The famous Morey Saint Denis vineyard of Clos des Lambrays can trace its history back to the mid 14thCentury when it was referred to as the Cloux de Lambrays under the ownership of the Abbeye de Citteaux.
There followed a number of different ownerships starting with estate being sold off as a result of the French revolution and divided between over 70 individual owners.
In1866 the estate was bought by the Rodier family and in the late 30’s Albert-Sebastien Rodier sold the estate to his friend Renée Cosson. Following the death of Renée Cosson in 1979, the estate was purchased by the Saier’s who made significant investment and developed the vineyard and it was in 1981 that Clos des Lambrays was elevated to Grand Cru status. At the end of 1996, the estate was purchased by Gunther and Ruth Freund who continued to invest and make significant improvements to the vineyard and estate.
In April 2014, the estate was purchased by Bernard Arnault’s LVMH group, their first major investment in Burgundy. The Clos covers 8.84ha of which Domaine des Lambrays has 8.66ha which is the largest Grand Cru vineyard under single ownership. The miniscule 0.18ha is owned by the Taupenot-Merme family. It is fair to say that historically the wines were a little inconsistent though, now the wines combine rich fruits with classical structures and fine balance.
