Domaine Hubert Lignier "Les Poisets" 2017 1.5 L MAG 2017 13% ABV
Domaine Georges Lignier possesses among the more astonishing collections of vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, but it wasn’t until young Benoit Stehly—Georges’ nephew—took the reins in 2010 that the wines began to fully articulate the greatness of their terroirs.
These finished 2017s offer outstanding energy and notable density, both in the context of the vintage and of the domaine’s past offerings; they combine ripe, taut red fruits with brisk but not strident acidity, articulating their sites of origin with effortless directness.
Les Poisets is nicely located near the fine premier cru Les Cailles
In 2010, the Ligniers purchased a third of a hectare of old vines (circa 1947) in this vineyard that sits just below the great premier cru Les Cailles in the southern part of Nuits-Saint-Georges. This cuvée displays a firm mineral backbone typical of its village of origin, but with a very Lignier sense of drive and freshness.
Planted 1927 so up to a quarter replaced since by Laurent since he purchased the plot in 2010. Full purple in colour, with the dark berry fruits of Nuits-St-Georges to the fore. This is very dense for a village wine, some tannins but mostly abundant fruit. Keep a few years and then this will make a super bottle of Nuits. Drink from 2030-2037.
well-defined nose with crushed stone and white pepper percolating through the red berry fruit. Hints of potpourri with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with good weight on the entry, sapid black fruit gently gripping the mouth in a Morey-like style. This will require four to five years in bottle, but I like the cut of its jib.
from a .34 ha holding. This is aromatically similar to the Seuvrées but with even more earth and sauvage nuances lurking in the background. On the palate with is also very good underlying tension suffusing the medium weight flavors that are at once caressing but powerful, all wrapped in a punchy, balanced and lingering finale. This too is quite good for a villages-level wine.
dark berries, spices, smoked meats and loamy soil preface the 2022 Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets, a medium to full-bodied, rich and layered wine that's framed by plenty of supple but powdery tannin, marking it out as one of the more structured communal-level bottlings chez Lignier this year. Laurent Lignier picked his domaine holdings and négociant purchases, the latter amounting to the equivalent of some 3.5 hectares of vines, over the first dozen days of September, opting to retain around one-third whole bunches across the whole range. As readers will remember,
varietal: pinot noir
region: burgundy, france
style: red
farming/cellar: winemaking is pretty classical at this address, with a short cold maceration, two to three weeks of maceration with one pigéage and one rémontage per day and maturation in barrels, some third of which are new—if possible, without racking—for fully 22 months in the domaine's cold cellars.Laurent employs a modest 15% new wood during its 18-month élevage.
Benoit began the process of eliminating reliance on systemic chemical treatments in the vineyards, bringing life into the soil by working it, and being more conscientious about harvesting. In the cellar, Benoit prefers long, gentle extractions with pump-overs favored over punch-downs, thereby retaining the nimble, high-toned purity Pinot Noir can achieve in Burgundy’s hallowed soils.
pairing: feathered game naturally