2019 Clos des Lambrays, Grand Cru, Domaine des Lambrays, Burgundy

Since 2019, they have vinified and aged their 12 plots separately, rather than co-fermenting.

Herbal, tomato-stalk aromas with dark fruit that has plenty of heft and grand-cru ripeness. There's a definite step up from the Morey-St-Denis, and it speaks of the 2019 heat too. Such lovely crunchiness. Clearly needs time, this is very primary and youthful.

Drink 2026 - 2039

Jacques has gone with 80% whole bunch and 60% new wood, whereas Thierry Brouin preferred 50% new wood but all of it from François Frères. Jacques has varied his barrel coopers a little more and paid extra attention to the chauffe. We tasted almost all the cuvées, and there were radical differences depending on location and vine age. What matters, though, will be the final blend, of which Jacques prepared me what should be an accurate version. A fine, deep, and even crimson. It is a complex bouquet, as you might expect after tasting all the components.

There is a serene weight to this, with waves of detail. A richer fruit perhaps than before, and though the whole bunch percentage is 80%, it is much more submerged in the fruit. Starting to get some aromatic top notes, very persistent. Neither acid nor tannins stand out, more the fruit but with a sense of a refined structure, too. Very beautiful complex, perfumed finish. I am not going to say that Jacques has gone straightaway back to the great vintage of the ‘20s and ‘30s, but there is very considerable promise here.

Drink 2030

The 2019 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru Grand Cru has a very typical bouquet for the vineyard: quite floral in style and predominantly red-fruited, with touches of kirsch and black truffle shavings and a light marine scent that emerges with time. The palate has a sweet core of fruit that lends this Morey an almost Vosne-like allure. The whole bunch is very well-integrated. This is a better showing than at the Burgfest tasting just a couple of months earlier.

Drink 2027 - 2052

Produced from two large parcels of differing vine ages - one that is approximately two-thirds of the blend and is now 50 years of age and a second, smaller group of vines approximately 25 years of age; made with 80% whole clusters and 50% new wood.

An extremely subtle application of wood sets off the intensely floral-scented nose of herbal tea, poached plum, spice elements and a hint of newly turned earth. There is excellent volume to the caressing yet punchy medium-weight plus flavours that exude a lovely minerality and focused power on the delineated and beautifully persistent finish. 2019 is a fine vintage for Clos des Lambrays and should repay extended keeping.

Drink 2034

The 2019 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is showing very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries, strawberries and plums mingled with scents of orange rind, rose petals and sweet spices. Full-bodied, ample and satiny, it’s a sensual, caressing wine with a fleshy core of fruit, polished tannins and lively balancing acids. This will offer a broad drinking window.

Jacques Devauges told me he picked between August 20 and August 26, reporting tiny yields of only 15 hectoliters per hectare and finished alcohol for Clos des Lambrays itself of around 13.8%. This is the domaine’s second year in organic certification and its first in biodynamic farming. The Clos was vinified without any destemming and no punch-downs whatsoever in specially designed vats whose technical details Devauges refused to divulge, telling me that he intends to share the secrets with the world sometime this year) that permit him to separate the vineyard’s various parcels. We tasted multiple components—which display notable differences in function of location, vine age, and vine material—and then the very impressive final blend.

Drink 2025 - 2060

The deep purple/ruby colour of the 2019 and the intense blackberry and cassis fruit aromas speak to the youthful vibrancy of this impressive wine. The tannins are firm but not astringent, and a lively acidity balances the abundant extract. The wine was the first vintage of organic conversion; this and the difficult flowering meant a crop reduced by half. The grapes were picked from 13-17 September; 80% were fermented as whole clusters to produce this memorable wine with a lingering finish. Despite its power, there is still finesse and elegance.

Drink 2025 - 2090