2020 Bonnes Mares, Grand Cru, Domaine Georges Lignier & Fils, Burgundy

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Georges Lignier is cousin to Hubert Lignier. In the 1980s the wines from the two domaines were broadly comparable, and a Clos de la Roche 1976 drunk in the summer of 2009 was superb, still remarkably youthful.  The vineyard holdings are impressive: Clos de la Roche, Clos St Denis, Charmes Chambertin, Bonnes Mares, Gevrey Chambertin Combottes, Morey St Denis Clos des Ormes, and village wines in Marsannay, Gevrey, Morey, Chambolle and Volnay. Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.