Sometimes a little family tension can make a better wine. Since 2008, Dominique Lafon, of the storied Domaine des Comtes Lafon, has been making his own extraordinary white Burgundy on 4.5 hectares in Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Volnay, and Beaune As Lafon says, “I didn’t wish to vinify at Domaine des Comtes Lafon as I wanted to try to keep a distinct separation between the two. With my own label I can build on what I learn and I can afford to experiment. I am constantly learning. If I had to define the style of the DL wines, I would say that the wines have a bit more tension than the wines of Domaine des Comtes Lafon. The élevage on the wines is shorter and the plots are mostly located on the upper part of the hillsides, which gives the wines an interesting minerality and tension." Taste Lafon’s Meursault, one of the prime examples of his innovation, and you can see why this rich, full-bodied yet precisely balanced Chardonnay has inspired so many American winemakers as well as made him a legend amongst his Burgundian brethren.