Notes:

Note: produced from two large parcels of differing vine age - one that is approximately two-thirds of the blend and is now 45 years of age and a second, smaller group of vines that is approximately 20 years of age; this was harvested at 13.45% from yields of 25 hl/ha

Producer note: Rgisseur (resident manager) Thierry Brouin told me that they began the harvest on August 29th and that they radically changed their approach to vinification, arguing that "if you have near perfect ripeness, why would you deliberately take steps to leave those perfectly ripe components outside of the wine? While we didn't chaptalize, we did acidulate up to 200 grams per barrel. We also did 100% whole berry fermentation, stems included. We did shorten the total cuvaison to 11 to 12 days from our usual 14 to 17 but for the first 6 days, we did 5 punch downs a day! I love the '03 vintage and believe that it's destined to be a classic, in fact it reminds me a lot of what our '47 is today as it's just so rich." The present plan is to bottle in January without fining or filtration. As Brouin says, these '03s are very impressive and while I didn't taste the '47 in its youth, I have tasted it several times and I can see why he believes there is a strong resemblance.

Tasting note: The nose is certainly quite ripe yet clearly pinot-based with a potent mix of red, black and violet aromas that introduce powerful and concentrated flavors that are supple, rich, densely but finely structured and immensely complex, possessing enormous depth and incredible length. The only nit is a touch of warmth but that often comes with the territory in this vintage. A 2003 to buy. 92 Points

Burghound Jan '06

Aged in 75% new oak, the tobacco, blackberry, leather, and tar-scented 2003 Clos des Lambrays is medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy. Hugely tannic yet concentrated and deep, this is a brooding chocolate, plum, blackberry, spice, smoky mineral, and black raspberry-flavored wine. Uncivilized and firm, it will benefit from cellaring. Projected maturity: 2009-2020. 92 points

Wine Advocate #160

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr 05
(the crop level here was about 25 hectoliters per hectare in 2003) Good bright, dark red. Highly complex nose melds roasted red berries, licorice, smoked meat, underbrush, baking spices, fresh herbs and sweet oak. Lush, silky and enveloping, with a penetrating herbal and spice character and a note of gingerbread that Brouin says is atypical for this vineyard. This has more volume to support its dusty, fine tannins. Very long on the aftertaste. This is 13.4% alcohol, with a pH of 3.6. 90-93 points