Wine Advisor
Lignier Michelot, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2015
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru comes from 0.30-hectare in the Montluisants area supplemented by some purchased fruit from 72-year-old vines in the lieu-dit Les Chenevrières. It has a very pure and powerful bouquet with layers of small dark cherries, blueberry and violet aromas, a little richness of the growing season showing through via a touch of glycerin. The palate is medium-bodied with a bit if sinew on the entry. This dovetails into a structured mid-palate with a pinch of white pepper lingering on the finish that has a real peacock's tail of flavors, reinforcing its grand crus pedigree (just in case.) This is a sublime expression of the vineyard from Virgile Lignier.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2015 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru comes from 0.30-hectare in the Montluisants area supplemented by some purchased fruit from 72-year-old vines in the lieu-dit Les Chenevrières. It has a very pure and powerful bouquet with layers of small dark cherries, blueberry and violet aromas, a little richness of the growing season showing through via a touch of glycerin. The palate is medium-bodied with a bit if sinew on the entry. This dovetails into a structured mid-palate with a pinch of white pepper lingering on the finish that has a real peacock's tail of flavors, reinforcing its grand crus pedigree (just in case.) This is a sublime expression of the vineyard from Virgile Lignier.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good full, bright red; the darkest of these 2015s. Inviting aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, chocolate and five-spice powder. Juicy and crunchy in the context of the vintage; dense and thick but not heavy, with its penetrating, fruit-driven flavors framed by surprising harmonious acidity and saline minerality. This very ripe and rather stylish Clos de la Roche finishes with substantial refined tannins and excellent length and lift. Like several other of these 2015s, this seems fresher in the bottle than it was from barrel in late 2016. Virgile Lignier vinified most of his 2015 crus with 70% or 80% whole clusters and as his stems were fully ripe owing to his late harvesting, they add an essential element of energy without introducing greenness into the wines.
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.
