Hubert Lamy Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Clos de la Chateniere Vieilles Vignes 2023

“The 2023 Saint-Aubin Clos de la Chatenière 1er Cru comes from vines planted in 1960 and was cropped at 35hl/ha. This distinctly has more reduction on the nose, making the aromatics difficult to read (Olivier Lamy was not sure exactly why). The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, perhaps one of the most elegant takes on Saint-Aubin, prolonged by its intrinsic sapidity and minerality. Beautiful, but I would give it three of four years in bottle.” 94 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

“A modest reduction here. Large in the mouth – sculpted from stone. Intense, unyielding. Wow – but the finish fades with subtle complexities. That’s an impressive wine – potentially a great wine –, but I’d wait 10 years, certainly with Olivier’s DIAM seals…” Bill Nanson, The Burgundy Report

Clos de la Chatenière is one of Lamy’s prestige terroirs and historically the Domaine’s best-known wine. It’s a high, steep, south-facing vineyard and a genuine clos, surrounded by dry-stone walls. It sits within the larger Chatenière vineyard in Saint-Aubin and Lamy has 1.25 hectares here, with vines that are now over 60 years old. Because of the steepness of the slope, and incredibly rocky soils, the vineyard is worked entirely by hand. For all intents and purposes, this is a monopole, as Lamy is the only grower able to bottle a separate wine from this plot and label it accordingly. Colin-Morey is the only other grower with a small parcel, which he blends into his La Chatenière bottling.

The gradient and south-facing aspect of Clos de la Chatenière ensure the vines receive plenty of sun. At the same time, the rocky, limestone-rich soils (20cm of rocky topsoil over hard, compact limestone) give the wines a piercing minerality that perfectly offsets the low-yielding intensity. The ’23 offers an extra layer of flesh and yet the wine remains intensely mineral and long. Clearly a great release of this wine. Superb.

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