2004 Lucie & Auguste Lignier Morey St. Denis

Burghound

• By Allen Meadows
  1st Quarter, 2007, Issue #25, (See more on Burghound...)

  (Domaine Lucie et Auguste Lignier Morey St.-Denis Villages Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  5/1/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (LIGNIER (L et A) Morey St. Denis) Lignier Dear Friends, I'm not going to dance around this or try to persuade you that this wine is the second coming of Morey - it's not. What we do have is a perfect parcel of Hubert Lignier's Morey St. Denis for less than the Bourgogne usually sells for. Albeit, it's 2004 (and it has a different label) but it's darn good wine nonetheless. With the break-up of Domaine Hubert Lignier (after his son's death - a complicated and difficult story), it took almost two years to sort things out - all the while, two vintages of wine (2004 and 2005) were made by Hubert (but he could not sell them). The result is the Domaine Hubert Lignier Morey St Denis with a new label - Lucie et August Lignier (named after his late son's children) - the wine is exactly the same, the corks are even Domaine Hubert Lignier stamped (they are not from Lucie et August). Two years ago, I didn't like this wine at all but Lignier told me to be patient - a song-bird would emerge in 2-3 years. I thought he had lost his mind - the wine was angular, rough and a bit simple. Fast forward a few years, to April 2009, and it has blossomed into the lovely song-bird that was promised with deft varietal tone and the magic of Burgundy (especially after 60-90 minutes of air). Think of this as an expensive bottle of Bourgogne and it will more than surpass your expectations. If you can bring yourself to drink a 2004, this is a moderately priced example that can be opened with relatively little guilt or pre-conception and it is especially good with food. The dryness that was present on release has evaporated and I have to say, this is almost textural at this point: If you a fan of top-end Oregon Pinot Noir (especially in a cold vintage) this wine delivers real, medium weight Burgundian presence for what is sure to be less of an investment. It stays intact over 24 hours and actually develops further (a relative anomaly for Pinot Noir -a varietal that can be best after 4-8 hours of air, not after 24). ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this crazy price with perfect provenance: 2004 Lucie et Auguste Lignier Morey Saint Denis (Hubert Lignier) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Burg7722