Two More Burgs

1996 Clos des Lambrays is drinking very well - it's alive, with verve, and excellent penetration. In the brief time I had it with, it showed a number of different faces - I'd love to be able to follow a bottle over the course of several days.

If you've got a few extra bottles, and if you like 'em young, then consider opening one now.

1996 Trapet Latricières-Chambertin on the other hand, is gonna need a good 'nother 10 years or more to resolve the tannins. I think the stuffing is there for the long haul - there seems to be plenty of fruit - but don't open now unless palate grip is your thing & you enjoy making the pucker face.



Thanks Chrish! Thanks Matt!

The Les Larreys vineyard, today classified as Grand Cru Clos de Lambreys, never seems to quite live up to its classification, according to the critics. I'm not familiar with the wines from the majority owner, the Domaine des Lambreys, but I once got to taste the tiny amount that Domaine Taupenot makes from their tiny fraction of the vineyard. This was fine, but not great, red Burgundy, and there were only a few barrels of it.

Clos de Lambreys deservedly or not lives in the shadow of the other Cotes de Nuits grands crus.

Good to hear it does live up to its designation now and then.

-Paul W.

I'm not familiar with the wines from the majority owner, the Domaine des Lambreys, but I once got to taste the tiny amount that Domaine Taupenot makes from their tiny fraction of the vineyard.

You know, it's funny - I checked Wine-Searcher Pro for the 1996 from Domaine des Lambreys, and it's not available anywhere in the USA [must not have gotten points from anyone].

It is available at a few shops in Europe, for not much more than $80, and I was thinking that if you were travelling in Europe and saw it on a restaurant list for anything like that amount, then it would be a strong buy.

So then I checked Alain Ducasse:

http://www.alain-ducasse.com/public_us/plaza_athenee/fr_vins.pdf

And sure enough, there it is, at the very bottom of Page 22, but they're asking 301 €.

Ugh.

So much for that idea.

The Les Larreys vineyard, today classified as Grand Cru Clos de Lambreys, never seems to quite live up to its classification, according to the critics. I'm not familiar with the wines from the majority owner, the Domaine des Lambreys, but I once got to taste the tiny amount that Domaine Taupenot makes from their tiny fraction of the vineyard. This was fine, but not great, red Burgundy, and there were only a few barrels of it.

Clos de Lambreys deservedly or not lives in the shadow of the other Cotes de Nuits grands crus.

Good to hear it does live up to its designation now and then.

-Paul W.

Domaine des Lambrays' Clos des Lambrays ( I've not tried the Taupenot, the Domaine owns something like 99% of vineyard) was indeed a noted underachiever for almost all of the last half of the 20th century. Interestingly, it was one of the more famous wines in the 30s and 40s, and some old bottles are reputed still good.

But there seems to be a real consensus that the estate turned around over last 8-10 years. I certainly enjoyed '99 and '01, and have bought '04 and '05 based on notes from Gilman and Kolm. Due to rep from bad years and large production, its a rare affordable Grand Cru.

[Domaine des Lambrays' Clos des Lambrays ( I've not tried the Taupenot, the Domaine owns something like 99% of vineyard) was indeed a noted underachiever for almost all of the last half of the 20th century.

But there seems to be a real consensus that the estate turned around over last 8-10 years.

Dale,

This is great news. I'll have to keep a lookout for it now. BTW, if you see the Taupenot wines, they're worth investigating. Not much gets imported to my own neck of the woods in New England, USA. The Taupenot production of Clos de Lambrays is a real rarity. I think they make only two barrels of it per year. It's a fine wine, but not worth paying an exorbitant premium for.

Thanks,

-Paul W.