Tasted in Morey St.Denis with Laurent Lignier, 01 September 2021.
Domaine Hubert Lignier
45, Grande Rue
21220 Morey St.Denis
Tel: +33 3 80 51 87 40
www.hubert-lignier.com
More reports for Domaine Hubert Lignier
Laurent on 2021:
“2021 impacted the hillsides and the bottom of the grand crus – it’s hard to explain as some of the higher parts were hit more than lower. It was very sunny in the days before so the slope had some bud evolution – more than in the Bourgognes for instance – which is why they were hit harder by the frost.”
Laurent on 2020:
“We had correct volumes in the regionals but the 1ers and grand crus had no rain in either of July and August and, generally, there’s less clay on the hills so these sites had less ability to hold onto what water was in the soil. We’ve never harvested so early; it was the 27th of August – that’s 3 days earlier than in 2003 – my 84-year-old father has never seen it so early. Because of the dryness, no copper was needed in the last 4 treatments. So in the end, a very small harvest volume – minus 25-30% vs a normal vintage, and nearly half a vintage vs the larger production of 2018. The Côte de Beaune suffered less. We made less wine than in 2019. The wines have plenty of colour but I generally make only about one pigeage the rest is only remontage.”
The wines…
Of course this domaine has a great pedigree but every time I visit, Laurent serves up a range of special wines – 2020 will be no different – bravo to him!
2020 Bourgogne Pinot Noir Grand Chaillots
From southern Nuits. Prefer to use the lieu-dit rather than a Côte d’Or label. Vines that were planted at the start of the 80s and with the domaine since 2010.
Some perfume and some faint firework reduction. Wide and fresh – great energy and no lack of depth. The finishing bitters are still present but modest.
Domaine and so organic. The limit of the appellation, touching the vines of Roumier in Clos des Bussières in Morey. 30-70-year-old vines here – half a hectare.
Growing purity of lovely fruit on the nose here – nice! Hmm. That’s really mouthwatering. Lovely freshness, almost a little saline. That’s a really great villages.
2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Seuvrees
Domaine wine of almost 1 ha between Gevrey and Morey below Mazoyères – part planted by father and grandfather – so between 60 and 80 years old – this is the biodynamic parcel of the domaine.
Wide aromatics. there’s a little structural tannin but not astringent, mouth-watering. Really broad in the finish – as it gains more volume with air contact that becomes a super nose.
2020 Morey St.Denis Trilogy
The blend of Chenevery 60%, Clos Solon 15%, Les Poroux 15% – about 1 ha in total – north centre and south, just under the 1ers – 50-84-year-old vines that delivered only half the volume of 2017 or 2018.
That’s got a lovely freshness and airy style of aroma. Extra depth of flavour but still remains fresh and complex with some sweetness. I love this even though it’s borderline austere!
2020 Nuits St.Georges Les Poisets
Under Les Cailles – bought with three friends in 2010. The original plantation was in 1937 but only about one-third of those vines remain. ‘I have a lot of millerandes in this place’
More density, lovely freshness too. Wide, very open a certain architecture here and steely minerality too. Direct and slowly mouthwatering in the finish. I’d like a bit more flavour in the energy today but that has lovely length and texture. Very lovely wine.
Some new wines in fermage:
2020 Volnay
Two parcels.
A reduction on the nose and the palate too. A grain of tannin with no dryness. Saline, slightly mineral – I particularly enjoy the shape of this but it’s clearly a little reductive and also tight today…
2020 Monthelie 1er Cru
2 lieu-dits
A little reduction again. Hmm, here I find extra flavour energy – this is a very very nicely shaped and obviously more impressive wine than the Volnay today.
Back to the usual range:
2020 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Baudes
Planted north-south which brings a bit of afternoon shade – helpful in the current climate! Domaine vines next to Bonnes-Mares, biodynamics are used here.
A deep, profound and very inviting nose. Super freshness, some finishing grain from the tannin but here’s a wine with beautiful flavour – it’s just that the stricture is covering much of the flavour today – but that partly hidden fruit flavour is gorgeous!
Just above Clos St.Denis. Biodynamics here too – half a hectare about 300-330 metres up.
Not a powerful nose but such an inviting one – almost a little cushioning to this texture. Ooh, love! There’s a bit of oak but what a finish too. Gorgeous, cushioned freshness. Bravo!
Made by father since 1985 – a single parcel that straddles 2 parcels – Millandes but a little Chenevery too – planted between 1936 and 1952 – only about 20 hl/ha due to millerandes, but make massale selections here.
Less oaky cushion and with more freshness to the nose. This is a more structural wine – but great wine! More Clos de la Roche style than Clos St.Denis.
Next to road, O.10 ha in Mazoyeres below Combottes. A car crashed in there recently, destroyed 27 60-year-old vines. Just now replanted. Domaine always a small cuvée here – not much more than 1 barrel.
A cushioned nose, some whole cluster too. Within is a generous, rose petal perfumed delicious wine. Thats a great Charmes in a sea of very good Charmes in 2020.
2 parcels, 0.65 ha in Monts Louisants, and 0.25 ha in Fremiers on the limit of Clos St.Denis – when they bought their Clos de la Roche it was full of goats and sheep but no vines. 0.75 ha is represented here, a 1964-65 plantation by Laurent’s father, the cuvée that follows was planted by his grandfather.
Airy, floral, very attractive but not shouting. A structural wine, subtly flavoured with some reduction. But shimmering wide in the finish – broad and deliciously complex. This will be a great wine.
Laurent explains:
“We have 1 hectare in Clos de la Roche, the older parts are in Monts Luisants and it was my grandfather Henri Lignier who planted the parcels in 1955 after buying in 1945. Henri was pushed to buy the following parcel by his wife who had noted that it never frosted – it also never frosted in 2016 – but it did in 2021. It’s a shame that we didn’t think we would need candles! This 1955 cuvée has been made from 2017 but only 17 hl/ha in that vintage due to some hail.”
A massale selection planted by grandfather, 26 rows – 0.25 ha – all in Monts Luisants – all the domaine’s massale selections come from here. 3.5 barrels in this vintage – as no hail`.
More colour here. More density, more silk and more concentration. There is tannin but no grain – only a small textural drag. Here is everything – obviously the complete wine today. Versus the last, just the minerality is less visible but that’s because of the concentration of fruit.