| Region of production: | Côte de Beaune |
| Winery Location: | Meursault |
| Year Established: | 1894 |
Vineyard Holdings
16.3 ha
- Montrachet Grand Cru: 0.32 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1953 and 1972
- Meursault Charmes Premier Cru: 1.71 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1946, 1963 and 1996
- Meursault Perrières Premier Cru: 0.77 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1955 and 1983
- Meursault Gouttes d’Or Premier Cru: 0.39 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1991
- Meursault Genevrières Premier Cru: 0.55 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1946 and 1993
- Meursault Clos de la Barre: 2.12 ha Chardonnay, planted in 1950, 1975, 1999 and 2004
- Volnay Santenots du Milieu Premier Cru: 3.78 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1944, 1960s, 1978, 1996 and 2002
Top Wines Produced
- Montrachet Grand Cru
- Meursault Charmes Premier Cru
- Meursault Perrières Premier Cru
- Meursault Gouttes d’Or Premier Cru
- Meursault Genevrières Premier Cru
- Meursault Clos de la Barre: from the vines planted in 1999 and earlier
- Volnay Santenots du Milieu Premier Cru: from the vines planted in 1978 and earlier
Average Total Production
- 61,200 bottles
Summary
The origins of the Comtes Lafon estate lie in the marriage of Jules Lafon into a family of Meursault wine growers and négociants in 1894. Jules was a lawyer and eventually the mayor of Meursault, but he also took an active interest in the family wine business, selling off lesser vineyards to purchase land in some of Meursault’s top premier crus. He also re-established the old tradition of celebrating the end of harvest with a grand lunch, known as La Paulée.
Jules’s great-grandson, Dominique Lafon, now runs the estate. By 1993, Dominique had ended all of the métayage agreements that had kept the family vineyards in sharecropping arrangements, and he began converting to organic farming as well as experimenting with biodynamics. He completed full biodynamic conversion of the family vineyards in 1998.
The domaine possesses an enviable array of top premier cru vineyard sites in Meursault as well as a small holding in Montrachet. In 2011, Dominique teamed up with Jean-Marc Roulot and American investors to purchase Domaine Manuel, which added vineyards in Meursault Bouchères and Porusots to the Lafon domaine. Separately, Dominique produces wine in the Mâconnais under his Héritiers du Comte Lafon label (from land purchased in 1999), and in 2008 he also began producing wines from the Côte d’Or under his own name (not affiliated with the family properties).
Style & Vinification Techniques
Comte Lafon whites, in particular, are powerful and long-lived (though the reds should not be underestimated). The white grapes are sorted in the vineyard and in the winery, then whole-cluster pressed. After settling overnight, the juice is racked to barrels for fermentation and aging. Village wines see no new oak, premiers crus see 20-50% new, and the Montrachet goes into 100% new oak. Bâtonnage is practiced much less frequently than in the past, and decisions are made on a barrel-by-barrel basis. After malolactic fermentation, the wines are racked and blended, then moved to cooler cellars for the final year of aging—total aging time in wood is 18-22 months. The whites are fined if needed but bottled unfiltered.
The red grapes are completely de-stemmed prior to vinification in open-top vats with native yeasts. Pigeage takes place once or twice a day, and the wines spend 15-20 days on the skins. The red wines are aged in 20-35% new oak for 16-20 months and are bottled without fining or filtration.
Producer Website: Comtes Lafon