Domaine Lafouge Auxey‑Duresses Rouge 1er Cru La Chapelle 2022 | Burgundy

The Wine

Named after the historic chapel overlooking the vineyard, this high hillside premier cru sits on intensely limestone-rich soils that give the wine its striking tension and perfume. Bright red fruit, dried flowers and earthy savouriness layered over serious mineral structure. Hand harvested and fermented with native yeasts, with a small amount of whole bunch adding aromatic lift and spice. Raised in mostly seasoned oak barrels for a beautifully classic Côte de Beaune feel.

The Producer 

“the domaine has, yet again, produced some excellent wines. It is a common refrain that it’s impossible to find good value Burgundy but given the modest prices for which the Lafouge wines sell, it’s immediately clear that is simply not true”
-Allen Meadows, Burghound

We are absolutely thrilled to add the incredible wines of Gilles and Maxime Lafouge to the portfolio. This estate is the benchmark address in Auxey-Duresses, tucked just up behind Meursault in the Cote d-Or. It has long been considered very much an “insiders” domaine, but after a string of great vintages and lavish critical praise, the secret is finally out.

Most of the vineyards are in Auxey with holdings in 5 of the 11 premier cru’s. There is also some vines in nearby Meursault and Pommard. Everything is farmed organically, vineyards are old and picking is all by hand which is not the norm in Auxey. In the cellar, its native yeasts only followed by a 5 day cold soack, with destemmed grapes....although in recent vintages the addition of up to 20% stems has been used.They aim for a relatively quick fermentation of around 15 days followed by a long elevage and no racking until about 3 months before bottling. New oak is kept to a mnimum, with up to 25% used for some of the premier cru’s.

These are old school Burgundies in every sense of the word.The value is striking, but the quality is even more impressive. And perhaps the best part? Maxime was kind enough to hold some 2022's back for us to start our collaboration. What a gent.