1996 Clos des Lambrays
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Tasting notes
The 1996 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru from Domaine des Lambrays is a wine that I panned when I tasted a magnum in 2018. This bottle was far superior, virtually a different wine. Mature on the nose, and still a little green, it gains complexity and reveals garrigue and star anise aromas, plus touches of burning embers/ash. Fleshy and balanced on the palate with a dash of white pepper, it has a very tertiary finish and feels evolved for a 1996 red Burgundy, yet undoubtedly this was a far better showing than the previous one.
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Allen Meadows, Burghound
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 1996 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru served from magnum, is actually the first time that I had tasted this wine. It feels stemmy and a little green on the nose as I expected. It is certainly very "old school". Structured and quite masculine on the palate, this Clos des Lambrays is endowed with sturdy dry tannin, the rather obdurate structure that typifies and mars this Burgundy vintage. I wonder if this is already drying out on the finish? Tasted at Goedhuis's Burgundy tasting at Vintners Hall.
The spice- and black, stony, fruit-scented 1996 Clos des Lambrays possesses lovely freshness to its otherwise rich and flavorful character. It saturates the palate with roasted blackberry flavors, cumin, juniper berries, and cigar box-like flavors. This medium to full-bodied, structured, and complex wine also offers an admirably long and well-focused finish. Projected maturity: 2004-2012+. Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Peter Weygandt, Unionville, PA; tel (610) 486-0800.
Sweet, beautifully nuanced aromas of red fruits, minerals and a touch of earth that give way to medium weight flavors that could have written the book on finesse and refinement. There is fine length and nice richness all supported by moderate tannins and slightly elevated acidity. The '96 displays outstanding focus and definition, all the while maintaining near perfect harmony between the various elements. An understated, elegant, sexy and genuinely lovely wine that should age well for years. Allen Meadows, Burghound, Dec07,2004.
About the producer
Domaine des Lambrays is one of Morey-Saint-Denis’s most famous estates, its history closely tied to the Grand Cru from which it takes its name – Clos des Lambrays.