Clos des Lambrays

Clos des Lambrays as seen from above. The village of Morey-Saint-Denis in the background.

Clos des Lambrays is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) and Grand Cru vineyard for red wine in the Côte de Nuits subregion of Burgundy, with Pinot Noir as the main grape variety.^[1] It is situated in the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis in the Côte-d'Or département, and is located immediately to the southwest of the village Morey-Saint-Denis. The Clos part of its name refers to a wall-enclosed vineyard. Clos des Lambrays was elevated from premier cru to grand cru status in 1981, which meant that it was created as a separate AOC.^[2]

Clos de Lambrays totals 8.84 hectares (21.8 acres) and most of it (8.66 hectares (21.4 acres)) is owned by the winery Domaine de Lambrays. However, Domaine Taupenet-Merme also has a small holding in this vineyard, so Domaine de Lambrays is unable to put a "Monopole" label on their bottles.^[3]

Production

In 2008, 7.04 hectares (17.4 acres) of vineyard surface was in production within the AOC, and 236 hectoliters of wine were produced,^[4] corresponding to slightly over 31,000 bottles.

AOC regulations

The main grape variety for Clos des Lambrays is Pinot Noir. The AOC regulations also allow up to 15 per cent total of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris as accessory grapes, but this is practically never used for any Burgundy Grand Cru vineyard. The allowed base yield is 35 hectoliter per hectare, a minimum planting density of 9,000 vines per hectare is required as well as a minium grape maturity of 11.5 per cent potential alcohol.^[5]

See also

• List of Burgundy Grand Crus

References

1. ^ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible pg 191-195 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN 1-56305-434-5
2. ^ INAO: Appellation rules for Clos de Lambrays, last updated March 26, 1998 (French)
3. ^ Neal Martin in Wine Journal: Producer Profile - Domaine de Lambrays, October 2006
4. ^ BIVB: Les Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée de Bourgogne, accessed on October 28, 2009
5. ^ AOC regulations, last updated 2009