Pinot Noir

wines

Out of all of the less than 20 year old wines in the tasting, the 2005 possesses the most aromatic complexity with simply knockout scents of still relatively primary red and dark berry fruit, spice, floral, humus, game and smoked tea. There is strikingly good concentration yet absolutely no sense of heaviness to the seductively textured and velvety broad-shouldered flavors that coat the mouth with abundant reserves of dry extract that also buffer the still very firm tannic spine. In addition to the obvious assets of complexity and concentration, what really impresses me about this exceptionally powerful wine is the impeccable balance and harmony as nary a hair is out of place. Note however that this is going to be one very, very long-lived effort and I wouldn’t touch a bottle for at least another 10 to 12 years. In a word, stunning.Burghound | 97 BH(13.6% alcohol; 30 h/h; 9/26 harvest): Healthy full red. Ripe, rich nose offers a spectacular combination of red and darker fruits, minerals, spices, mocha, mint, dried flowers and underbrush, lifted by strong florality. Wonderfully concentrated, sappy, still-youthful wine with outstanding tactile depth and fruit retention to its flavors of cherry, redcurrant and crushed rock. Combines the energy and precision of the ’08 with the greater volume of the ’09. This compellingly chewy, extract-rich wine, still a bit brooding and short of its peak, expands and builds inexorably on the aftertaste. There’s a 3-D texture and a noble soil character here that I find exhilarating.Vinous Media | 95+ VM

Laurent Lignier has crafted a delicious wine from his holdings in Clos de la Roche, with dark plummy fruit and notes of ground coffee, earth and spice. The texture is serious, dense with tannin and extract, with enough acidity to draw the flavours out on the palate. Yields were tiny – just five barrels instead of the customary 15-20. This wine will begin to open in three to five years and will drink well for decades after that.Decanter Magazine | 94 DECLaurent has not made the special cuvée in 2024. Here there are 5 barrels from 0.90ha, two thirds Monts Luisants, one third Fremières. A fine mid crimson with a slightly weaker rim. The nose is very high class though, with just a little savoury edge to the mineral red fruit, good tension at the finish, maybe a little blueberry, classic Clos de la Roche with quite some staying power. Drink from 2032-2040. Tasted Nov 2025.Jasper Morris | 94-96 JMThe 2024 Clos-de-la-Roche Grand Cru has an exquisite bouquet that is easily the best that Laurent Lignier conjured this vintage: wonderful redcurrant and raspberry scents, freshly picked roses and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with finely honed tannins, a silver thread of acidity and silky texture that instantly seduces. There is just a tingle of white pepper on the finish that completes a lovely Clos de la Roche. Divine.Vinous Media | 93-95 VMModerate wood influence sets off overtly floral-suffused aromas of wild red berries, spice and a suggestion of wet stone. The succulent, round and utterly delicious medium-bodied flavors possess a lovely sense of underlying tension that adds to the appeal of the powerful, impressively long and well-balanced finale. This is though compact and very firmly structured so at least mid-term patience is recommended.Burghound | 91-94 BH