"Clos de Vougeot" Grand Cru AOC 2023

A Grand Cru that holds power and precision together: ripe dark fruit over a fine-grained tannic structure, along with the cool clarity that defines Domaine Hubert Lignier in Morey-Saint-Denis.

Clos de Vougeot is a walled vineyard of around 50 hectares on the slopes of the Côte de Nuits, with a history reaching back to the Cistercian monks of the 12th century. Limestone bedrock, clay-rich soils and an east-facing aspect give the Pinot Noir here both power and finesse. The Lignier family has farmed vines in Morey-Saint-Denis since the 1880s; Clos de Vougeot was added in the following decades, after Hubert Lignier began bottling his own wines in 1973.

Pinot Noir. Since 2007, the estate has worked without synthetic inputs in the vineyard. Long, cool maceration periods precede fermentation, and the proportion of whole clusters has grown over the years. The cellar, in use since 2008, needs no pump: from must to bottling, gravity alone moves the wine. New oak is deliberately restrained and spread across four coopers, so that no single barrel overwhelms the fruit. 13.5% vol., dry.

A silky entry, ripe cherry and raspberry, underpinned by forest floor and damp earth. The tannins are fine-grained, the acidity holds the wine upright and carries it into a long, mineral-driven finish.

Roasted duck breast with cherry sauce, saddle of wild boar with mushroom jus or saddle of venison with wild mushrooms. Coq au vin also works well, as does a mature Époisses and a robust Comté.

The warm, dry summer of 2023 brought even ripening; the vintage is regarded as characterful, with pronounced fruit maturity. Laurent Lignier now runs the estate in its fifth generation.