Cellar
Favorite: 1992 Domaine Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

BY NEAL MARTIN | FEBRUARY 24, 2025

During
the round of Burgundy barrel tasting in London, merchant Robert Rolls organizes
a casual La Paulée at <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-st-john-lodon-united-kingdom-oct-2020">St. John</a>, one of London’s finest restaurants. It always
surprises fellow diners when two dozen people suddenly stand up and chant the
“La La La” song with all the strange hand movements and cheering. This year, my
good friend Lord Bruce, familiar to those that read my annual <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-grouse-club-bouchon-racine-london-uk-oct-2024">Grouse Club</a>
lunches, raided his cellar and produced a gem of a Burgundy from a vintage more
renowned for the whites. The 1992 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Domaine
Hubert Lignier was made by Hubert and his late son Romain, who joined Hubert
that year. Showing light degradation in color on the rim, the 1992 has a
precise bouquet with cranberry, raspberry and wilted rose petals on the nose,
not powerful yet very precise. It gains intensity in the glass, never fading
over the course of an hour. The palate mirrors the aromatics insofar that it is
framed by lace-like tannins, exceedingly fresh and quite saline. But there is
gorgeous tart red fruit at its core, with none of the greenness that you can
find in other red wines from this vintage. Those with bottles of this in their
cellar should not hesitate to open one, and why not sing the “La La La” song
while savoring it? 94/Drink 2025-2040.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1740152537672-CF_Feb242025.jpg"> © 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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