Duresses was added to the town’s name in 1924, adopting the Burgundian custom of adding the town’s best vineyard to its name. On the opposite valley from Les Hautés, and facing southeast, the vineyard is basically an extension of Volnay and Monthélie. It is mainly a locale for red, but Domaine Lafouge has planted Chardonnay at its highest point where the soil is better suited for that grape and named the wine “Dit La Parapelle” to distinguish it from their red. The tension-filled 2024 is simply marvelous, displaying a stoney and precise character with a seemingly endless finesse. In contrast to Lafouge’s very fine Les Hautés, their Dit La Parapelle needs a few years in the cellar. There is some in mine already.
95 Michael Apstein – August 12, 2026