More about Guillaume Lafon

This is one of the most interesting new labels in the Côte de Beaune, and it comes with a famous surname attached. Guillaume Lafon is Dominique Lafon's son, and with the 2024 vintage he takes over the personal project his father started in 2008 as a freer, more experimental counterpoint to the family's Domaine des Comtes Lafon.

Guillaume took the long way in. He studied philosophy and science and worked in software before training in viticulture and oenology in Beaune, then did time at Marquis d'Angerville, at Lingua Franca in Oregon, and in the vines with his father. Since 2015 the wines have been made at Château de Bligny-lès-Beaune, a shared winery modeled on the American custom-crush model.

The vineyards, farmed on organic and biodynamic principles, include Meursault Narvaux, Volnay and Volnay 1er Cru Les Lurets, plus Bourgogne Blanc from parcels in Meursault and Puligny. Guillaume is preparing them for a warmer Burgundy, mixing horse plowing with trials of higher trellising and electric crawler tractors.

The house rule is that you shouldn't be able to taste the winemaking: whole-cluster pressed, native-yeast whites with little or no bâtonnage, and destemmed, lightly extracted reds. Expect tension and transparency rather than oak and weight.

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