Domaine des Lambrays
2021 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru
France

“It is hard to overstate my enthusiasm for this wine, with its impressive ripeness, plump, plummy fruit with notes of black cherry and licorice. The texture is densely structured, firm but not hard, and long but not heavy. There is still the freshness and finesse to make this among the best wines of the vintage. This is the reunion of all the old-vine parcels in the Clos and a pretty convincing argument for director Jacques Devauges’ the assertion that Lambrays is the pinnacle of Morey-St-Denis.”

“I tasted each of the parcels here before Jacques made a cuvée of this Grand Cru originally delimited in 1365. There are a good four to five days of difference in ripeness depending on where the vines sit and their ages, and they are picked accordingly. The oldest vines date back to 1865. It is exciting to see Jacques’ finessed touch on this historic clos. The results are seductive with sweet bramble, blueberry and spice meshing with woodsy freshness. The palate is broad in feel yet focused by pure fruit, minerally undertones and sheer energy. The elegance is truly alluring, almost Chambolle-like in its aromatic gentleness and filigree complexity, yet resolutely Morey in its structure and power.”

“The 2021 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is tasted from separate cuvées and as a final blend. Containing around 80% whole bunches and 60% new oak, it has a beautifully-defined bouquet with dark berry fruit, bay leaf and a touch of white pepper that unfurls in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, raspberry and red plum, sage and white pepper, leading to a very harmonious finish with a hint of underlying citrus fruit. Heavenly.”

“I tasted four different cuvées, all of which had been vinified with 100% whole bunches, and then the final blend. La Plante Dessous seemed useful as a blending component but not quite Grand cru on its own. The other three were in a different league: Cerisier is not extra concentrated in colour but a fine red purple. The nose has much more elegance and nobility and shows the whole bunch more. There is unquestionably a cherry taste to the fruit, fresh white pepper, good acidity and fine length. Much more noble. Les 50 Ouvrées (Milieu) offers a little more depth to the vivid purple colour The nose shows more weight too with the fruit slight taking the lead over the vinification. A vast sweet red fruit mouthful here, cherries again but now with a denser raspberry note behind. Complex long aftertaste. Les 50 Ouvrées (Dessus) is bright crimson purple in colour. A vigorous solid nose, less evidence of the whole bunches (100%). Less flamboyant yet with great density. This could make the heart of the cuvée with the cherries from the others to add a top note. Very sensual, undoubtedly grand cru with a long rich red fruit finish elongated by the whole bunch vinification. Limestone tension, slower ripening here. And now for the blend. A lovely even ruby colour across the glass. The bouquet just starts to peep out slowly, 80% whole bunch as Plante Dessus and Milieu were destemmed in 2021. Just a little light pepper seasoning the deep red berry fruit which has a multiplicity of nuances. Overall, the wine has a magical sense of harmony but is the opposite of monolithic, showing waves of flavour and exquisite detail. If this continues to grow in the barrel, as Jacques suspects it will, it could well be a five star wine. Drink from 2028-2038.”

“A pretty, perfumed, and impressively deep wine, the 2021 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru wafts from the glass with aromas of dark plummy fruit mingled with rose petals, bergamot, cinnamon, and cloves. Full-bodied, ample, and satiny, with a fleshy core of fruit that’s framed by powdery tannins and lively acids, it concludes with good persistence.”

"The 2013 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, which former winemaker Thierry Brouin made, has a well-defined bouquet with dark berry fruit, brine, undergrowth, and kelp aromas. The palate is rustic but engaging. Raspberry pastilles, orange rind, and tertiary notes appear toward the slightly attenuated finish, not long, but you cannot deny that it is charming. I would drink this now and over the next decade. - By Neal Martin on November 2022"