2005 Chambolle-Musigny

My visit here came at an awkward time, as Hubert Lignier was in the midst of an unfortunate intra-family contretemps with the wife of his late son Romain and had been locked out of his cellar. Kellen, who technically gets two-thirds of the fruit via a metayage agreement that Hubert established with Romain in the mid-'90s, seems intent on vinifying and selling wines under her own label. In 2006, she made her own 2006s with the assistance of an enologist, while Hubert vinified his share of the fruit in another facility. Lignier, who was responsible for vinifying 2004 and 2005, can only sell one-third of the wine under his label; the release of the other two-thirds of the 2004 crop is being blocked until matters are sorted out. I tasted the 2005 and 2004s in Lignier's kitchen, where Kellen's two children were very much in evidence. Lignier prizes the richness of 2005 but told me that he considers the acidity level a bit weak and believes the wines may evolve faster than the '85s made here. One can only hope that the elevage of these wines won't be jeopardized by family squabbles.