2020 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

Virgile Lignier is often a good litmus test of Morey-Saint-Denis’s performance in a growing season, since the core of his portfolio is several well-regarded Premier Crus. “For all my cuvées, there is more than 70% whole bunch and some are 100%," he told me as we descended to his barrel cellar. "We started picking on August 28, and it was very quick, as I remembered what happened with the 2018 vintage. It’s incredible to have this freshness, though I was skeptical at first – I thought the wines would be too heavy. But the whole bunch and tartaric acidity levels impart the acidity. The alcohol levels range from 12.8° to 13.8° and here, everything is closed under natural cork." Lignier’s wines habitually veer toward the black rather than the red fruit side, stylistically similar to Domaine Arlaud, whose winery is a stone’s throw away. There were a couple of cuvées where I feel the stems were a little trop and detracted from the terroir expression, but otherwise the wines have the intensity to make sure they do not overwhelm. Though I often favor Lignier’s Clos Saint-Denis, in 2020 it was the Clos de la Roche that took top honors, while among the Premier Crus I particularly like the Faconnières.