2014 Pommard En Brescul

The Lignier domain is intact again as of vintage 2014. Father Hubert had rented several parcels of vines to his son Romain under a traditional 18-year metayage agreement and following Romain’s untimely death in 2004, those parcels were controlled by his American wife Kellen. Over this period, Hubert and his older son Laurent kept just one-third of the fruit but now, with three times the volume, they can vinify each of these parcels separately.

There will be two different labels in 2014: Domaine Hubert Lignier for the estate wines and Hubert Lignier for the négociant bottlings. Laurent Lignier told me that he and his father carried out a green harvest “everywhere, especially in our purchased parcels, as some vines had a really big charge of fruit. The wines have moderate density and ripeness but clearly communicate their terroir. They may be a bit more diluted than the 2015s and 2013s,” he went on. “Their acidity is sound but not obvious and they show great drinkability. The 2013s are more saline and minerally, while the ‘14s are fruitier. ” All of the wines were still in barrel, unracked, at the time of my November tasting.