2015 Domaine Francois Lamarche, La Grande Rue Grand Cru, Bottle (750ml)

La Grande Rue is Burgundy’s quietest superlative: a 1.65-hectare monopole sitting directly between DRC’s La Tâche and the tiny La Romanée, and the sole possession of Domaine Lamarche.

For decades it was classified only as Premier Cru despite its position on that same storied mid-slope, until François Lamarche’s efforts finally earned it Grand Cru recognition in 1992. His daughter Nicole now oversees the winemaking, continuing a hand-harvested, hand-sorted approach across the estate’s small handful of Grand Cru holdings.

2015 is a vintage widely considered a landmark across the Côte de Nuits, and this bottling shows it in classic, patient form. Still primary fruit driven and wound up, it’s concentrated and pure but not yet showing everything it has, with real depth and finesse waiting underneath. This is a wine built to unfold slowly over the next decade and beyond, with the structure and balance to reward real patience in the cellar.

For collectors who appreciate that Burgundy’s best wines often arrive quietly, this is one to tuck away and revisit in a few years, when it’s ready to say more.

Neal Martin | 95 Points

"The 2015 La Grand Rue Grand Cru has a concentrated bouquet, very pure but more introspective than its peers. It demands a lot of coaxing from the glass, eventually unfolding to reveal gorgeous, seductive scents of wild strawberry, raspberry, orange blossom and sous-bois. The palate is medium-bodied, offering supple tannin, crisp acidity and symmetrical focus, but I would have liked more substance on the finish. At the moment, this Grand Cru is holding its breath. It needs to exhale! There is a great wine here, but at present, it is indifferent to being loved. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting."

Allen Meadows | 94 Points

"This perfumed beauty displays fireworks in a glass with its kaleidoscopic nose of super spicy, floral and cool red and dark berry nose. The middle weight flavors are less concentrated and powerful than those of the Grands Ech but markedly finer with a caressing and sophisticated mouthfeel that carries over to the rich finish that once again tightens up noticeably on the impeccably well-balanced and strikingly persistent finish. While at least some patience will also be required this classy effort should be approachable sooner than the Grands Ech"