The 2017 Clos des Lambrays was still quite youthful, but was showing truly stunning potential on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is still fairly primary, but sports outstanding depth and nascent complexity in its constellation of cassis, black cherries, sweet dark berries, exotic touches of both eucalyptus and lavender, a superb base of soil, heather and a sound foundation of cedary new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and suave on the attack, with sappy core, excellent soil signature, fine-grained tannins and a long, closed and classy finish. The oak component here is beautifully done and there are absolutely no issues with the wine’s ultimate balance, but I had the sensation that it was clamping down on the wine a bit more than was customary for Clos des Lambrays as this point in its evolution. Perhaps it was just my imagination, as the wine will no doubt be absolutely superb in the fullness of time.

Dense rich purple black. There is a luxury coating of velvet here and a suggestion of good density. 38 hl/ha. Surprisingly succulent, dark fruited wine, stops just short of chocolate, pH is a touch higher than usual at 3.55 compared to average of 3.48. Boris is good on details like this! Softer finish, a little more viscosity, higher tannin index too but doesn’t show. Boris describes this as a modern classic vintage. Certainly less raw than sometimes in the past. Still in barrel, un-racked.

The 2017 Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru opens in the glass with expressive aromas of sweet berry fruit, plums and orange rind that mingle with nuances of forest floor, smoked meats, cedar and spices. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and open-knit, with succulent acids and moderate concentration, concluding with a nicely defined finish. I expect this to flesh out a little as it bounces back from bottling. (WK)