Appy Friday!

“The best wine that I have tasted from Lamblin et Fils… a complex and very satisfying Les Clos.” says Wine Advocate, “Fine start to those uniquely Chablis mature aromas and flavours, and still beautifully fresh.” says Jancis Robinson, “The additional layers of complexity in Clos are immediately apparent here.” says James Suckling, “This wine is expressive, elegant and very long.” says Wine Enthusiast.

…all praise for recent past vintages of this wine, just to give you an idea, as this fresh-off-the-boat ‘22 has yet to be submitted to the press.

Get in on the ground floor before the inevitable sold out after it earns a 96 from Wine Enthusiast or something like that from someone else.

We’re talking LES CLOS here, dear Operatives.

AKA ‘the Montrachet’ of Chablis. It’s by a long mile, the choicest terroir, arguably the most distinctive stretch of Chardonnay anywhere on the planet.

Antonio Galloni’s Vinous eloquently explains what sets it apart: “The soil in Les Clos yields wines with density and fullness, but the marl also brings powerful minerality and finishing firmness to the wines, especially where the soil features a high calcium carbonate content in the clay. Through the years, successful bottlings of Clos have struck me as combining the best traits of Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne. That’s high praise, I know, but hardly an exaggeration, at least when it comes to wines from the finest estates. In the context of other Chablis Crus, Les Clos delivers an unmatched combination of aromatic complexity, power, depth, mineral cut, and longevity. He is particularly slow to reveal its full personality.”

And then, Burghound goes deeper on the vintage analysis: “To my way of thinking, perhaps the best attribute of the finest 2022 whites is just how refreshing they are. In sum, the best 2022s incorporate a bit of everything without too much of anything… the best 2022 whites could reasonably be compared with the better 2017s with perhaps a bit more mid-palate flesh. Most of the best 2022 whites should be ready within 8-12 years. However, because they’re generally so well-balanced, they should actually drink reasonably well young too if that’s your preference.”

The pure and elegant nose offers up notes of apricot, white flowers, lemon rind, sea breezes, and nori, all framed in a gentle touch of sweet spices. There is impressive richness to the full-bodied and dramatically concentrated flavors that cut like a razor blade, before culminating into an explosively precise finish that goes on for miles and miles. Textbook Les Clos here, with considerable upside if you stash some away.

A visit by Jamie Goode a couple of years ago revealed “The first impressions of Lamblin from the outside, a large warehouse-like facility in Maligny, weren’t promising, but here I found some excellent, typical Chablis. The family began making wine in Chablis in 1690, and they are now a vineyard holder as well as a negociant.” That‘s 12 GENERATIONS of winemaking for ya!

Just 10 cases imported and they are all yours if you act fast, Appy people.