CLOS DES LAMBRAYS
2014 Grand Cru Domaine des Lambrays
50% new wood, 100% whole bunch fermentation. Very complete nose, all in harmony, bright ruby with a blue-edge - it just looks as fresh as it tastes. Bursting with flavour from raspberry top-note to rippling tannic body and dark spicy undertones. Lots of energy and drive. 'On a quand même envie de le boire' says Thierry, with typical understatement. Drinking range: 2024 - L&S (Nov 2015)
75cl bottles (wood case of 6)
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The 2013 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, from magnum, I assume it is my first time tasting it as for some reason, I do not have a note for this in bottle. It has a fragrant bouquet that shows more fruit intensity than the 2013, scents of raspberry, crushed strawberry, undergrowth and bay leaf all complemented by the underlying stemminess instead of dominated by it. The palate is very well defined with fine tannin, certainly old fashioned when compared to the 2014 Clos de Tart, yet poised and fanning out gently on the understated but still quite compelling finish. A joy. Drinking range: 2020 - 2045 Rating: 93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2019)
Spicy, exuding sandalwood, nutmeg, vanilla, floral and wild cherry flavors. Silky in texture and firmly structured. Accents of bay leaf and green olive seep into the mix as this fans out on the long aftertaste. Drinking range: 2020 - 2035 Rating: 94 Bruce Sanderson, The Wine Spectator (Mar 2017)
(vinified entirely with whole clusters and aged in 50% new oak): Medium red. Highly complex, aromatic nose combines raspberry, underbrush, flowers and spices. Juicy, energetic and mineral-driven, if a bit youthfully imploded (and still affected by the bottling). Not a fat wine but with its flavors of red berries, mocha, earth and brown spices it's an essence of Morey-Saint-Denis. The acids and tannins are not at all aggressive, which should give this grand cru relatively early accessibility. Drinking range: 2023 - 2034 Rating: 92 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Mar 2017)
Medium red. Highly complex, aromatic nose combines raspberry, underbrush, flowers and spices. Juicy, energetic and mineral-driven, if a bit youthfully imploded (and still affected by the bottling). Not a fat wine but with its flavors of red berries, mocha, earth and brown spices it's an essence of Morey-Saint-Denis. The acids and tannins are not at all aggressive, which should give this grand cru relatively early accessibility. Drinking range: 2023 - 2034 Rating: 92 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Mar 2017)
Dessert Island / Win the lottery wines! Rating: 9/10 Susie Barrie MW (Jan 2016)
Some evidence of new oak and drive here. Edgy with some nuttiness. Lots of savour and tight build. One of the most youthful 2014s. Drinking range: 2020 - 2032 Rating: 17+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2016)
(produced from two large parcels of differing vine age - one that is approximately two-thirds of the blend and is now 50+ years of age and a second, smaller group of vines that is approximately 25+ years of age; made with 100% whole clusters). A notably spicy, fresh, cool and floral nose displays mostly red berry fruit scents that are trimmed in discreet wood notes. There is excellent cut and definition to the nicely rich and attractively textured flavors that culminate in a presently austere finale though I doubt that austerity will persist. This is a relatively fine and forward vintage for Clos des Lambrays and one that should be approachable after only 7 to 8 years of bottle age. Drinking range: - 2026 Rating: 91-94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2016)
Made with 100% whole bunches, as it usually is, this is the Islay malt whisky of red Burgundies. Savoury, smoky and sappy, it’s an unmistakeable style that divides opinion. The 50% new oak is very well integrated here, with complex, bramble and fresh tobacco notes. 2019-26 Drinking range: 2019 - 2026 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Jan 2016)
The 2014 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is matured in 50% new oak and is 100% whole bunch fruit. It is blessed with a winsome bouquet. As usual, there is something very natural, unimposing and refined on the nose: blackberry and briary, a hint of graphite, a subtle leafiness maybe, and yet delineated and very pure. The palate is lively and energetic with crisp tannin, black rather than red fruit, linear and very classic in style with what you might call a "cool" marine-influenced finish that has fine salinity. What a great Clos des Lambrays that will put a smile on the face of those that adore refined Burgundy. Drinking range: 2017 - 2040 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2015)
“I am very happy with the style we are now making with the Clos. It is both refined and expressive….” says Thierry. Quoted by Sarah Marsh MWWinemaker's notes (Nov 2015)
Rich and compact on the nose. Spices…ah wonderful somewhat exotic spices. The palate is rounded and juicy and supple - but so subtle. It is refined. Silky textured, it glides with some finesses. Not explosive wine; gentle and very long. From 2020 ! Rating: 19 Sarah Marsh MW, The Burgundy Briefing (Nov 2015)
Domaine des Lambrays
The 'Clos' consists of 8.66 hectares of land enclosed by a wall in which there is the original milestone marking its founding in 1365, confirmed in the records of the Abbaye de Citeaux (those monks knew where to place a vineyard). The Clos owes much of its current fame to the nineteenth and twentieth century proprietors who reconstituted it after the fragmentation of ownership which followed the French revolution. Despite always having been considered a Grand Cru site, the Clos was in fact classified Premier Cru in the original 1936 appellations contrôlées.
The Rodier family which owned it from the 1930s fought to regain its Grand cru status, with eventual success only in 1981, when it became the last of the thirty-three Grands Crus of Burgundy, although by then it had passed to the Saier family. Recently under the benign ownership of the Günther Freund and his family, who gave a very free hand to régisseur Thierry Brouin, who had been employed by their predecessor Rolland Pelletier de Chambure, the quality of the wines here has pushed up again. In 2014 it was bought by the LVMH group.
It has been all rather quick change here as Jacques Devauge has taken over here after a short interregnum under Boris Champy. The legacy of Thierry Brouin can still be felt, Jacques decribing him as having been 'clairvoyant' in his approach to the domaine, which has set it up well to deal with challenges of warmer vintages. Jacques seems set to take this estate onward - 'every domaine has to challenge itself to do better', he says. 2019 marks the second year being fully organic - if all goes well they will be certified after another two.