WTN:1997 Clos de la Roche, Hubert Lignier

[Nevan]

1997 Clos de la Roche, Hubert Lignier (Grand Cru, Morey-Saint-Denic, Côte d’Or, Burgundy)

Full brick red color. Big earthy, meaty aromas of dried cherry and strawberry (described by one tasting group participant as “tres French stank”) that hinted at brett. In the mouth there is a controlled explosion of red cherry, dried oregano, black raspberry, pencil shavings, campfire smoke, orange zest flavors. Clean acid balance with a long finish whose tannins sneak up on you from behind, silently leaving you with a pleasingly puckered mouth.

(The next morning this wine offered even more complex aromas, with added notes of warm pumpkin, melon, and smoldering leaves The texture felt more velvety, and the tannins more drying. The overall experience was still beautiful and stimulating. Note: Parker rated this a 94 and Tanzer a 92 . . . the group, while roundly disparaging the whole notion of ratings, felt that this time the experts were, if anything, overly conservative!)