Comtes Lafon Les Six Climats Original Wooden Case:

• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Boucheres
• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d'Or 2016
• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Perrieres 2016
• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Genevrieres 2016
• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 2016
• Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Porusots 2016

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Meursault Boucheres 1er Cru underwent an élevage identical to that of the Désirée, yet this is far superior due to the influence of terroir. Fresh and vibrant on the nose, it has tangible mineralité and vigor, while the palate is very well balanced with tangy orange peel and quince. Brimming with tension. The impressive, powerful finish lingers in the mouth. Very refined yet intense. 

Vinous (93+)

(bottled the day before my visit; aged in 40% new oak): Complex, vibrant aromas of peach, orange zest and lemon accented by white pepper. Rich, ripe, tactile and sweet, with the intense citrus and stone fruit flavors accented by peppery spices and complicated by vanilla and leesy nuances. A very good showing today, but this is still a baby.

Vinous (93-95)

The 2020 Meursault Les Genevrières 1er Cru has a vibrant, menthol-tinged bouquet that bursts from the glass, touches of quince and yellow plum coming through with time. The palate is very well balanced with orange zest and tangerine, very harmonious and poised with a hint of apricot towards the finish. Delicious, exuberant and punchy. Bottled under Diam 30. Closure: Diam 30

Vinous (91+)

(tasted just off the bottling line) Pale color. Discreet aromas of soft citrus fruits and powdered stone. Juicy and tightly wound, with a captivating floral perfume in the mouth. For a wine with a light touch, this finishes with impressive thrust, not to mention aromatic persistence. Lafon calls this his favorite Clos de la Barre in a long time, noting that he also likes the 2000 very much.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru, which was bottled earlier than the Champans, has an intense nose of black cherries, blueberry, seaweed and iodine. The palate continues that theme: saline on the entry, dense and grippy, and very nicely focused with a lively, lightly spiced finish. Real succulence here, and very good persistence; the elegance is only apparent after the wine is slipping down the throat. 

Vinous (92-94)

The 2019 Volnay Clos des Chênes 1er Cru comprises four barrels, of which one is new. It has a charming, well-defined and very pure bouquet of raspberry and wild strawberry fruit laced with crushed stone. The palate is silky-smooth right from the start, very cohesive and displaying a fine bead of acidity; it actually reminds me of Michel Lafarge in style. This will be utterly seductive.

Wine Advocate (97+)

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 9% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple 2017 Proprietary Red soars out of the glass with notions of baked blueberries, plum preserves and blackcurrant cordial, backed up by nuances of chocolate mint, wild sage, violets and pencil shavings, plus an earthy hint of Chinese five spice. The rich, seductive, full-bodied palate is jam-packed with spicy black fruit preserves, framed by wonderfully plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long and opulent.

Vinous (90)

Moderately saturated ruby-red. High-pitched aromas of blueberry, licorice, chocolate, leather and smoky, cedary oak; slightly liqueur-like. Then supple and sweet in the mouth but a bit youthfully disjointed and not quite as fine-grained as the '04 version, which Corison notes was less affected by heat spikes. Finishes with firm, dusty tannins and notes of chocolate and leather.

James Suckling (98)

If you want to know what St.-Estèphe smells like, this is it. Aromas of spices, black truffles, forest floor, dried strawberries and tar. It’s full-bodied yet pinpointed on the palate with fabulous density and richness. It’s opulent but in a reserved and checked way. This needs at least five or six years to come around, but it’s already fantastic. What harmony and structure. Try in 2022 if you can keep your hands off it!

Vinous (93)

The 1999 Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières 1er Cru boasts a bouquet that stops you in your tracks. It is blessed with stunning delineation despite just a subtle reduction – traces of white chocolate and white truffles underlying the electrifying flint-like aromas. The palate is crisp and fresh, the warmth of that growing season imparting weight and presence to this Puligny-Montrachet, long and persistent with a hint of ginger towards the finish, completing a truly awesome Folatières. 1,455 bottles produced. Tasted at Carré des Feuillants restaurant in Paris.

Wine Advocate (98)

Boasting classic Les Bessards notes of sun-warmed cassis and crushed stone, the 2018 Hermitage Les Bessards has turned out to be a magnificent wine—a close rival to the potentially perfect 2015. Full-bodied and velvety, concentrated and tannic, overflowing with notes of grilled plums, grilled meat and black olives, it's all topped off by a forever finish that remains fresh and cleansing, courtesy of lingering salted-licorice flavors and the texture of finely ground stone dust. Try a bottle after 2025, if you can wait that long.

Wine Advocate (92+)

The 2004 Dom Pérignon is from a classic vintage and a very generous year in terms of yields. White-golden in color, the clear, discreet and subtle nose gives way to dried white rather than yellow fruits, raisins and hazelnuts, as well as to floral and herbal aromas. Less generous and concentrated in the mouth than the 2005 and austerely dry at the moment, the 2004 shows its great finesse and characteristic minerality. There should be a better point of time to praise its class, so trust and keep it!

Vinous (98+)

The 2008 Dom Pérignon is fabulous, but quite remarkably, it was even more open when I tasted it a year ago. Bright, focused and crystalline in its precision, the 2008 is going to need a number of years before it is at its best. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper give the 2008 its chiseled, bright profile. Several recent bottles have all been magnificent. What I admire most about the 2008 is the way it shows all the focus, translucence and energy that is such a signature of the year, and yet it is also remarkably deep and vertical. In other words, the 2008 is a Champagne that plays in three dimensions.

Emanating from the prestigious vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny, the Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue, NV Assortment Case NV represents an unparalleled indulgence for wine enthusiasts. Handpicked at the zenith of their ripeness, grapes from the Grand Cru vineyards of Musigny and Bonnes-Mares unveil an elixir of matchless complexity and charm. This coveted assortment houses wines matured meticulously in oak barrels, anchoring the inherent fruitiness with undertones of spice and smoke.

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue, an iconic Burgundy house, has been crafting wine for over 500 years, propelled by respect for tradition and a drive for nurturing individual terroir expression. With vines averaging 40 years of age, the intoxicating marvels present in the NV Assortment Case NV constitute the embodiment of noble winemaking evolution.

Your journey with the Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue, NV Assortment Case NV promises to be a captivating sensory experience, marked by superb balance and unceasing finesse.

Wine Advocate (100)

As heavenly and profound as it gets, the still youthful-colored 1978 Hermitage la Chapelle exhibits an insane bouquet of sweet cassis, truffle, smoked meats and licorice. Full-bodied, multidimensional, decadent and massive on the palate, with a stacked mid-palate and still present, sweet tannin, it tastes like a mix of the more fruit-loaded '90 and the more evolved, smoky and soy-laced '61. You could easily run out of adjectives describing this beauty, but it's a perfect wine any way you look at it. I see no reason to hold off, and it's drinking perfectly for my palate today, but it certainly won't fall off a cliff anytime soon.

Vinous (90)

Expressive aromas of cassis, redcurrant, truffle, espresso and spicy oak. Dense, sweet and oaky, with lovely gentle texture and nicely buffered tannins. Stylish rather than powerful, and already displaying a lot of personality. This wine is usually overshadowed by those that follow in this cellar, but it's a lovely Echezeaux.

Jasper Morris Inside Burgundy (95)

From Les Poulaillères. I still do not feel that I have fully understood this vintage, but the wine was excellent. The colour demonstrated a depth rarely found in the other examples and there was an impressive weight of fruit on the nose without losing any sense of balance or of plate. This was the most mouth-filling example of Echezeaux in the tasting and clearly now happily entering its window if drinkability. It held up very well in the glass too. Barely short of a 5th star.

Wine Advocate (84)

The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti's 1994 La Tâche Grand Cru does not transcend the limitations of this challenging vintage, offering up a rather pedestrian bouquet of red-black fruit and licorice, becoming more and more dominated by its lavish application of high-quality new oak as it sits in the glass and never revealing any of the aromatic drama of which La Tâche is capable. On the palate, the wine is chunky and foursquare, with bright acids and a certain tannic asperity that suggests this is unlikely to change in any critical respect in the foreseeable future.

Wine Spectator (98)

Sensational, very serious. Clearly a vin de garde, this burly, cellar-worthy red lacks suppleness now, but has amazing depth and great midpalate concentration. Displays lovely rose petal, violet, tar aromas followed by plum, black cherry and cassis flavors. Loads of ripe tannins leads to a sweet-tasting finish that won't quit. The best Romanée-Conti in years. Best after 2010. -PM

Wine Spectator (98)

Incredible harmony to this pedigreed red Burgundy. Closed on the nose now, it unfolds layers of elegant yet superripe fruit, wrapping around the palate, coating every taste bud with the silky flavors. Full-bodied and not powerful, it's just lovely, with an aftertaste that seems to last for minutes. Best from 2006 through 2036. -PM

Wine Enthusiast (97)

Truly glorious and incredibly seductive in the nose, with a complex but also subtle swirl of fruit, herbs and spice. Bold, sleek and velvety on the palate, with a distinct core that is pleasingly redolent of fresh-picked grape stems, but surrounded by ripe raspberry and cherry flavors. It evens out with hints of leather, toast, crème brûlée, rose petals, citrus and toast on the long, lingering finish.

Vinous (96)

Our last Burgundy of the night was served blind. It was an explosive, ripe wine packed with an impressively dense core of fruit framed by new oak. It turned out to be the 2001 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, a wine that is perhaps 15 years away from being ready to drink. Needless to say it was an incredible privilege to catch this wine at this relatively early stage.

Vinous (100)

The 2005 La Tâche is simply magnificent. There is not too much I can add. Deep, powerful and richly textured, the 2005 simply has it all. Time in the glass releases the aromatics, but it is the wine’s pure sensuality I find most enticing. A host of dark red and blue stone fruits, hard candy and wild flowers take center stage. Even with all of its intensity, the 2005 retains striking freshness and purity. Can it get better than this?