MCF Rare Wine
A Perennial Burgundy Fave (Plus the Rest of the Lineup from this Dramatically Underappreciated Producer...)
In each of the past two years, I've written offers for the Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Clos des Ormes of Georges Lignier (read them HERE and HERE, if you feel curious) and they've both been some of my most successful single-wine offers for Burgundy.
The reasons were quite simple, really - the wine is stunningly good and way undervalued in the often overvalued Burgundy landscape.
The 2012 was robust and endowed with a pure, supple and deceptively structured profile. The 2013 was airier and more fragrant and, incidentally, was, pound-for-pound, one of the best 1er Cru reds from 2013 that I tasted...period.
Enter the 2014s from Georges Lignier, a set of wines I've been anticipating for over a year now.
Let me backtrack slightly and mention that, since the wines of Georges Lignier have reemerged in the US a few years back, I've been of the opinion that they are the most comically underappreciated Burgundies on the market.
Yes, there are tons of underappreciated emerging producers, many from emerging parts of Burgundy, but for an established producer, with such a wonderfully traditional style, and with such a great list of terroirs in his lineup to be this good, this affordable and this under-the-radar is...
...good for us...
The purity, balance and honesty of every wine Lignier produces is of such simple beauty that it's enough to make you forget all the nonsense in life, if only for the time it takes to finish a glass.
So, back to the Clos des Ormes - this indescribably cool, fresh, impeccably balanced and wildly fragrant glass of Pinot Noir perfection. As I said above, I'd been eagerly waiting to see what kind of magic Lignier would coax out of such a airy, pure and delicate vintage like 2014...and, well...every expectation exceeded.
Blake, my rep from Rosenthal (Lignier's importer), brought a couple of the 2014s by the other week. First was the 2014 AC Gevrey, which was beautiful - balanced and expressive, but with that firm, masculine Gevrey edge to it. It was about as good a glass of village Gevrey as you'll find for the price.
Then he poured me the Clos des Ormes. I raised the glass to my nose and I knew right away, without so much as a sip, that it was, yet again, something truly special. I looked up at him and shook my head as if to say 'I don't get how this wine goes so unnoticed'.
I sat with it for a minute, reveling in the deeply perfumed, highly expressive and impossibly nimble bouquet (and reveling in the knowledge that, because these wines are ignored, there would be plenty for me to sell to all of you).
On the palate, the wine is so elegant, so transparent, so cool and ethereal that you can pick out every pure nuance over and over without the slightest effort.
Don't let its delicate refinement make you think that it's a 'drink now' bottle, though. One the finish, you'll find the finest, most intricately wound backbone of tannin and acidity that will allow this wine to age gracefully for quite a while.
I've saved myself a few bottles of the Ormes from each of the last two vintages, and will definitely do that with the '14. I can't wait to see how they mature with respect to each other, but something tells me this one will be my favorite.
And, as promised, I've also compiled an offer for the other knock-out 2014s from Georges Lignier, all of which use the cool, energetic transparency of 2014 to their fullest advantage.
Please ping me back with any questions you have on them...
To be perfectly honest with you all, selling Burgundy these days is mostly a chore. I could share all the reasons why, but I'll spare you the gory details.
With wines like these, though, I'm reminded that you can still sell great Burgundy, from famous terroirs, in quantity, at a decent price...and the best part is that I get to share them with all of you.
ALL 2014s from George Lignier
Chambolle Musigny
Morey Saint Denis
Gevrey Chambertin
Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Combottes
Clos Saint Denis Grand Cru
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
To inquire about this wine, please email info@mcf-rarewine.com or call 212.255.8870.
Matt Franco
MCF Rare Wine, Ltd
249 West 13th Street NYC 10011
212.255.8870