Heritiers 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.

Jasper Morris MW is author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.