"This very structured effort reminds me of some of the great old vintages made by Hubert in the late 1980s and early 1990s." -Burghound

Domaine Hubert Lignier has produced some absolutely epic examples of Clos de la Roche, one of Burgundy's most powerful and soaring Grand Crus.

As Burghound's note above makes clear, the 2014 is a tribute to many of the monuments of Lignier's Clos de la Roche. Given the 2014 vintage's purity and classicism, this should come as no surprise.

The capacity of Lignier's Clos de la Roche to age is legendary. A recent tasting stretched back to 1978 and it was clear just how bulletproof the wines are. They are wines of regal grandeur with a fascinating savage quality.

Neal Rosenthal, Lignier's importer with a famously strong portfolio, is fond of saying that the Clos de le Roche is the greatest wine that he imports.

Lignier's Clos de la Roche is often mentioned in the same breath as the appellation's other benchmarks - Ponsot, Dujac and Leroy. Compared to these, Lignier's Clos de la Roche is the most ruggedly honest. They are wines of class and elegance, without artifice. It's this seemingly unmediated rendering of the Grand Cru that wows us.

Clos de la Roche sits on a rock-hard layer of limestone with a thin layer of top soil. Lignier's parcels are in two different climats, Monts Luisants and Les Fremieres. The vines are 50-60 years old. It has a profile of perfumed berry fruit with spice, earthy, dark floral tones and a firm, stony minerality.

Lignier has a knack for laying bare the sheer majesty of Clos de la Roche. The 2014 dramatizes this. There's a driving verve, a full-throttle intensity and above all, finesse. You have expansive power with an insane amount of complexity and length married to a racy weightlessness. The combination is absolutely lovely.

Lignier's are some of the most soulfully made Burgundies we know. The Clos de la Roche is his greatest wine, and the 2014 gets to the beating heart of what makes Lignier so compelling. Very happy to offer.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden

Director, Fine & Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits

2014 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche

Burghound: "An exceptionally fresh and cool if distinctly restrained nose offers up notes of pomegranate and black berry fruit scents that are liberally laced with wisps of sauvage, earth, tea and leather. There is excellent verve and fine detail to the impressively intense and imposingly scaled flavors that are supported by markedly firm tannins on the suave, mouth coating and massively long finish. This very structured effort reminds me of some of the great old vintages made by Hubert in the late 1980s and early 1990s."