2017 Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes

Virgile Lignier escorted me through his 2018s from his barrel cellar located not far from Domaine Arlaud. “We started picking on 5 September with all the Premier and Grand Cru and finished in the generic around six days later," he told me. "It was important to harvest quickly. The vinification was normal. There were just two punch downs at the end, just pump overs during maceration during the two and a half week vinification. I just wanted to keep the freshness and avoid hard tannins. The alcohol levels 13.5% to 14.0%." This is a source of respectfully crafted Morey-Saint-Denis, especially from Aux Chezeaux and Chenevery. Lignier's Grand Crus are also extremely promising and may well end up being better value than those from higher profile domaines.

After four weeks of intensive tasting, my last appointment was with Virgile Lignier and Domaine Lignier-Michelot. It almost didn’t transpire, since the entire village of Morey was uprooted to make way for a new water pipe that rendered their tasting room inaccessible. Therefore, I sped down to the winery not far from Domaine Arlaud where, after I rang the buzzer a few times in the pouring rain, the winemaker appeared. And I am glad he did, because this was the perfect way to end the “grand marathon.” Not unlike Domaine Hubert Lignier, the Lignier-Michelot range attains the heights that Morey-Saint-Denis can achieve courtesy of their Premier Crus and obligatory Clos Saint-Denis and Clos de la Roche cuvées. Virgile Lignier told me that he wanted to commence the harvest on September 9, except that rain meant he had to start the following. “That was the first time I ever began the picking on a Sunday,” he lamented. He matures all his crus in 30% new oak, so it is the terroir rather than the decision of the winemaker that distinguishes one from the other. This was a very competent set of 2017s from Lignier, where the Clos Saint-Denis steals the crown from his Clos de la Roche and where you would be hard-pressed to find a better Morey-Saint-Denis than his Les Faconnières.