2022 Pommard En Brescul

“There was lots of rain at the end of June with over 150mm over the week,” winemaker Laurent Lignier tells me. “Many of our vines are planted perpendicular to the incline, so there was less soil erosion. Due to plowing, the water was absorbed into the soil, and this allowed the vines to resist the dryness. Usually, it takes 330kg of fruit to fill a barrel, but in 2022, it needed 360-370kg. The harvest was between September 1 and 11 with the Bourgogne Aligoté. The pH is 3.5-3.6 at the end of malo. There were no problems with the vinification except for a couple of cuvées that had a bit of residual sugar. Using cover crops over our 11 hectares of vineyard [mostly biodynamically tended] enhances the natural yeast during fermentations. We have ten hectares where we apply organic compost, cow and vegetal, from a local supplier, one that Thibaut Liger-Belair also uses. The alcohol is between 13.0% and 13.5%.”

Laurent Lignier oversees a wide range of cuvées that cover both Domaine and contracted fruit. It’s a strong line-up, as I have come to expect, although I have some question marks for one or two, such as the Charmes-Chambertin and Mazoyères-Chambertin. I would rather go for Lignier’s Gevrey Aux Combottes, always one of their strongest cards, or their Morey-Saint-Denis Vieilles Vignes (a 2002 tasting well earlier than lunchtime).