Wine Advisor
Lignier Michelot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2013
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2013 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru comes from two parcels 62, 51 and 25 years old (one in Genavrières on the same side as Clos de Lambrays and two plots in Mont Luisants.) It has a very composed bouquet with pixelated black and red berry fruit that offers wonderful delineation and poise – a balletic bouquet. This is a very elegant Clos de la Roche, the exuberant nature of the vineyard contained…for now. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, tensile tannin. There is a cheeky vein of balsamic that surface toward the finish that fans out gloriously, lingers in the mouth. There is superb mineralité here, a sophisticated Clos de la Roche and perchance the best that Virgile has ever made.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Virgile Lignier has a vivid bouquet with animated blackberry and raspberry preserve aromas, fine mineralité and well integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red cherries and raspberry, sweet tannin, fine acidity and a juicy, quite structured finish with a generous pinch of white pepper spicing things up. This is a resounding success. Tasted September 2016.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Burgfest tasting in Beaune, the 2013 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Virgile Lignier has a vivid bouquet with animated blackberry and raspberry preserve aromas, fine mineralité and well integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red cherries and raspberry, sweet tannin, fine acidity and a juicy, quite structured finish with a generous pinch of white pepper spicing things up. This is a resounding success. Tasted September 2016.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright, dark red. Very complex, scented nose offers notes of black raspberry, licorice, herbs, mocha and earth; very pure despite a hint of reduction. Tightly coiled and energetic but with captivating pliancy of texture. This wine shows the depth and complexity the Clos Saint-Denis lacks, but then it's from vines planted in 1990 and 1947. Concentrated, sweet grand cru with ripe tannins and building length.
About the Producer
Domaine Lignier-Michelot is a boutique winery in Morey-Saint-Denis, in the Cote de Nuits region of Burgundy, France. Founded by the ancestors of Virgile Lignier, the winery was founded in 1988 when Virgile Lignier began to learn about farming and winemaking from his father. At that time, the winery only produced wines in large oak barrels which were then sold to other wine merchants. In 1992, after gaining experience in winemaking, he persuaded his father to gradually start bottling and selling the wines at the winery, and in 2002, after his father had officially retired, he began to run and manage the winery on his own. The vineyards of Château Rigne-Micheloux cover a total area of approximately 8.5 hectares in the wine producing villages of Moray-Saint-Denis and Gevrey Chambertin. The majority of the vineyards in the village of Moray-Saint-Denis are old vines, most of which are 50-60 years old. The vines have strong roots and are deep in the soil, allowing them to absorb the minerals from the deeper layers of the soil. Château Rigne-Micheloux has 2 Grand Cru vineyards, 3 Premier Cru vineyards and a number of village and regional vineyards. These vineyards are planted mainly with Pinot Noir. In addition, a small amount of Chardonnay is planted in some of the regional vineyards. The winemaker at Château Rigne-Micheloux is currently Vergil Rigne. Virgil has been learning about winemaking from his father since 1988 and has gained a great deal of experience. Now retired, Virgil's father still follows the family's traditional philosophy of winemaking. The grapes are hand-selected, then destemmed, broken, pressed, cold macerated, and fermented naturally for 5-6 days before being transferred to oak barrels for maturation, which can take anywhere from 12-15 months. In general, the estate uses 20% new oak barrels for its village wines, 33% new oak barrels for its Premier Cru wines and 80% to 100% new oak barrels for its Grand Cru wines, depending on the vintage. Vergil also prefers natural winemaking processes, for example, the wines are neither filtered nor clarified, but are racked to settle impurities naturally. Although this process is slow and costly, he believes that it is the only way to produce the best wines. Currently, Château Rigne-Micheloux produces an annual average of around 2,300 cases of Pinot Noir, Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-Saint-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin and three Pinot Noirs from the village of Morey-Saint-Denis. Pinot Noir from the First Growth and 2 Pinot Noirs from the Grand Cru of Moret-Saint-Denis. Although the production of Château Rigne-Micheloux is not very high, the wines are very fruity, concentrated and balanced.
