When I arrived for my visit, I was greeted in the office by Thierry Brouhin, who guided this estate since 1979, bringing it back from a seriously deteriorated reputation to one that is now worthy of the Clos des Lambrays's grand cru status. Thierry postponed his retirement to stay on under LVMH, the recent purchaser of the domaine, and then to work side-by-side with Boris Champy, his successor. It was good to see Thierry again and I wish him the very best in his retirement.
It was Boris who took me into the cellar to do the tasting. Boris and I are not strangers, as I had visited Dominus in Napa Valley when he was charged with making the wines there. From there, Boris returned to his native France, and had been in charge of the vineyards for Louis Latour before taking his position with Lambrays.
Here we start with the whites, which had been bottled just a few days before.
2016 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
This wine is mineral, ripe and smooth with some tropical overtones. It is good, typical Folatières. 92/A
2016 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos du Cailleret
Puligny-Montrachet generally escaped the frost of 27 April (there was a cloud over much of Puligny). Some producers did lose substantial crop in the Cailleret vineyard (and in the grands crus), but Lambrays was fortunate and did not. The nose is fresh and floral. The mouth is smooth and lighter and less rich than that of the Folatières. Instead of tropical fruit here, we get minerality and stony restraint — an aristocratic wine. 93(+)/A
Switching to the reds:
2016 Morey-Saint-Denis
This wine is from a vineyard just above the Clos des Lambrays. Currently, it is made from 0.85 ha, but the volume produced will be increasing as the domaine has purchased additional village land, leading to a total Morey village holding of 1.60 ha. Although Morey-Saint-Denis generally was not damaged by the frost (in fact, I’m told 2016 was the largest Morey harvest since 1999), there was some damage in the vineyard for this wine, and volume is down about 25% from a normal vintage. The grapes were entirely destemmed. The wine shows finesse, roundness, purity, and length to its well-defined red cherry and red currant fruit. There’s a suggestion of opulence, and acidity seems moderate, but the overall effect is one of elegance. Like the whites, this wine was bottled just a few days before my tasting of it. 91/A
2016 Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Loups
Les Loups is not a vineyard name, but rather a mark under which Lambrays sells its premier cru wine. The premier cru vineyards that Lambrays owns are Le Village, La Riotte, and beginning with 2015, Clos Sorbè. Additionally, Clos des Lambrays lots can be declassified into it. The wine shows finesse, elegance, and minerality with red fruits and a bit more dark fruit than in the village wine. This is a contemplative wine, rather inward-looking for the moment. (91-94)
2016 Clos des Lambrays
There’s more depth and body to this wine than for the premier cru. The fruit here (blueberry, red and dark cherry) is very forward, but this is nevertheless a calm wine. The wine is medium-weight and has a creamy texture. 85% whole clusters in this wine, about 50% new oak. (92-96)