1999 - Clos des Lambrays Grand Cru, Domaine des Lambrays

Very ripe aromas of dark fruits, cinders, spices and earth, along with strong torrefaction notes of coffee and mocha; there's something here that's dulling the fruit. More pristine in the mouth than on the nose, but showing obvious evolution to its flavors of black fruits, iron and brown spices. Plenty of thickness here but lacks the peppery clarity of the 2001. Finishes with robust, rather dusty tannins. This is considerably less impressive and more evolved than a brilliant bottle I tried last winter for my 1999 horizontal, perhaps owing to a touch of brett, which has compromised the wine's inner-mouth tension and minerality. (13.9% alcohol; 3.54 pH; 3.4 g/l acidity; the crop level even after a green harvest was 45 hectoliters per hectare, which Thierry Brouin said was the highest during his time at Domaine des Lambrays)

Rich, round and spicy. Good stuff that is wearing well and has lots of lip smacking stuffing. Must have been good to have made such a positive impact at this stage in the Southwold Burgundy dinner. (JR)