This culture is then added to the rest of the grapes when they are picked.

Using a Pied de Cuve helps start a fermentation quickly, and, through its production of carbon dioxide, to protect the wine or bunches from oxygen exposure and potential production of volatility.

The Pied de Cuve is often built up by adding more fresh juice/grapes to double the volume when the yeast needs more food. This may be undertaken several times. Doing this increases the population of yeast to ensure there are enough to complete the fermentation of the main wine.

Like all things wine, there are thousands of different options for preparing a Pied de Cuve. Using whole bunches, just berries, starting the Pied de Cuve in the winery or in the vineyard, or even adding wild flowers to introduce the native yeast present on those flowers into the Pied de Cuve.ing of Pied de Cuve

Must in fermentation. The CO2 is a byproduct of alcoholic fermentation and forms this foam

News from the Vineyard

by Edouard Bourgeois

September 29, 2020

Hand Destemming at Domaine Lafarge

Since 2016, a very unique and rarely seen device has reemerged at the famous Volnay domaine Lafarge. The “égrappoir a main” or hand destemmer (pictured below), used in the old days before mechanization took over, has been the tool of choice for some of the gorgeous Pinot Noir grapes of the domaine. Clothilde Lafarge, who came back to the domaine in 2018 and is now fully involved, explains how incredibly labor intensive the hand destemmer is. It takes no less than 35 hours per vat and up to seven people at once to do the job. But the juice is worth the squeeze.

The hand destemmer is made of woven wicker

The peaceful, serene atmosphere embraces the feeling of communion at the winery

No, this is not a close-up of a caviar tin, but the pristine berries of Pinot Noir after being delicately destemmed

News from the vineyard 6/18/20

June 18, 2020
by Max Goldberg Liu

Continued warm weather in Burgundy means that the vines are still progressing at a very fast clip. Here, Nicolas Rossignol shows us La Nouaison (Fruit Setting) of his Volnay Taillepieds where the berries are growing rapidly. In some of his parcels, the clusters are nearly fully formed. Winemakers all over France are marveling at the precocity of their vines this year, with some areas an entire month ahead of the average growing season.

News from the vineyard 5/28/20

Nicolas Rossignol shows us the progress of his Volnay Taillepieds - we see here the flowers transforming into the beginnings of grapes. Henri Jayer used to say that maturity would be reached 100 days after the start of flowering, so Nicolas estimates a pick date between August 28 and September 2 at this point - another early harvest!

Interview with Clothilde Lafarge

May 27, 2020
by Eléonore Lafarge

Can you give us an overview of your domaine? How long have you been working at the domaine?

Domaine Michel Lafarge has been established in Volnay since the beginning of the 19th century. Today, it’s my parents - Frédéric and Chantal (8th generation) - and I (9th generation) who take care of the vineyard and the winemaking. 

We farm 12 hectares of vineyards based in Volnay but spread between the prestigious villages of Meursault, Pommard and Beaune.

Since 2000, all the vineyards of the domaine are biodynamically farmed. The total production is divided into 3 tiers:

One third of regional appellation: Bourgogne Aligoté, Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Bourgogne Passetoutgrain

One third of village appellation: Meursault, Volnay and Côte de Beaune Village

One third of Premier Cru appellation:

• Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes

• Volnay Premier Cru Clos du Château des Ducs Monopole

• Volnay Premier Cru Les Caillerets

• Volnay Premier Cru Les Pitures

• Volnay Premier Cru Les Mitans

• Pommard Premier Cru Les Pézerolles

• Beaune Premier Cru Les Grèves

• Beaune Premier Cru Clos des Aigrots - Red and White

I started working alongside my parents in January 2018. After graduating from a Wine Marketing and Management MBA in Bordeaux, I pursued my studies in the wine world. I studied viticulture and oenology in Beaune while doing an apprenticeship at Domaine Trapet in Gevrey-Chambertin. Then, I wanted to expand my horizons, so I traveled to do a harvest at a biodynamic domain in New Zealand  called Seresin and another harvest at Lingua Franca in Oregon, to eventually come back to the family estate. All of that the same year! 2017 was a busy one for me with three harvests!

Did you make some changes in the vineyard and cellar work when you took over?

As we say in French, on ne change pas une équipe qui gagne - we don’t change a winning team!

I haven’t made big changes yet. I am still learning everyday with my father and my winemaker friends. 

My biggest personal contribution was to bring back the horse for ploughing. I chose to reintroduce this ancient practice as a baby step in the small 1er Cru parcel of Les Caillerets in Volnay. This vineyard has been farmed without any machinery for the last three years. 

I am passionate about horses and did horse riding for years, hence this decision. 

I took over a two century old estate and I think my role is not to change everything. I like the wines made by great grandfather (I had the chance to taste a few vintages), my grandfather and my father. I want to continue in the same traditions. 

Have you always wanted to be a winemaker?  Was taking over the family domain as a winemaker an obvious decision or did you have to think about it?

When I was younger, I never imagined I would take over the domaine. I grew up surrounded by vineyards and wine and I wanted to see something different. That’s why I left Burgundy for a few years only to come back! I studied in a business school. Since I was enjoying wine I made a MBA in wine. As soon as I started studying wine it became an obvious choice to come back to Burgundy and work with my family. 

What is your general winemaking philosophy?

There is no secret, a good wine starts in the vineyard!

By being careful in the vineyard, the grapes give us some love. We have our hearts set on letting the terroir express itself in our wine. For example, all of our Volnay Premier Crus taste different because of the different terroirs. They all have in common some traits of Volnay style such as the finesse and elegance. 

My grandfather started working as a winemaker in 1950. Even at that time, he refused to use any chemical in his vineyard. When my dad started working with him, he discovered biodynamic farming. Today, our 12 hectares of vineyards are farmed biodynamically. I was raised with the idea that we have to respect the land we farm. It is important for me to continue in this philosophy. 

During the vinifications, we are not really interventionist. Fermentation is done naturally with indigenous yeasts. We do a few punch downs and pump overs to get nice tannins. The elevage then lasts for 18 months in our 13th century cellar. 

What is your favorite wine? Do you have a favorite vineyard to work in? 

You can’t pick your favorite child but of course I really like Volnay Premier Cru Les Caillerets because of the work we are doing with the horse. The soil is now softer in the vineyard and these changes make me happy.

I also like Les Lombois, one of our parcels of Bourgogne Passetoutgrain that was planted with half of Pinot Noir and half of Gamay by my great grandfather 92 years ago and never pulled out since!

For the 2018 vintage, I created an unique cuvée “Anthologie” to celebrate the 90 birthday of my grandfather and the vineyard.   

Do you have a special memory of a wine you’ve tasted? 

The most memorable bottle of wine I’ve tasted was a Clos des Chênes 1928 from the domaine. This wine was made by my great grandfather, Henri Lafarge. The first time I tasted it was with my parents, my siblings and my grandfather Michel who was born in 1928!

It was an emotional moment considering the age of the wine, its ageing in our centuries old cellar and the explanations from my grandfather who was telling us about the vintage. It felt like tasting history. 

We shared this bottle at the Troisgros restaurant in Roanne. Pierre Troisgros, also born in 1928 was with us. 

Wine is meant to be shared. This experience was an amazing moment of sharing with family and friends. 

With this complicated situation, can you still work in the vineyards and the cellar?

This situation is disturbing but we are trying to adapt because nature doesn’t wait! We are able to work in the vineyard and in the cellar. But we are being very careful. We provide masks and hand sanitizer for the employees so they can stay safe. 

In April, we bottled the 2018 and we are now done with ébourgonnage in the vineyard to control the yields and help with upcoming pruning. The temperatures are very high in Burgundy this year, so the vineyard is three weeks earlier compared to last year. 

What is being done in the vineyards and the cellar right now?

Currently, we are doing the palissage to make sure the vines are growing straight and get nice sun exposure so the grapes can reach the perfect maturity before the harvest. 

We are working our soils as well. We ploughed our vineyards to get rid of weeds between the vines. 

Is it more complicated for a woman to be a winemaker?

There are more and more women in the world of wine and as winemakers today which is a great change. I actually think being a woman is an asset because we bring more precision in the wines. 

There is a nice solidarity between women in Burgundy nowadays. My friend, Camille Thiriet, created the “Mi filles, Mi raisins” tasting to promote lesser known wine appellations made by women. I am happy to be part of this group of women helping each other. 

Does climate change make it more difficult to work in the vineyards now compared to the generations before?

Climate change is bringing us new challenges and we’re trying to adapt. We have more hailstorms than before and later frost situation as well so we had to find solutions against these.

A few years ago, we would count 100 days after the flowering started to fix the harvest date. Since 2003 and its heatwave, this is no longer a rule of thumb at the domaine. Depending on the vintage, harvest can start 85 days or 120 days after flowering. The harvest date requires a lot of precision. Today, not all our vineyards reach maturity at the same time. We have to adapt by stopping the harvest for a few days. 

We must therefore help our vines cope with this climate change. We are very lucky with our grape varieties. Due to their popularity, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are planted around the world. That proves they can adapt to a lot of environments and weather conditions.