1996 Lignier-Michelot Clos de la Roche

Domaine Lignier-Michelot is in Morey St. Denis. It is owned and run by Virgile Lignier, a third generation grape grower and winemaker. Until 1992 the family sold their wines to a negociant. But with the 1992 vintage they began bottling some of their wine under their own label. By 2000 Lignier-Michelot was no longer providing cuvee to negociants. The 24-acre estate includes Grand Cru parcels in Clos de la Roche and Premier Cru parcels in Morey-Saint-Denis. There are also villages parcels in Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny. Clive Coates has written that Lignier-Michelot’s “wines are neat, stylish and medium to medium-full bodied.”

Clos de la Roche is a 41-acre Grand Cru vineyard in the Morey St.-Denis appellation in the Cotes de Nuits, in northern Burgundy. The tiny village of Morey St.-Denis is just south of Gevrey-Chambertin and Clos de Roche is considered the appellation’s most superior Grand Cru. The vineyard’s elevation ranges from 270 to 300 meters, and its soil is extremely rocky with excellent drainage. The soil is largely limestone, and in some places it is barely a foot deep. Writer Clive Coates calls Clos de Roche “the classiest of the Morey Grand Crus.” The largest landholders are Ponsot with 8.35 acres; Dujac, 4.88 acres; and Armand Rousseau, 3.7 acres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.