Domaine Hubert Lamy

It is hard to think of a more passionate, knowledgeable and hard working wine maker as Olivier Lamy. The family and the domaine are located in the village of Saint-Aubin, within a short distance from the domaine’s extensive array of vineyards spread around the villages of Chassage-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin. There are records of the Lamy family growing vines since 1640! Olivier gained experience at Domaine Méo-Camuzet in Vosne-Romanée before taking over the family domaine from his father, Hubert.

Olivier gained tremendous experience through working in the vineyards, and adapts his own experience and believes in the way he plants, cares and treats his vines. Saint-Aubin is a great white Burgundy appellation to watch. In an ever-changing world, the cooler climate of Saint Aubin, with its large combe and valley which bring in cool air from the western forested hills, keeps this place more fresh compared to the great appellations that house most of the famous Grand Crus.

Among Olivier’s exciting philosophies is the planting of high density (haute densité) vineyards, which he believes allows them to capture more from their terroir. The first vineyard planted this way in 2000 was the top part of the Saint-Aubin 1er Cru “Derrière Chez Edouard”, with the planting of 28,000 and later 30,000 vines per hectare – three times the normal planting density, and effectively three times the work required to produce the same amount of wine. Not surprisingly, the result is overwhelming and this wine has an enormous depth and dimension.

The majority of the domaine’s vineyards consist of stony, limestone-based soil, with a thin 10-30 cm of topsoil, and have a favourable southeast exposure.

Olivier was one of the first winemakers in Côte de Beaune to favour the use of larger size barrels, and in the cellar there are many 350 and 600 litres barrels. Yields are kept low and following intensive work in the vineyards, the harvested crop passes a selection on a sorting table before being transferred to the stainless steel fermentation tanks. The wine making is traditional, and the wines are aged in 0-15% new oak (with an average of 10%) for 18-24 months before bottling.

While the backbone of this fine domaine is the stunning wines from Saint-Aubin, the jewel in the crown is its tiny holding in Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet, located just above the vines of Leroy’s Domaine d’Auvenay.

Olivier’s wines are classic, refined, pure and mineral, and each one of them reflects its respective terroir.