The 2005 Morey-St.-Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes – as usual for this bottling – originates in a half hectare strip of 70-year-old vines in the tiny Faconnieres vineyard, and lapping over into Les Chenevery. Aromas and flavors of tart cherry, dried cranberry, citrus rind, brown spices, aromatic woods and resin are underlain by rich meat-stock and saline, chalky mineral characteristics. Fine, mouth-coating tannins and superb finishing concentration of red fruits, brown spices and resins complete the picture of this bright, invigorating, yet rich wine. Lignier points out that as a group his 2005s are relatively low in acidity, but when the character of the fruit is this lively and invigorating how important are grams per liter? Plan on revisiting this in 5-7 years but anticipating 15-20 years of faithful service.
There is a distressing cloud hanging over this venerable estate because Hubert Lignier and the American widow of his son, Romain, have been unable to agree on pooling their resources, with the result that two sets of 2006s were vinified (and the 2005s may end up being sold under two different labels). The 2005s I tasted had been drawn earlier in the day as approximations to the final blends.
Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990.
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