94+ Domaine Lignier’s Charmes-Chambertin is a brilliant wine in the making in 2011. The deep and beautiful bouquet is a mix of strawberries, cherries, a touch of beetroot, mustard seed, a great base of soil, woodsmoke, cedar and a topnote of rose petals. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very transparent, with a fine core of fruit, superb intensity and focus, fine-grained tannins and a very, very long, elegant and utterly classic finish. The family’s small plot of vines are located in Mazoyères-Chambertin, and I would like to think that the superb quality and refinement of this wine in 2011 is a pretty strong statement that one can produce absolutely brilliant and compellingly suave Charmes from this vineyard as well. A great wine.

The 2011 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru was raised entirely in new oak. It is aromatically not a million miles away from the Aux Combotte "11" tightly wound and a little timid on the nose at first and demands coaxing. It reluctantly reveals quite intense wet limestone scents that dominate over the red and black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine grip on the entry with the oak lending it a smooth veneer. Harmonious and focused, it glides to quite a sinewy finish that needs a couple of years to fully integrate the wood. Very fine. Drink 2016-2028. - Neal Martin