2009 Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chenes

John Gilman's View from the Cellar, Nov/Dec 2010.
The 2009 Clos des Chênes is a simply stunning young wine. The magical and still fairly primary bouquet offers up notes of red and black cherries, red plums, cocoa, woodsmoke, a touch of gamebird, fresh thyme and a beautiful base of soil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and seamless, with a sappy core of pure fruit, suave tannins, bright acids and superb length and grip on the focused and utterly complete finish. A great vintage for the Lafarge Clos des Chênes.   94+ points.

Allen Meadows' Burghound, May 2011.
Here the nose is presently marked by noticeable reduction but it's not so strong that the sheer complexity of the aromas cannot be appreciated. Moreover, this impressive depth continues onto the rich, full-bodied and very serious big-bodied flavors that ooze dry extract on the concentrated, intense and vibrant finish that seems to go on and on. I very much like the balance and while this is certainly extremely rich and ripe, there is absolutely no sense of heaviness or undue weightiness. This should be magnificent in time.   93-95 points.