1997 Hubert Lignier, Clos de la Roche Grand Cru

At twenty years of age, the 1997 Clos de la Roche is fabulous, although the magnum format surely helps. Deep, ample and broad on the palate, the 1997 shows the volume that Clos de la Roche can show with time in bottle. Smoke, tobacco, licorice and a host of dark-fleshed fruits give the wine its brooding, virile personality. The 1997 is shockingly inward for a wine of its age. Laurent Lignier adds that rackings were complicated in 1997. Perhaps that comes through in the wine’s brooding personality. Even so, the 1997 can only be described as a success, especially within the context of a year that was marked by up and down weather and uneven ripening. Hints of orange peel, dried rose petals and mint add an exotic flair. Readers who enjoy mature Burgundies will flip out over the 1997.

Excellent red-ruby color. Complex, highly aromatic nose of plum, black raspberry, mocha, underbrush and oak spices. Superripe and highly concentrated, with exotic flavors of syrupy red fruits. Still quite tightly wrapped for a '97. Finishes with big but ripe tannins. Wait five or six years on this one, advises winemaker, Romain Lignier.