Nose opens with kirsch and serious spice…in the mouth somehow very Morey St. Denis; dark tones, intense spice, a certain viscosity or denseness; later a little dust and maybe truffle and the finish lengthens. Not a great bottle, but still a treat and no doubt drinking as well as it ever will. Over time, the spices open up, a bit of that kaleidoscope effect—tastes coming from all directions–just so pretty, though maybe still slightly drying tannins on the back end. Really know few things more life affirming than GC Burg, when it’s on. (Don’t know what that says about me.) Have recently also had his 1990 Clos St. Denis; more power and freshness there than in this. These bottles seem a steal, relatively speaking, though another board member was ultimately responsible for sourcing this.
They were $30 wines on release. Much less than Hubert.
Since ‘08, when the nephew Benoit took over, there seems there seems to have been a marked improvement to the quality of the wine. Still good value, the Bonnes Mares 2015 I bought was still around $150.
in the early 90s, the grand crus were only premier cru level quality. Glad to see an upswing.
For whatever reason, this Domaine made amazing 1985s. Something of a one-hit wonder. Don’t hesitate if you see them.
Agree '85s have been strong, but I’ve also had thrilling bottles of '78 Clos de la Roche, superior to the '85s I’ve had. Carried one all the way to Hong Kong for a special wine dinner there and even after travel it set the table all abuzz among some pretty serious burg lovers. YMMV.
I, too, am glad to hear this Domaine is showing improvement, though I don’t see the newer bottlings offered much. (Some correlation there?)
And, I agree, Alan, not always GC level; this bottle probably fell short, though I think something like the added complexity one expects, if not the power, did somewhat come through.
I will look out now for 85’s, William, thanks much! I do also suspect, as Sarah suggests, G. Lignier may have some high points in other vintages. I have not tasted so many of their wines, but the '90 Clos St. Denis I recently had twice seemed to me a real step above this CDLR and could well continue to age in bottle.
Seems widely available in UK.
Can be found here but not easy. Wonder if they have a national importer.,
It’s Rosenthal as of a few years ago.
I’ve long thought of Georges Lignier as an excellent estate. An estate overshadowed in the press by the more ebullient team of the late Romain and his father, Hubert (vs. the serious, taciturn Georges in charge during the '80s and ‘90s). Romain made clear that in addition to using more oak than their cousin, the Hubert holding in Clos de la Roche was much better than Georges’. (Where the Clos St. Denis is, arguably, better and the Bonnes Mares the best).
I finished the last of my 1988 version in late September:
9_/18: turkey, kasha, Perfection in the bottle from opening till corking for the next day (then faded a bit)…vibrant deep lively red fruits; tannins covered; masculine style, but…very pleasing and perfection with the food. Great aromatically, too…_
The 1990s were excellent there, too, though I drank mine within their first 20 years.
The styles at the places were very different. Georges used little, if any, new oak across the board. The wines therefore showed less evocatively in their early years and could be called “old style”; Hubert’s were more oaked and more flamboyant…and cost the same at the winery as Georges’…but then Neal Rosenthal got his very hefty markup added on. They were different, but, IMO, equally good wines…with different horizons.
In the '90s Parker was constantly harping about filtering wines or not. (Of course, by some definition, all wines are “filtered” or there would be all sorts of things in them that don’t belong there.) One day when I visited in the mid='90s Georges was on a ladder with a hose bottling one of the 1er crus…through a filter. He took the time to stop and show me the filter, how it worked, and why it did nothing harmful. I’ve always appreciated his willingness to explain things. (He also gave me some filters to take back to Phila and use at some tastings I led at a local wine school then. Unfortunately, someone liked them more than I and took them after one such tasting.)
One of my regrets has long been that I did not stock up on Georges Lignier wines…especially from 1988-1996, as I always thought they had potential…and my notes reflect they almost always came through…with some age or aeration.
(I also had a beautiful Hubert Morey ST. Denis vieilles vignes 1996 last night…that was acidic but countered by beautiful deep black fruit…and soaring aromatices). Hubert, too, educated me early on (during a visit in 1988 or 1990) about labeling “techniques” in Burgundy and their lack of regulation. I asked him then how old his vines in the “VV Morey 1er” were, and he responded that they were almost 25 years old. To me, hardly, “vieilles” by any objective standard…if one existed. Always a terrific botttling, no matter, though.
Thanks for filling in here, Stuart,
I always appreciate when you share your long experience with this region, and I am glad to know, in this case, that some of my experience with the '90’s are not off base. (The Rosenthal site states that under Benoit, they continue to use relatively low oak regimen.)
On a related note (in this case, literally related), I had the '93 Hubert Lignier Chambolles Les Baudes a few years back. A very different style indeed, but a wonderful and memorable wine.
Happy to “fill in”…or add (or answer) what I can.
The Baudes and Combottes are two very special 1er crus that Hubert has…both top vineyards in their communes…and under the radar, too.
Stuart…shoosh!
Too late, Mark.
I didn’t say they were great values once Rosenthal adds its tithe…
They used to be…
Agreed! We had an 85 CDLR in October that was drinking wonderfully. Everything that you could ask for from an 85 red burg.