Domaine des Lambrays : Clos des Lambrays Grand cru 2020

After over a year in bottle, the 2020 Clos des Lambrays was still somewhat impenetrable, with an inky black colour and concentrated aromas of plum and mulberry touched with wood spice, violets, and earth. The texture is dense, almost massive, yet not forbidding, and has an immensely appealing velvety edge. 2020 was the earliest vintage ever, picked from 20–26 August (as compared to 23 August to 2 September in 2003). This historically hot, dry year was the first year of biodynamic viticulture.

The rich, very ripe year gives the wine a lot of color, density and ripeness. Rich dark fruit, black cherries, moss, violets and a touch of sweet blueberries on the nose. A big Clos des Lambrays for sure, but not jammy. Fruitier and more solid than ethereal, with firm but fine tannins. A compact and generous vintage that should have excellent approachability for the mid term. 13.8% alcohol. This is one of the earliest harvests, starting on August 20, which is a month earlier than 2021. Drink from 2026.

The 2020 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru has real intensity on the nose. It's very well-defined with layers of black cherry and blue fruit, mineral-driven with hints of violet emerging with aeration. But this is backward and holding itself back. The palate has exquisite balance. It's a little granular in texture, lightly spiced bordering on peppery, building beautifully in the mouth to exert an insistent grip on the finish. There is a grandeur about this Grand Cru that keeps you entranced, but it will demand time in bottle. Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting.

This is a wine that takes time to come together. Tasted during the 2020 Grands Jours de Bourgogne, it showed youthful exuberance that settled down over a few months. Today it reveals its intensity, with splendid floral notes and the most delicate spices. This is a great wine in the making.

A spicy and delicately liquorice-tinged profile in the fresh fruit of Clos des Lambrays, whose juicy, spherical palate is shot through with a supple sap of exceptional length. Very full yet streamlined, with perfect elegance, it exudes harmony and precision. The lingering, mouthwatering finish has the self-evidence of great wines.

On the nose, an incredible aromatic intensity of flowers and perfectly ripe fruit, with a hint of saffron. On the palate, the texture is exceptionally smooth, silky, and supple. The flavors show remarkable depth and concentration, without ever becoming too heavy or overpowering.

Revisited in bottle, the 2020 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with a deep bouquet of cassis, wild berries, rose petals, sweet spices and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's rich and textural, with an ample core of fruit, beautifully powdery tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish. Youthfully reserved, like many 2020s, this nonetheless stands out as the finest Clos des Lambrays of the 21st century—for now!