2015

Clos des Lambrays

Grand Cru

Domaine des Lambrays

Description

2015 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru AOC, Domaine des Lambrays

Wine Spectator:
Aromatic, offering hints of lavender, menthol and orange peel, but on the palate this becomes an immutable block, with a kernel of cherry, black currant, licorice and mineral flavors locked within. The tannins have the upper hand now,
but this should develop well.
 
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
The 2015 Clos de Lambrays Grand Cru contains 95% whole cluster fruit, part of the crop with thicker skins deprived of their stems according to winemaker Thierry Brouin. It is being aged in 50% new oak. It has dusky black fruit on the nose, earthier than I was expecting given the growing season, the stem addition lending a subtle undergrowth and moss-like scent. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin and offers succinctly judged acidity. It is certainly harmonious in the mouth with a generous dash of black pepper on the finish, a pleasant prickle in the mouth after the wine has departed. Whilst not the purring engine that is Clos de Tart since it is more rough-hewn perhaps, this Clos des Lambrays has a charm of its own.  

Vinous:
(made with 95% whole clusters; Brouin destemmed 5% of the fruit owing to the thick skins of '15): Healthy dark red. Subdued but complex, sexy scents of raspberry, mocha, brown spices and earth: a real essence of this distinctive grand cru. Sappy and wild, conveying terrific intensity and precision to its red berry and spice flavors. Tactile, savory, dense and very long, finishing with lovely energy and peppery lift and a lingering element of salty minerality. Beautifully integrated ripe tannins suggest that this will be an outstanding and long-lived vintage for Clos des Lambrays.
The pH here is 3.6, which Brouin described as normal.
Brouin added that potential alcohol levels following the sorting were around 12.5% in 2015, and that the finished wines will be between 13% and 13.2%.