Domaine Michel Lafarge Meursault 2022

Domaine Michel Lafarge is one of the Côte de Beaune's great names — a domaine of 12 hectares based in Volnay, now run by Frédéric Lafarge and his wife Chantal following Michel's retirement, and certified organic and biodynamic in all its vineyards. The Meursault is something of a rarity in the range — the family produces very little of it, from a single old vine parcel planted in 1968 on clay-limestone soils at the village level. The fruit is whole-cluster pressed, cold settled, then fermented with ambient yeasts and aged for 12 to 16 months in barrel with bâtonnage until malolactic conversion begins, racked once and fined or filtered if necessary. The approach throughout is one of meticulous restraint — a domaine whose instinct is always to let the terroir speak rather than the winemaking.

 Lime, green apple and oyster shells on the nose — tight, fresh and lively, still youthful with upside in reserve. Lemon zest, melon, white peach, cream, honey, very light spice, flint and some salinity on the palate — not the richest or most opulent expression of Meursault, but one of the most honest: a wine of balance, precision and quiet authority that reflects Lafarge's house style of making wines built to evolve gracefully in the cellar rather than seduce immediately in the glass. A terroir wine, firmer than it appears, that will traverse time with ease.