Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Viré-Clessé 2023

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

APPELLATION: Viré Clessé

VARIETY: Chardonnay

SURFACE: 6 hectares

YEARS OF PLANTING: Vineyard planted between 1950 and 1990

TERROIR: The Viré-Clessé is produced from a selection of parcels situated at an average of 250 meters of altitude, with an average slope of 15%. The soil is a deep clay structure over a heavy limestone sub-soil. The majority of the plots are east exposed in the middle of the hill.

About Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon

In September 1999 the Lafon family of Meursault bought a Domaine in the wine region of Maconnais at Milly-Lamartine, renaming it Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon.

In May 2003 a further Domaine of 6 hectares in the villages of Uchizy and Chardonnay was bought. Together the Mâcon domaine amounted to 14 hectares producing seven wines in all, four of them from single-vineyard sites. The most recent addition, from 2009, is a contract to farm the vineyards of the Château de Viré, with the appellation Viré-Clessé.

The whole operation, based at Milly, is now looked after by Caroline Gon under the supervision of Dominique Lafon. The vineyards were immediately converted to organic and now to biodynamic farming. The wines are vinified partly in stainless steel, partly in large wooden foudres (ovals) and partly in demi-muids – barrels of 600 litres, depending on the cuvée.

In the Vineyard

The vines are worked according to organic (Ecocert certified) and biodynamic agricultural practice

In the Winery

HARVEST: Manual harvest.

VINIFICATION: The Viré Clessé is vinified in foudres (oval wooden vats containing between 35 to 48hL) and demi muids (500L oak barrels). After fermentation, the wine ages on its fine lees for nine or ten months before racking and preparation for bottling. Bottling occurs in August or September.

The 2023 Vintage at Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon

Dominique Lafon’s nephew Pierre briefly noted that the 2023 vintage “was, much like 2022, relatively abundant as our yields were in the 45 to 50 hl/ha range, which for us is quite good but in the context of the region, if we’re being honest, is well below average. By the same token, potential alcohols were excellent as they came in between 12.5 to 13.5% which is pretty much where we like them to be. Stylistically, the 2023s are certainly ripe yet they’re fresh and vibrant and while they’re not laser beams of terroir, they still do reflect reasonably good typicity. But the aspect that I like the most is that they’re well-balanced and wines that should drink well both young and with short to perhaps medium-term keeping.” I would add that that the quality of the Lafon wines in the context of their respective appellations is nothing short of remarkable. Granted, in most markets you’re paying a premium relative to other producers offering similar appellations, but in my opinion, it’s money well spent as nothing in the range is less than very good. The bulk of the 2023s were bottled between June and July 2024 while the two examples of Pouilly-Fuissé were bottled in October. Note that all of them were bottled using the Diam brand of composite stopper.

Where in the world are they?

The Mâconnaise – Is capable of producing some very good wines that sit comfortably alongside the whites of the Côte du Beaune. It has become a shining light for value with the ever increasing prices of Burgundy. We’ve seen producers like Comte Lafon from Meursault recognise the potential of the region, establishing the joint venture Domaine Héritiers du Comte Lafon.

It is home to the Village of Chardonnay, the geographic home of the grape!