2012 Domaine des Lambrays, Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru 6x750ml

Vinous 93+

Moderately saturated medium red. Wild, very ripe aromas of black raspberry, blueberry, mocha, cola, leather and game are surprisingly explosive for the vintage. Impressively rich and dense, offering flavors of pungent black fruits, loam and peppery spices, plus a whiff of cinders. A real essence of Morey-Saint-Denis with its combination of dark fruits and soil tones. Impressively plush and horizontal on the palate but with the pepper and spice notes providing superb mid-palate lift. Finishes very long, with substantial dusty tannins that avoid dryness. Robust more than elegant, this wine tastes like it just came out of the barrel. Indeed, it quickly went back into a shell in the glass, suggesting that it will need a minimum of another five to seven years of patience. I suspect it will eventually merit an even higher rating. (13.7% alcohol; 3.6 pH; 3.9 grams per liter total acidity) [Stephen Tanzer, 04/03/2019]

Anticipated maturity: 2025-2040

Robert Parker 94

The 2012 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru is superb, rivaled only by the 2010 and 2015 among recent vintages of this near-monopole, unfurling in the glass with notions of cassis, currant leaf, rich soil, smoked duck, incense and richly savory bass notes. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, satiny and multidimensional, with a lovely line of tangy acidity, considerable depth at the core and a long, sapid finish. After shutting down for a few years, the wine is already beginning to open up and realize the promise it showed from barrel. [William Kelley, 07/03/2018]

Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040