2012 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

Virgile Lignier, who picked very late in 2012, beginning on September 27, described the vintage as "a great year to express what I want to express in my wines."He did a total of just three punchdowns per cuvee in 2012, compared to three per day as recently as 2005.Lignier now has total temperature control in his tanks, which he said gives much more precision to his vinifications."I haven't completely changed my style but I've refined it as my tastes have evolved," he told me.Lignier's typical pHs have been in the relatively high 3.5 to 3.6 range "since I started picking late," and his levels of volatile activity are usually between 0.6 and 0.65.He harvested in 2012 with potential alcohol levels generally in the 12.5% to 12.8% range (but 13.5% for the Charmes-Chambertin) and chaptalized lightly.Some of the malos ended in March but a couple finished after the 2013 harvest; most of the wines were racked in mid-September. (A Becky Wasserman Selection; importers include Frederick Wildman & Sons, www.frederickwildman.com; Fine Vines, www.finevines.com; Vineyard Road, www.vineyardroad.net; Cordon Selections, www.cordonselections.com)

These may very well be the best wines I have ever tasted from Virgile Lignier. A number of Lignier's 2012s are super-impressive for their harmony and overall sense of balance. Yields were 32 hectoliters per hectare relative to the norm, which is around 42. Virgile Lignier added that malos were slow to finish. Lignier planned to bottle his Bourgogne in December 2013 and the rest of the wines the following January-March.