Domaine Hubert Lamy (Saint-Aubin): the essentials

History
    •    The Lamy family has been growing vines in Saint-Aubin since the 17th century (1640, according to Wine with Seth).
    •    1973: Hubert Lamy takes over the estate from his father Jean. He replaces much of the Pinot Noir with Chardonnay.
    •    1995-1996: his son Olivier Lamy joins the estate after an internship at Méo-Camuzet (Vosne-Romanée). He takes charge of the cellar from 1996.
    •    1997: the estate stops selling its grapes to négociants. Everything is now bottled at the domaine.
    •    Today Olivier runs the estate with his wife Karine, who comes from the Tollot-Beaut family (Chorey-lès-Beaune).

The estate in figures
    •    About 18 ha (13 ha when Olivier arrived), with a team of 8.
    •    About 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.
    •    Low yields, around 35 to 45 hl/ha.

Appellations
    •    Saint-Aubin 1er Cru: Derrière chez Édouard, En Remilly, Les Frionnes, Clos du Meix, Clos de la Chatenière, Murgers des Dents de Chien. There is also the Saint-Aubin village wine La Princée.
    •    Puligny-Montrachet Les Tremblots, in Vieilles Vignes and Haute Densité versions.
    •    Chassagne-Montrachet: 1er Crus Les Macherelles and Les Chaumées, and La Goujonne in red.
    •    Santenay and Bourgogne Blanc.
    •    Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru: only 0.05 ha, or about 300 bottles a year.

The signature: high-density planting
    •    Most Burgundy vineyards are planted at about 10,000 vines/ha. Since 1995, Olivier has been replanting at 14,000 vines/ha.
    •    In some plots he goes as high as 28,000 to 30,000 vines/ha, the density seen before phylloxera. Rows are 1 m apart, with 3 vines per metre and 2 buds per vine.
    •    Derrière chez Édouard is the plot where this experiment began. It produces the "Haute Densité" cuvée, the pinnacle of his Saint-Aubin range.
    •    Strong competition between the vines reduces the vigour of each one. The result is more concentrated, more intense wines, without higher yields.

In the vineyard
    •    Farming is largely organic, without certification. Herbicides were abandoned between 2002 and 2005, and the soils are ploughed.
    •    No chemical fertilisers are used. New vines are propagated by massal selection from the estate’s own vineyards.

In the cellar
    •    Grapes are whole-bunch pressed, then fermented with native yeasts.
    •    The estate does not use classic 228 L barriques. It ages its wines in 300 to 600 L demi-muids, sometimes in foudres and amphorae.
    •    New oak has fallen from about 30% to 15% or less since 2005.
    •    The wines are not fined and are usually unfiltered.

Reputation
    •    It is one of the most sought-after estates in the Côte de Beaune, and it has made Saint-Aubin a benchmark for great white wines.
    •    Derrière chez Édouard is made in small quantities and is among the most in-demand white Burgundies.