Clos des Lambrays 2014 75cl

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. Thierry Brouin has one year remaining as winemaker at Domaine de Lambrays and then a contractual two years as a consultant. "I'll be 70 by then," he told me with a Gallic shrug of the shoulders. "It's time for new blood." What with Sylvain Pitiot's retirement from Clos des Tart, it appears that a chapter in Morey-Saint-Denis is closing and a new one will be opening. The question is: will the next chapter be as good a read as the last? I hope so.  So here we have the 2014 vintage. "It was not really problematic. Just a little oïdium," Thierry explained. "We picked on September 18 compared to September 3 in 2015. The yield was 32 hectoliters per hectare when we average 34 hectoliters per hectare. We made a hard selection on the sorting table. I don't like to make wine with overripe Pinot Noir. I like freshness and high acidity. After all of the sorting, the alcohol level is 12.5% and in bottle will be 13%. We will rack in two months and bottle next February or March."  We also discussed whole bunch usage with which Clos des Lambrays is synonymous, even though Thierry said that he destemmed part of the crop in 2015. He commented how whole bunch fruit allows the temperature to increase more regularly during alcoholic fermentation, enhances drainage and makes the press easier. The downside is that you lose some room on the vat and a bit of color. "Bunches must be completely alive and you must not split the stem," he warned. "And so the vats must be filled by gravity with not too long maceration." I tasted the two Puligny wines that are made exactly the same: identical picking dates, vinification, bottling...everything. Even so, they were very different to each other, the Folatières more fruit driven whilst the Clos des Caillerets with show-stopping mineralité and salinity -- a quite brilliant expression of the vineyard. Apropos the reds, it was a strong showing of the Clos des Lambrays with perhaps a little more succulence than recent vintages, but a masterclass in stem addition so that they are barely noticeable. It comes highly recommended for those who have a ken for “classic” Burguny, but also, look out for a very fine Morey-Saint-Denis Village that strangely I preferred to the Premier Cru. As usual, it was an absolute joy to taste with Thierry Brouin as he enters his twilight years at Domaine des Lambrays. I checked the size of his shoes on the way out. Big shoes to fill.