Lamblin et Fils – 2015

28.2.2017billn

Tasted in Maligny with Didier Lamblin, 18 January 2017.

Lamblin & Fils
Rue Marguerite de Bourgogne
89800 Maligny
Tel: +33 3 86 98 22 00
www.lamblin.com

I’ve usually tasted here with Clément – who is a little shy – but Didier is very open and talkative:

Didier on 2016:
2016? – oh-lala! Maligny was a big problem for Petit Chablis, fortunately nearby Fourchaume was okay. But still a ‘petit half harvest.’

“Purchases in bulk are normally a part of a portfolio, an insurance, so normally bulk prices are part of the pricing, not all of the the pricing! But another session of frost in 2017 would be catastrophic for the current market – people will have to look elsewhere for wine and may not come back when we have wine.

Didier on 2015:
Given the weather, I have the impression that many producers would have been very happy with ‘just okay’ in 2015, but it’s more than that. 2015 was a good harvest. For us, only a little of Vaillons and most of Les Clos was touched by the hail. Though the rain was appreciated by most of the producers who waited a few days for it to be well-integrated, and the weather stayed fine for a few days after too, so…

The wines…

The Lamblin signature is typically for elegant, soft, modestly intense wine, but in 2015 you get a little more of everything – I think that these are the best wines I ever tasted here – they are fresh, transparent and with good power.

2015 Petit Chablis
Hmm, this starts a little tight, but opens more and more – a little delicate but pure and with a very nice energy. Hmm. A sweet, mouth-watering acidity. Wide, nice tension, and a very modest rigour to the finishing mineral notes in the flavour. Delicious!

2015 Chablis
About 6 hectares domaine grapes, and with their purchases, this cuvée amounting to 40 hectares worth.
Another nose that grows and grows in the glass – fresh, vibrant and with an engaging clarity. More intensity, more energy, a little softness at the edges, but fine and sweetly mouth-watering flavour. Again a little extra rigour in the finish, but a very good finish nonetheless.

2015 Chablis Fleur d’Acacia
“A lower temperature vinification.”
Auto suggestion alert – it has a much more open and floral nose! Wide, again with a lovely clarity – sweetly fine over that palate, a suggestion of gas in the mid-palate but really lots of melting complexity over the tongue. More floral in the finish too which balances the rigour of the finish. Super tasty, even nicer than the previous bottling.

2015 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
Vines of more than 45 years old – two parcels blended.
Hmm, this is deeper, suggesting a reduction but there’s nothing overt and it’s floral above. Lovely in the mouth, more mineral for sure, more intense – for the label there’s really good power here. Complex in the mid-palate, melting flavour as the others – a little less sweet, but fine and no austerity. This is excellent, and seemingly with more serious intent.

2015 Chablis Eleve En fut de Chene
No new wood, not yet bottled. Tank for alcoholic fermentation, barrel for the malolactic.
Wide, good energy, ripe lemon, and a subtle oak spice. Transparent, good power and freshness. The wood is very well done – a subtle accent rather than anything overt. Still nicely agrume fruit in the finish. This is a surprise, I don’t normally warm to wines labelled as such, but it’s delicious!

2015 Chablis 1er Vaillons
The nose is a little more subdued, a tighter core of ripe yellow fruit – faintly edged with a hint of herb. Fresh, muscular, mineral, but really well-balanced. Lovely mid-palate intensity, and very fine minerality. To wait a little time for but this is a lovely wine. Very nice finishing.

2014 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
From l’Homme Mort
Very nice – bright, pure, energetic – fine clarity of lemon. Wide, a little softer, a little more the style I expect here, but the mid-palate intensity is very good and there’s plenty of rigour in the mineral finish. And its a good finish, with plenty of weight. It will certainly need more time.

2014 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu
Really an overt floral top note to this nose – a more modest freshness of fruit below. Wide, good weight, a little texture almost suggesting tannin. The mid-palate flavour is okay, and there’s good energy, yet the flavours lack joy today. A wine that is very long and mineral finish, but certainly needs time to offer up the same level of fine tastiness as many of its counterparts… almost a surprise after the super-inviting nose…

Agree? Disagree? Anything you'd like to add?

Burgundy Report

Translate »

You are using an outdated browser. Please update your browser to view this website correctly: https://browsehappy.com/;