LeDomduVin: Domaine des Lambrays "Clos des Lambrays" 2005

Domaine des Lambrays "Clos des Lambrays"

 Grand Cru 2005 Burgundy, France 

Besides decanting Château L'Evangile 2000, (for that private lunch, yesterday), I also opened and served another wine that I love, from Burgundy this time, Clos des Lambrays. 

Located at Morey-Saint-Denis, Domaine des Lambrays is a small estate consisting of a wall-enclosed vineyard, hence its name "Clos". The vineyard is about 8.8 hectares, of which 8.6 hectares belong to the Domaine. 

The other 0.2 hectare actually belongs to Domaine Taupenot-Merme, which explains why Domaine des Lambrays cannot put "Monopole" on the label. 

"Clos des Lambrays" was a "Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru" until 1981, when it was elevated to "Grand Cru" status, and a specific AOC was created for it. 

From my 30 years of experience buying, selling, opening, serving, and tasting their wines, I can say that I'm a huge fan of Clos des Lambrays. I love the consistency, complexity, richness as well as the silky-smooth texture and layered structure of their wines. 

And this 2005 was no exception, it was so good, it even exceeded my expectations. Let me describe it to you.  

2005 Domaine des Lambrays "Clos des Lambrays" Grand Cru Burgundy, France

Estimated Average Market Price HKD 4,310 (around 520 Euros / 550 USD) 

For most French wine regions, including Burgundy, 2005 was a superb "solar" vintage that produced warm, rich, complex, and concentrated wines. And this Clos des Lambrays 2005 is a stunning example of it. Attractive medium deep, yet concentrated dark ruby color in the glass. The nose is extremely open and aromatic, warm, and enticing, showing ripe, sunbathed dark cherries and berries (blackberry, blueberry), mingling with earthy (slightly scorched earth) and toasted aromas (cacao, coffee, oak), mixed with autumnal forest floor hints and mineral nuances. Beautifully structured and textured, defined and focused, rich, ample, full and smooth, generously coating the palate, while retaining freshness and elegance. Excellent balance between the ripeness of the fruit, the acidity, and the tannins, very good length, silky, integrated, harmonious, and suavely warm and comforting from the attack to the seamless finish. Wow! What a wine! Loooooved it. Highly recommended.  

That's all folks! Until next time, stay safe and take good care of yourself and your loved ones.  

Santé! Cheers! 

Dom (aka LeDomduvin) 

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LeDomduVin: Burgundy Wine Regions Map

Burgundy Wine Regions Map

by @ledomduvin 2022

Still preparing some slides for a "Bordeaux vs Burgundy" Wine Class, and, once again, as I could not find anything I wanted on the net, (either too detailed or not enough), I decided to create my own map. 

While creating my own map and drawings/icons for the slides, I realized that: 

- It is not as easy as it looks, and therefore takes time, and attention to details. 

- It is not so easy to compromise on the details, and decide what to put on it or not, when creating a map or an overview with icons and numbers, to make it easy to grasp and understand at first glance, yet, to also be detailed enough to provide you with the essentials. 

However, I tried and here is the result. Hope it might help and even be useful. 

Cheers! Santé! And drink some wines, it is good for you (responsibly of course), and you might save a producer. 

😁👍🍷🍷🍷

Big thoughts to all the producers fighting against a wave of late frost, these last  few days, with temperatures going way  below 0°C, in the vineyards, in France (and elsewhere in Europe), for the 5th consecutive year. 

Climate change is a real thing and this wave of late frost is now a recurring problem that might become the norm. 

A disaster damaging and reducing crops, putting some people out of business and pushing prices up due to small production and thus lack of availability and stocks for the last few years already. 

Until when the producers will be able to resist and survive? It has been a recurring question on everyone's lips in Burgundy and Bordeaux (and elsewhere in France and Europe) for the past 5 years already... 

Good luck to them all. And let's buy their wines to help them. 

Dom 

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesillustrationsadom #lescreationsadom #lesdessinsadom #lesmapsadom #map #winemap #burgundy #burgungymap #bourgogne #france #wine #vin #vino #wein #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #wineknowledge #wineeducation

Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2022 on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, drawings, illustrations, visuals, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

Some of last night's wines 

@domaine_henri_boillot

Domaine Henri Boillot Bâtard-Montrachet 2014

Nice, racy, elegant, harmonious, and light on its feet, gracious like a ballerina, beautiful structure and texture, complex and rich without being too heavy. Beautifully crafted. Decanted 30 minutes before serving to give it a boost, as it is quite young and shy. Showed beautifully. Loved it. 

@chateauhautbrion_

Château Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 2000

Timid and slightly restraint at first, decanted about 2 hours prior to serving it. Haut-Brion is and has been my favorite wine for the past 30 years of my career in the wine industry. It is kind of sentimental between Haut-Brion and me. Undoubtedly amongst the very finest wine producers in Bordeaux, if not the world. A blend of 51% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc, the 2000 vintage has been deemed close to perfection by various esteemed wine critics, including Neal Martin 99+ and Robert Parker 99. Beautifully balanced, structured and textured, complex, refined, the list of adjectives to describe it is endless. Loooooooooooved it. And it still shows potential to last for a few more decades. 

#chateaulafleur 

Chateau Lafleur Pomerol 2015

Château Lafleur is a moody wine to be drunk at the right time, which tends to open up in its youth, like this 2015, then close down for a decade or two before reopening again to show its full potential. Meaning that if you miss the window when it opens up, you might find it close and restrained, while this is an absolutely amazing wine when the timing is right. 

Although it is probably a sacrilege to open such wine this young, it showed wonderfully last night, delivering tons of aromas, right from the opening, like dark fruits, plums, ripe cherry, chocolate, purple flowers, hints of smoke and earth, mingling in a layered, rich, opulent and complex and long-lasting palate. Even better after 2 hours. As I did not open it in advance, I had to decant it twice to give it plenty of air, for it to fully express itself. What an amazing wine! If you have a case of it, drink a bottle now to appreciate its youthfulness and friendliness, but keep the rest of it, as this wine will surely last for the next 2/3 decades. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #wine #vin #vino #wein #chateauhautbrion #domainehenriboillot #chateaulafleur #burgundy #bourgogne #bordeaux #pessacleognan #pomerol @domaine_henri_boillot @chateauhautbrion_

Unless stated otherwise, all right reserved ©LeDomduVin 2021 on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, drawings, illustrations, visuals, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

LeDomduVin: 2006 Domaine Fichet Bourgogne pinot Noir "Tradition" France

2006 Domaine Fichet Bourgogne Pinot Noir "Tradition" Maconnais France

Suggested retail price $14-$17

Distributed by T-Edward Wines in NYC 

Finally, a good Burgundy Pinot Noir for less than $20 is on the shelves. One can find affordable, enjoyable, fruity Pinot Noir from the Languedoc or even light, fresh, earthy Pinot Noir from the Loire. However, finding a good Burgundy in this price range became quite difficult over the last 3-4 years. 

Nestled in the commune of Ige, northwest of Macon, Domaine Fichet was created in 1976 by Francis and Christiane Fichet. It is now run by their two sons, Pierre-Yves (winemaker) and Olivier (vineyard manager), who took over in 1988. They have since increased the size of the vineyard from 11 to 20 hectares and significantly raised the quality level of their wines. 

Well known for their white wine "Macon Ige Chateau London", one of the oldest and most reputable Terroir in Maconnais, they also produce great reds blended with grapes coming from 30 years old vines planted by Francis and from 15 years old vines planted by Pierre-Yves in 1994. Francis was one of the first pioneers who planted Pinot Noir in a highly dominant Chardonnay region.        

Pierre-Yves and Olivier Fichet bottled a nice, fresh little wine full of earthy, red cherry notes on the nose. The palate is really approachable for a 2006, somewhat simple yet quite inviting, well structured and balanced. The acidity plays a key role here and enhances the Burgundian Terroir quality of this wine. Even the tannins are well integrated. Overall, the fruit is soft, rounded, making this light bodied wine a pleasant surprise. To drink on simple dish with white meat: chicken, turkey and pork.

Cheers! Santé! 

Enjoy!

Dom (aka LeDomduVin)