2012 Morey St Denis En la Rue de Vergy

The 2012 Morey-Saint-Denis En La Rue de Vergy, has a delicate nose at first that opens nicely with aeration to reveal rounded raspberry and fresh strawberry scents, hints of incense developing in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a supple, fleshy opening. This is very generous in the mouth, feels nice ‘n broad with languid red berry, peppery fruit on the finish. This combines approachability and breeding. My second visit to see Virgile Lignier, cousin of Laurent Lignier at Domaine Hubert Lignier, did not go to plan. With the winery seemingly empty, I wondered whether he had forgotten our rendezvous. I soon discovered that the original domaine is tucked away within the village of Morey Saint Denis, and that like many, expansion has meant that they had to move elsewhere to make their wines. Virgile finally appeared driving a forklift truck loading wines destined for my homeland (incidentally I wonder how many Bordeaux proprietors have such a license?) Still, we eventually sat down to taste his 2012s that had been racked mid-September and were now in tank. I have to admit, having heard so many bon mots about Lignier-Michelot, the 2011s had not swept me off my feet back last July, though I could see the potential. However, the 2012s are a different matter and showed more complexity and nuance. The harvest here commenced a little later than others on 27 September, though not as tardy as Laurent Ponsot up the road.