Domaine Hubert Lignier Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Cru ‘Charmes-Chambertin’ 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Surface area: 10 ares in the Mazoyères Haut vineyard area, planted in 1948.
Soil deeper than in Clos de la Roche and composed of clay-limestone and sand.
The vineyards are located next to Les Combottes, to the south of Charmes Chambertin.
The wines are characterized by floral scents, they are often elegant and delicate yet also possess the power and length on the palate worthy of a rather charming Grand Cru.

Appelation : Charmes-Chambertin
Variety : Pinot Noir

About Domaine Hubert Lignier

When you’re looking at wines from the great producers, like Hubert Lignier, they optimise every year.

Lignier was one of the first Burgundy makers I drank with that extra spark that raises the wines to the upper echelons.

They make fresh, fine and elegant Burgundies.

The wines are personality-filled, layered, complex, harmonious, they have a seamless flowing nature.

Simply put they beg you to drink them!

In the Vineyard

Father and son Hubert and Laurent Lignier manage this 9 hectares estate in Morey-Saint-Denis. They practice organic viticulture in order to create a perfect balance for the vine’s growth but have no intention of seeking certification.

The Domaine Hubert Lignier has long had a reputation for its fine wines known for their concentration, depth and structure. From ‘humble’ beginnings bottling small amounts of two different cuvées of Morey St. Denis (the village bottling and the 1er Cru “Vieilles Vignes”) as well as the fabled Clos de la Roche, Lignier now bottle an impressive range. All of the Domaine’s holdings are now bottled under their own label. Hubert’s son, Laurent, is the next generation of this proud estate and is following his father’s traditional practices to ensure the treasures coming from the family’s impressive vineyard holdings continue to exhibit the best of their respective appellations. The Domaine owns 8.30 hectares principally in the villages of Morey Saint Denis (where their home and the cellars are located), Gevrey Chambertin and Chambolle Musigny. Recently, the Ligniers have expanded their holdings to include parcels in the appellations of Nuits Saint Georges and Pommard. The Ligniers follow the principles of “lutte raisonnée” (sensible combat) in their viticulture: for example, only organic compost is used when necessary and the vineyard is tilled so that no herbicides are used. Yields vary from 20 to 55 hectoliters per hectare depending on the conditions of the growing season and the appellation. The thin, clay and limestone soil on the slopes is not conducive to vigorous growth and limits the crop naturally. A “green harvest” is used when necessary to further manage production to ensure perfect maturity. Young vines are trained using the Cordon de Royat (spur training) system, which helps control the vigor and yields as well. Of critical importance, the “sélection massale” system (i.e. replacing missing vines with cuttings from the same vineyard) is the only method used to propagate vines, a tradition that gives an extra touch of complexity and character to the resulting wines.

In the Winery

At harvest time, the pickers remove any unhealthy clusters in the field, to avoid contamination of the healthy grapes in the baskets, a practice that is supplemented with a “table de trie” at the cuverie.

Traditional vinification practices are the core of their work: grapes are destemmed and fermentation takes place in open-top cement tanks that allow manual pigéage. Only natural yeasts are used. Laurent uses an extended cold soak maceration period prior to fermentation to allow greater extraction (contrary to his father who believes that the best extraction takes place during the alcoholic fermentation). Fermentation is rather long and generally lasts 15 to 20 days following the cold soak of 5 days. The use of new oak for the élevage is carefully restrained; the norm being approximately 20% to ­ 30% on the village wines and up to 50% for the Premier and Grand Crus. The wines of the village appellations usually spend 18 months in barrel while the Premier and Grand Crus remain in cask for 20 to 24 months before being bottled, all without fining or filtration. All work in the cellar that requires movement of the wine is done by gravity; the wines are never pumped.

Hubert Lignier’s 2020 Vintage

It seems that there is no end to the announcements of domaines increasing their vineyards under management as Laurent Lignier was proud to tell me that that he had added 1.44 ha of Monthélie, specifically in the premier cru Sur la Velle, Aux Vigne Rondes and Les Barbières, effective with 2020. With respect to the 2020 vintage, Lignier noted that “it was the earliest harvest ever for us. The growing season began super-early and the hot and dry conditions that followed only accelerated the vegetative cycle. The flowering didn’t pass especially well and thus there was a relatively high incidence of shatter along with the resultant shot berries. These are of course great for concentration but not so much for volume. At least there was no disease pressure to speak of so that certainly helped. However, we were concerned about how fast the sugars were climbing near the end of August and thus we chose to begin picking on the 27th of August and continued through to the 4th of September. Despite the fruit being so clean, and thus we had almost no sorting losses, volumes were still off around 30%. Potential alcohols were strong at between 13.5 and 14% and I used around one-third whole clusters in the vinifications while doing almost no punch downs. The skins were extremely thick, so I wanted to be sure that we didn’t inadvertently over-extract. I really like the style of the 2020s because even though they’re riper than usual, they are also exceptionally fresh and bright, even refreshing. Plus they have the stuffing to age for years so there should be something for every preference.” As was the case in 2019, Lignier has fashioned some lovely wines in 2020. 

Allen Meadows, Burghound

Vintage at Hubert Lignier

This is a fantastic short film sharing some of the history of the Domaine and a day in the life of the Lignier’s during vintage.

Where in the World is Domaine Hubert Lignier?

Domaine Hubert Lignier is based in the Côtes-de-Nuits north of Beaune in the village of Morey-Saint-Denis with wines made from Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny. In addition, they source fruit from Fixin, a small parcel in Nuits-Saint-Georges and Saint Romain. Recently the Domaine has commenced sourcing fruit from Pommard to the South in the Côtes-du-Beaune. Their prize holdings are of the Grand Cru’s Clos de la Roche, Griotte-Chambertin and Charmes-Chambertin alongside a suite of excellent well positioned Premier Cru’s.

Click on any of the maps below to enlarge.

Morey-Saint-Denis

Gevrey-Chambertin

Chambolle-Musigny