This Grand Vin is a lovely wine in 2009. The Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is suffused with graceful raspberry and strawberry flavours, along with some smoke and spice high notes. It has fine depth and considerable length to complete the offering.

Despite the youth of this wine its heady intensity is a glorious harbinger of things to come. Chilled black cherries and loganberries are kept fresh by good acidity and the tannins are firm but fully ripe. This is a wine for the long term. Drink 2015-2025.

Made from tiny yields (only 26 hl/ha), the 2008 Clos des Lambrays certainly makes up in quality what it lacks in volume. There is tremendously elegant fruit on the bouquet and it is completed by a fresh, racy finish; a great result.

Very pure, with very elegant raspberry and dark cherry fruit, this fills the mouth without ever becoming heavy. It has an immensely long, silky finish, still displaying notes of cherry and peony as well as a little pepper spice.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director Thierry Brouin is extremely happy with his 2011 vintage which has produced a little more wine than in 2010. “It is very good this year, very Lambrays”, he says. Once more the pricing for this near-monopoly Grand Cru has been kept very reasonable. As ever, the grapes were picked early and the stems were retained for the Grand Cru. There was little or no rot but Thierry took care to eliminate any under-ripe grapes on the sorting table.

---

Jasper divides his time between England and Burgundy. His unique position led him to write the ultimate guide to the vineyards of the region, Inside Burgundy. Described as “the greatest reference work of our generation” by Bill Nanson (www.burgundyreport. com), and “an essential book for anyone remotely interested in the region and its wines” by Neal Martin (www.erobertparker.com), this outstandingly detailed book, in 656 pages, covers one thousand specific vineyards, from Grands Crus to obscure plots.

Jasper Morris MW’s award-winning classic volume ‘Inside Burgundy’ is now available as a series of beautifully designed, interactive, Multi- Touch eBooks for the iPad and iPad Mini.
Inside Burgundy: The Côte de Beaune is the first volume is available for £14.99 on the Apple iBookStore. It is accompanied by the first edition of an innovative new Annual Report on Burgundy by Jasper Morris. Inside Burgundy The Annual Report 2012/13 is downloadable for free.

Grand Cru, Grand in. Lacy magic from the confident, experienced, but never complacent winemaker, Thierry Brouin. Bright and energetic, this sophisticated red displays a wealth of soft strawberry fruit that, along with a dash of pepper, suffuses the bouquet. It then finishes on a richly satisfying palate of ripe, soft and rounded red fruit.

The Clos des Lambrays in Morey St Denis has been producing fine wine since at least 1363, its quality being recognised by promotion to Grand Cru status in 1981. The estate was purchased in 1996 by the Freund family and since then dramatic changes have taken place, leading to an upsurge in quality. The domaine owns 8.66ha of Clos des Lambrays, making it almost a monopoly – there is one other producer with a few rows of vines at the bottom.

Winemaker Thierry Brouin has been in charge since 1979. The vineyards are run on more or less organic lines, with no chemical anti-rot sprays, and ploughing of the soil by horse. In the cellar, he likes to use the majority of the stems, favours punching down over pumping over, and prefers to restrain the amount of new oak – around 50% for the grand cru.  Domaine des Lambrays produces wines which possess balance, power and finesse and which fully live up to their Grand Cru status.
Lifted, ripe strawberry and redcurrant on the nose, alongside a lack of vanillin spice from the oak. The palate is multi-layered with fine tannins and a core of intense fruit. The finish goes on and on in this very fine effort. A little patience will be required but will be well worth the wait!
Fergus Stewart, BBR Fine Wine