Tasted in Saint Aubin with Olivier Lamy, 23 October 2018.

Domaine Hubert Lamy
20 rue des Lavières
21190 St.Aubin
Tel: +33 3 80 21 32 55
http://www.domainehubertlamy.com

Olivier on 2018:
“2018 was quite complicated; a mild winter and really a lot of rain – at one stage we had to work every day, every weekend, for a month. We had -1°C one morning but nothing was frozen, but then came the dry and hot weather – the vines didn’t suffer in the main as the soil held onto enough of rain, though we lost 20-25% due to mildew. We started harvesting 22 August. The bourgogne was rather ripe. I have the impression that some plots were ripened more through concentration, which reminds me a little of 2015. So it was very complicated. Our Remilly was one of the ripest on the Côte de Beaune. It was a really difficult task to find the right dates to start picking. No high volumes in whites here, we have more than after the frost of 2016 but that year there was practically nothing – but we managed 35 hl/ha. I think my whites might end up more interesting than my reds…”
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Olivier on 2017:
“We had more frost here in 2017 than in 2016, so it’s a lower volume harvest – it was 2 degrees colder here than in Puligny, and for 4-5 days. We couldn’t effectively protect every day, but it was different vines that frosted in 2017 versus 2016. Perhaps I did just too little treatment – I treated every 8 days or-so, instead of every six in 2016, and I lost a little at flowering to mildew, but because of the lower yields the ripeness was higher than some of my neighbours despite harvesting earlier. When I started harvesting on the 22 August, the grapes were 13-13.2°, some neighbours were at 11.5 at the same stage. Some people had to harvest a full month later in Dents du Chien. But I’m happy for the quality despite frost in 8 hectares. In the end it was half a harvest here, the warm summer might have saved my vintage. ​No new oak for the 2017s – I have kept cancelling orders in the last few years because of the low yields!”

The wines…

Re ‘seals,’ Olivier is changing his approach quite quickly – it is now approximately 80% DIAM use here – “You simply have such a limited control over the cork and some corks eat the sulfur much faster than others…“​

No surprises, just great wines at this address in 2017 – proportionately less great are the reds, but the usually suspects among the wines are simply brilliant.

 
None of the wines had been sulfured so far this year…

2017 Chassagne-Montrachet Clos de la Goujonne
From 65 year-old vines. Will have 2 years of elevage
A freshness and light touch of aroma – it has a fine volume and freshness of flavour, indeed a lovely vibration of flavour. Slowly fading, fine and delicious.

2017 Santenay Clos des Hâtes
‘A nice genetic selection here’ approaching 20 years old.
A more direct and powerful nose – still with plenty of freshness. More volume and concentration in the mouth, with a super combination of texture and depth of flavour. Excellent.​
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2016 St.Aubin 1er Derrière Chez Eduard
From 57 year-old vines on a steep slope.
More aromatic volume, less density – a more open and pretty aroma. More volume and freshness in the mouth, less density, yet the concentration is still rather high. Lingering in fine fashion. Beautiful finesse to these wine…
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2017 Santenay 1er Clos des Gravières
This racked a week before the other wines. A warm area that matures very fast – it’s steep, with hard limestone here. 55 year-old vines and starting with some high-density too.
More aromatic concentration again – fine and open once more. Silky, beautiful texture, a touch of tannin and super but fresh depth of flavour. ​

Les blancs…

2017 Bourgogne Les Chataigniers
From hill above St.Aubin, Frost in some parts here.
An attractive freshness and agrume citrus. Wide, a nice vibration of flavour. A little richness of texture too. Love the finish
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2017 St.Aubin La Princée
Multiple parcels, with multiple exposures and vine ages
A touch of reduction. More mouth-filling volume than the Bourgogne and also more acid-led juicy mouth-watering effect. Subtly delicious finishing.
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2017 Chassagne-Montrachet Le Concis du Champs
Young vines, only 14 years old and one of the earliest vineyards to ripen here.
Hmm, a fine, agrume nose of freshness rather than concentration. More density in the middle, concentrated and fine textured. Intense but with enough cushioning. I love the finishing flavours, almost perfumed again…​

2017 Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots
A blend of 40 year-old and 70 year-old fruit – more 40…
Some density of aroma here, but freshness too. Lots of freshness and weight coupled with a mouth-filling volume too – also with a lingering, finishing perfume.​

2017 St.Aubin 1er Clos du Meix
0.7 metres planting distance here – so 14,000/ha planting density. Vines sited below the church.
A deeper nose, fresh, some biscuit reduction, slowly a hint of perfume too. Lots of volume, great energy, only slowly adding delicious accents – more patience needed here, though there’s a fine clarity to the finishing flavour.

2015 St.Aubin 1er les Frionnes
80 and 7 year-old vines.
Hmm, a slightly more reductive agrume fruit here – grapefruit for sure. Volume again, with a fine, shimmering, halo of flavour that melts over the palate. Not the easiest wine of these to assimilate, but beautiful tension and fine texture in the beautiful finish…​

2017 St.Aubin 1er Derrière Chez Eduard
Not the ‘hd’ cuvée, but this is still planted at 14k/ha
A more open freshness of aroma – yet les concentration of aroma. Extra gas here, so very hard to judge. But the mid and finish have beautiful fleet shape and freshness – great here – such a great finish!

2017 St.Aubin Clos de la Chatenière
South-facing and warm here. 60 year-old vines always with small grapes.
A width of aroma touched with some reduction today. Extra volume of freshness and energy – lots of mouth-watering acidity but also as you come to terms with the acidity there’s also a little cushion to the texture that helps keep the balance.

2017 Chassagne-Montrachet Le Macherelles
Ooh that’s a pycm, beautifully reductive Chassagne. More reductive on the palate but with muscle to match the energy. Slowly lingering deliciousness…

And to finish…

Blind Wine
Ooh that’s deep and a little aged. Sweet, depth of flavour, richness, some caramel, wide, deep and persistent, an older reduction adding floral aromas. It’s 2005 Tremblots – I guessed 06 – I’m always 1 year out when tasting here! A fine mineral finish but clearly the wines were made differently back then… there is less than 10% new oak used here today – there was more then…