2017 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru Burgundy France 750 ml

The best word would probably be starstruck, as we ducked under the arch, passed the stone monument dated 1365, and stepped into the Clos des Lambrays—and onto the reddish-brown soil that produces some of the most storied Pinot Noir in the world. 

We were at the southern end of the cluster of Grands Crus in Morey-St.-Denis, looking down the swooping hill on two vineyards that hold a special place in the already rarefied world of Grand Cru Burgundy: the stone-walled Clos des Lambrays and Clos de Tart. Running alongside one another, separated only by a narrow chemin for bicycles and pedestrians, it’s a place where the vines and soil exude magic.

Both vineyards put out what has been known for centuries as some of the most ethereal Pinot Noir on Earth. The one with the biggest name and by far the biggest price tag is world-famous Clos de Tart, which commands an average price of $643 per bottle. But the one that dazzled us on our trip to Burgundy—and beguiles savvy collectors with what Master of Wine Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson call its “particularly seductive” Pinots—is Clos des Lambrays.

Today's 2017 Clos des Lambrays is a Burgundy classic from one of the most prestigious vineyards in the land. It’s the kind of wine that spectacular and savvy collections are built upon, and a longtime favorite of our wine team for its vibrancy, sophistication, and pure grandeur.

It’s pure, top-tier Grand Cru class from what Vinous describes as “one of Burgundy’s oldest and most famous Grand Crus,” and we’ve got it at a fraction of the price of comparable wines.

When we descended the hill down to the village to taste the 2017 Domaine des Lambrays after our visit last fall, you can be sure that we savored every sip of this garnet-colored Pinot. We reveled in the incredibly precise red fruits married with sexy sous bois notes on the palate, capped off with a long and sublimely weightless finish. It’s easy to see why Vinous called it “perhaps one of the most elegant and poised” vintages made of this famous cuvée.

All elements of the wine stay perfectly on point, and linger through a high-energy finish for a minute or more. 

This is the brilliance of Morey-Saint-Denis, the tiny village that claims Clos des Lambrays. Squeezed into the small space between Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny, the appellation is a line of Grands Crus and not much else. With the highest concentration of Grand Cru vineyards of any appellation in the Cote d’Or and the smallest surface area, Morey wines are rare during the most abundant vintages, we don’t expect our minute allocation of Clos des Lambrays to last as a result. 

At the very top of the Grand Cru Burgundy totem pole are the monopoles: Pinot Noirs from vineyards tended by single producers, which can command three- to five-digits (like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti). Because Domaine des Lambrays “only” owns 98% of the vines at Clos des Lambrays, their wine isn’t designated as a monopole on the label, but it’s widely considered one throughout the world of wine (including by Robinson and Johnson). 

The 35- to 100-year-old vines of Clos des Lambrays creep up the east-facing hills west of the village, where the highest point in the vineyard (which is the highest of any Grand Cru vineyard in Morey-St.-Denis) sits nearly 200 feet above the lowest. The undulating twenty-plus-acre plot enjoys varied sun exposures, and consists of three distinct climats, which boast an impressive array of soils: heavier clay and loam toward the bottom (at Meix-Rentier), chalkier clay in the middle (Les Larrets), and limestone- and iron-rich soil at the top (Les Bouchots). 

With a backbone formed by Meix-Rentier, classic Grand Cru finesse and complexity provided by Les Larrets, and elegance from the cool Bouchots, the 2016 Domaine des Lambrays is a Burgundy classic from one of the most prestigious vineyards in the land. Don’t miss it.