Guillaume Lafon Volnay 2024

Guillaume Lafon marks one of Burgundy's most closely watched handoffs, the moment a fifth generation of the Lafon family steps into its own label after training under Marquis d'Angerville, cutting his teeth at Lingua Franca in Oregon, and harvesting for years alongside his father Dominique. Dominique founded this project in 2008 as an independent venture outside Domaine des Comtes Lafon, vinifying and aging the wines since 2015 at Château de Bligny lès Beaune, a shared cellar modeled on the custom crush approach he encountered while consulting in California and Oregon; with the 2024 vintage the wines officially carry Guillaume's name for the first time, a continuation of Dominique's philosophy of precision and transparent terroir expression paired with Guillaume's own focus on sustainable, climate conscious farming that includes horse plowing and electric crawler tractors. This village level Volnay is sourced from Les Lurets, the section of the hillside that sits just below the premier cru Caillerets, and captures the appellation's signature elegance through full destemming, a gentle fifteen to twenty day maceration, and an unhurried elevage of twelve months in barrel followed by six in tank. The restrained extraction shows in the glass, with bright red cherry and floral aromatics leading into a silky, fine boned palate built for finesse rather than power, closing on a clean, lifted finish. 750ml | Volnay, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France