Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 2016

robert_parker95

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2016 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru includes 85% whole-bunch fruit and is matured in 50% new oak. It was picked around 24 to 29 September. It has a fresh and discrete bouquet at first, the whole bunch influencing the red fruit, infusing scents of autumn leaves and Earl Grey into the mix. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, good grip in the mouth, building with time to a very composed, classically styled, quite persistent and lightly spiced finish whereby the whole bunch is completely subsumed by the fruit. Wonderful.

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: William Kelley

Still a little closed after its recent bottling, the 2016 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru exhibits aromas of cassis, raspberries, currant leaf and potpourri. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with fine-grained tannins, creditable concentration and juicy acids, concluding with a fragrant finish. This isn't as deep or multidimensional as the 2015 rendition, but it's an elegant middle-weight Clos des Lambrays that should drink well for 20 years or more. Morey-Saint-Denis was spared hail in this vintage, and 2016 thus delivered the largest yield recorded at the Clos since 1999. It was vinified with around 85% whole cluster, and the finished pH of 3.46 is only a touch lower than the 2015's pH of 3.48.

vinous93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2016 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is extremely well defined on the nose with blacker fruit than its peers, wet limestone scents percolating through the red berry fruit, somehow sedate and effortless. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, nigh perfect acidity, a touch of fleshiness towards the finish. It is not the most ambitious Grand Cru, yet in terms of sheer pleasure, this hits the spot. Drink over the next 15 to 20 years. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2016 tasting.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

(38 hectoliters per hectare produced; vinified with 85% whole clusters, down from a normal 100%; aging in 50% new oak, vs. 33% for the premier cru and village wine): Healthy dark red. Captivating perfume of red berries, spices and flowers lifted by a sexy herbal element from the stems. Silky, dense and concentrated, showing terrific precision and a sappy personality to its complex flavors of red berries, brown spices, underbrush and dried flowers. Lovely fruit intensity here. Very firm and built to age but even today there is nothing hard about this grand cru. Finishes very long and sweet, with refined tannins. I'm not sure that this wine will ever go through an extended sullen phase in bottle.