Dom. Michel Lafarge
Clos du Chateau des Ducs Premier Cru
Volnay
2002

The producer

Michel Lafarge, a luminary in modern Burgundy winemaking, passed away in January 2020 at 91. The domaine, now led by his son Frédéric and granddaughter Clothilde, stands among the finest in Volnay. Embracing biodynamic practices, they use eco-friendly methods like chickens for vineyard pest control and a horse for ploughing 10 hectares of vines. Planted on premier sites in Volnay and Beaune, their winemaking is sensitive and traditional, with minimal new oak, allowing finesse to shine. Resulting in some of Burgundy's finest and longest-lived wines, the domaine continues Michel's legacy.

The wine

Domaine Michel Lafarge's 2002 Clos du Chateau des Ducs Premier Cru Volnay epitomizes the domaine's excellence. Crafted by Michel Lafarge and continued by Frédéric and Clothilde, this premier cru reflects Volnay's terroir richness. Biodynamic practices and a traditional approach yield a wine marrying finesse with longevity, showcasing the Lafarge legacy in a bottle.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.