Lignier-Michelot Morey-Saint-Denis En La Rue De Vergy 2018

Variety: Pinot Noir
Country Region: France, Burgundy, Cote-de-Nuits
Appellation: Morey Saint Denis

This tiny vineyard of just over 3 hectares borders directly on to 3 Grand cru vineyards (Bonnes Mares, Clos de Tart and Clos des Lambrays) and Virgile owns 1.9 ha of vines planted 1975 bordering on to those Grand Crus. Situated quite high on the slope just above Clos de Tart where the limestone is quite close to the surface similar to the highest vineyards in Chambolle Musigny which it borders on the southern side. A stunning village site and from his fabulous holding this wine looks closer to Premier cru standard than village in intensity and detail.

‘(70% whole cluster). A notably cooler nose reflects notes of cassis, blueberry and plenty of floral elements. The quite finely detailed and lightly stony middle weight flavors possess a suave mid-palate mouthfeel while culminate in a lingering bitter cherry pit-inflected finish. Good stuff, especially for a villages level Morey St. Denis. Drink 2025+’ (89-91) points, Burghound, January 2020.

'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.' Neal Martin, Vinous, January 2019.

The Lignier family have deep roots in the village of Morey Saint Denis and own 10.5 hectares of some of the very best vineyard sites in this village, and also in the two neighbouring villages of Chambolle Musigny and Gevrey Chambertin. Virgile's father and grand-father had always produced wine and sold it to negotiants until Virgile started working with his father in the early 1990s and he decided to sell the wines himself. Now with almost 20 vintages of experience Virgile has moved the domaine to fully organic viticulture and is producing what many believe to be the best wines of this prestigious village.

In the last 10 years Virgile has modified his wine-making using whole-bunch vinification ranging from 30-100% depending on the vintage and the vineyard and he has also reduced the percentage of new oak (mostly Seguin-Moreau and Francois freres) for maturation with most wines seeing around 30% making its effect seamless in the final wines. He also completed a new winery in time for the 2013 vintage that now enables him to work with temperature control and to gain a very gentle extraction of tannins for all his wines. This results in wines showing great precision and energy with remarkable perfume and also beautiful fine tannins and very silky structure. They are wines which are often very seductive at a young age which also clearly have the potential for ageing superbly. This very young domaine is now regarded among the very best in the Cotes de Nuits.