Domaine Michel Lafarge, Côte de Beaune Villages (Burgundy, France) 2009

 Lafarge, a world-renowned producer of Volnay, makes other wines, albeit in small quantities.  They are so good they are worth the search, especially in the case of this Côte de Beaune Villages, which is reasonably priced, at least for Burgundy and Lafarge.  A silky texture allows the pure fruit flavors and subtle earthy notes to shine.  It floats across the palate.  Not a packed and ripe Pinot Noir-based wine you’d expect from the New World, but rather the perfect expression of the delicacy and persistence that is Burgundy. Tasted over three nights, it got better and better with more complexity emerging, which suggests to me that even this wine from a “lesser” appellation, as enjoyable as it is now, will reward a few years of cellaring.