2005 Clos des Lambrays, Grand Cru, Domaine des Lambrays, Burgundy
- Red
- Dry
- Full Bodied
- Pinot Noir
Ready - youthful
- Jancis Robinson MW
- 17.5+/20
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
- 93/100
- Stephen Tanzer
- 93/100
- Charles Curtis MW
- 96/100
- David Schildknecht
- 91-93/100
- William Kelley
- 93/100
Product: 20058023184
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2005
Maturity Ready - youthful
Grape List Pinot Noir
Body Full Bodied
Producer Domaine des Lambrays
Critics reviews
Jancis Robinson MW 17.5+/20
On the nose, it is still unformed but on the palate, there is real depth and potential – without too much tannin despite the vintage and rank. Extremely serious and dry (as opposed to sweet) but reverberant and suggestive of a very bright future. But even 2020 may be too early to open it to optimise enjoyment.Drink 2020 - 2040jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com (March 2018)
Drink 2020 - 2040
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 93/100
Medium+ ruby-garnet. Very pretty floral and pure red berry aromas with notes of pomegranate, violets, milk chocolate truffles and a touch of sage. The elegantly fruited palate is still a little tight yet already gives a peek at future pleasures with just the right concentration of berry flavours balanced by crisp acidity and a medium level of finely-grained tannins. Long finish.Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (May 2009)
Drink 2020 - 2040
Stephen Tanzer 93/100
13.5% alcohol; 3.45 pH; 3.5 g/l acidity.Medium red; the fullest color to this point. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, blueberry, liquorice, espresso, wild herbs and underbrush complemented by mocha and meat nuances. Wonderfully broad and rich on entry, then powerful and penetrating in the mid-palate, with its very ripe dark fruit, mocha and espresso flavours accented and enlivened by black pepper, crushed rock and dusty herbs. Not quite opulent or thick but densely packed. Finishes classically dry and youthfully backward, spreading out to saturate the palate with a serious dusting of tannins. This wine's fruit is developing nicely but it would appear to have the backbone for a graceful evolution in bottle. In fact, the wine's tannic structure reminded me a bit of Cabernet.Drink 2020 - 2035Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com.com (April 2019)
Drink 2020 - 2040
Charles Curtis MW 96/100
A bottle of the 2005 Clos des Lambrays from a private cellar demonstrated Thierry Brouin's success with the warm conditions. He delivered a wine that shows power and elegance simultaneously, with a well-developed black cherry fruit character, an intriguing yet discreet earthy, savoury note, and a pleasant hint of liquorice spice at the end. The structure is still firm and dense. Although it is drinking well now, it should continue to improve with more time in the cellar.Drink 2023 - 2065Charles Curtis MW, Decanter.com (January 2015)
Drink 2020 - 2040
David Schildknecht 91-93/100
The 2005 Clos de Lambrays leads with hints of cedar and spruce resin (or is that actually ripe Pinot stems?), bitter-sweet florality, pungent spices, black tea, salt spray, iodine and Cote-Rotie-like smoked meats. Plum and cherry with a strong dose of skins and pits -- almost come as an aromatic afterthought. A subtly bitter, tart edge follows the flowers, meat and minerals onto the palate and helps lend profile and pungent energy to the wine, which sticks tenaciously to the palate as if it were exactly the sort of resin suggested in its aroma. This is serious in a rather somber way, and the abundance of tannin and sheer density of this wine suggest one wait 6-8 years before peeking beneath another cork. But I strongly suggest it will make excellent old bones, so my score could easily mislead. (I find the peppery, spicy, highly satisfying 2004 very nearly as good today, not to mention more charming and a better bet for the short run.) The average age of vines is quite old, incidentally, but Brouin refuses to print vieilles vignes on the label because he insists (rightly) that these two unregulated words are grossly abused.David Schildknecht - 30/04/2007
Drink 2020 - 2040
William Kelley 93/100
Served from magnum, the 2005 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru offers up a youthfully reserved bouquet of raspberries, cassis, creamy new oak and espresso roast. On the palate, the wine is beginning to unwind, as it's much less closed than it was when I last tasted it three years ago, displaying good concentration and depth at the core, a fine-grained tannic chassis and a long, generous finish. This ranks as the finest Clos des Lambrays between the 1970s and the 2010, and in a couple more years it will begin to drink in style.Drink 2020 - 2040William Kelley, Wine Advocate (December 2018)
Drink 2020 - 2040
About this wine
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Find out more
Domaine des Lambrays
Domaine des Lambrays was established in 1363 yet it was only in 1981 that this climat was finally promoted to Grand Cru. The estate was purchased in 1996 by the Freune family and since then dramatic changes have taken place, leading to an upsurge in quality. At 8.8 hectares, this is the largest Grand Cru parcel in Burgundy under one proprietor. As well as the grand cru itself, the Domaine also owns vines in premier cru and village vineyards in Morey, and since 1993, two premier cru vineyards in Puligny Montrachet, les Folatières and Clos du Cailleret, purchased from Domaine Chartron. Winemaker Jacques Devauges 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. The produce of young vines is downgraded to Morey St Denis 1er cru where it joins the fruit of tiny holdings of La Riotte and Le Village. The village Morey comes from La Riotte, Clos Solon, Les Larreys and especially La Bidaude which lies just above the Clos des Lambrays. Domaine des Lambrays produces wines which possess balance, power and finesse and which fully live up to their Grand Cru status. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.
Find out more
Need help?
Delivery and Quality Guarantee
Registered company 05492886. BB&R Limited, trading as Berry Bros. & Rudd, 3 St James's Street, London, SW1A 1EG. All rights reserved. You must be 18 or over to order. Calls may be recorded.
