Domaine Michel Lafarge is one of the historical domaines situated in Côte de Beaune, Burgundy. Frédéric Lafarge has managed his 10 hectares of vineyards biodynamically since 2000, but without certification. The domaine is well-known for its elegant and sophisticated wines.

The top wines of the domaine are: Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes, Volnay Premier Cru Clos du Château des Ducs, Volnay Premier Cru Les Caillerets. Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes 1964 scored 97, Volnay Premier Cru Clos du Château des Ducs 2019 scored 95-97, Volnay Premier Cru Les Caillerets 2019 scored 94-96 be the Wine Advocate.

Robert Parker comments on Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Chênes 1964: “Tasted at the Clos des Chênes vertical in London, the 1964 Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes is one of those wines that sticks in the memory. The nose is simply amazing: more exuberant and opulent than the stately 1966, endowed with quite sensual aromas of crushed strawberry, dried honey, rosewater and apricot. The palate is perfectly balanced with a core of corpulent red fruit that has been gently abraded by time and yet despite the precocity, there is an edginess to this Clos des Chênes. Yes, it does fade a little in the glass, but it fades from a very, very high peak. Tasted November 2015.”

Since 1978 Frédéric Lafarge has become in charge of winemaking at Domaine Michel Lafarge. He succeeded his father Michel Lafarge, who had managed the domaine since 1949.

The history of the domaine started in the early 19th century by the Gillotte family. In 1900 Clos du Château des Ducs was added to the domaine. The first wines were bottled at the domaine by Henri Lafarge in 1934.

A few generations later, Frederic Lafarge and his daughter Clothilde Lafarge began to manage the domaine, and nowadays they continue taking the domaine under their control.

Domaine Michel Lafarge started biodynamic farming attempts in 1997. These efforts were rather successful and since 2000 the vineyards have been farmed biodynamically.

Hens are used to grub up little bugs from the soil and to add natural fertilizers. Horse handling is also applied.

The white wines are being pressed whole-bunch. Maturation is conducted in barrels without new woods, except for Aligotés which are being matured in tanks.

The red wines come to the winery in small bins. Then they are being sorted and destemmed. Sometimes destemation is conducted with the usage of the osier claims. Bunches are pushed by hand through it and the grapes fall into the vats, while the stems are left behind. Fermentation lasts for 14 to 18 days. In the beginning, pumping over is done, and then punching down is conducted daily. In case the vats are not slowed to start naturally, there is no specific pre-fermentation. After the fermentation, the juice is taken off the skins, left for 48 hours, and sent to barrels. The wines are matured in barrels with no more than 20 percent of new wood.