Domaine Hubert Lignier

At the beginning of 1885, Jacques Lignier, a foreman on an estate in the Côte de Nuits, acquired plots of vines decimated by phylloxera. Early in the 20th century his son Jules Lignier helped replant the vines and built up a holding that he passed on to his three sons, Georges, Maurice and Henri. The Georges Lignier and Lignier-Michelot domaines came from the same family line. Henri developed his own estate to 4.5 hectares of vines by 1960. Hubert Lignier, Henri's eldest son, took over the business in 1959 and grew it by buying new plots and consolidating with his neighbours. In 1973, in the midst of the economic crisis, he introduced bottling at the estate. The domaine presents itself as 'a family estate for 6 generations'.

• 1885: Jacques Lignier acquires plots of vines decimated by phylloxera
• Jules Lignier passes the holding to his three sons, Georges, Maurice and Henri
• 1959: Hubert Lignier takes over the business
• 1973: bottling at the estate begins

Hubert and Françoise had three children. Romain Lignier (d. 2004), the youngest, joined his father in 1992 on a 7.5-hectare estate, and together they began to work the soil. Laurent Lignier had worked with his father in the early 1990s before leaving to work for Albert Bichot in Beaune. In 2004 Laurent came to support his parents, Hubert and Françoise. In 2007 he decided to do away with all synthetic products, and under his impetus the estate moved in 2008 to a new winery in Morey-Saint-Denis, at 13 route nationale. By 2020 the estate had grown to 11 hectares. Françoise (d. 2018) gave Hubert a great deal of support in the vineyards and at harvest time. The domaine credits Hubert's expertise and Laurent's winemaking style with making the wines more delicate and precise, and describes the passion for the work being passed on with the gradual arrival of Sébastien and Maëlle.

• 1992: Romain Lignier joins his father on a 7.5-hectare estate
• 2004: Laurent Lignier comes to support his parents
• 2008: move to a new winery at 13 route nationale, Morey-Saint-Denis
• 2020: the estate reaches 11 hectares

Most of the domaine's vineyards are old vines planted with massal selections, the oldest of which date back to 1936. The soils have been worked by ploughing and tilling since the 1990s, without weedkillers or insecticides. The estate's practices have been organic since 2006; Laurent began the AB conversion process in 2016, and certification followed in 2019. Vineyard work includes shredding vine shoots, organic manure or compost from a local farm, legume seeds in the vine rows, and massal selection from the estate's own old vines.

• Oldest vines planted in 1936
• Ploughing and tilling since the 1990s, no weedkillers or insecticides
• Organic practices since 2006
• AB conversion begun in 2016, certified in 2019

The Clos de la Roche holding covers 90 ares over two parcels: 62 ares in Monts Luisants, planted between 1955 and 1965 on hillsides with a 25 percent gradient, and 28 ares in Fremières, planted between 1953 and 1960. The soil is thin white limestone, clay and marl over a compact Middle Jurassic rock known as dalle nacrée. Clos de la Roche Cuvée MCMLV comes from a plot on the Monts Luisants planted in 1955 at 11,000 vines per hectare, with vines prepared and grafted by Henri Lignier; production is between 400 and 600 bottles a year. The domaine also has 10 ares of Mazoyères-Chambertin on the southern side of the Route des Grands Crus. Charmes-Chambertin comes from purchased grapes or wine, and Clos de Vougeot has been purchased as wine since 2017. Premier Crus include Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Vieilles Vignes, La Riotte, Les Chaffots, Les Sorbès, Chenevery, Les Blanchards and Dalle Nacrée; Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Aux Combottes and Petite Chapelle; Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Baudes and Les Chabiots; Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Didiers; and Monthelie 1er Cru. The domaine has bought barrels of Les Didiers, a 2.5-hectare monopoly of the Domaine des Hospices de Nuits, at the Hospices de Nuits auction every year since the 2005 vintage. Village and regional wines include Morey-Saint-Denis Trilogie and Très Girard, Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Poisets, Gevrey-Chambertin Les Seuvrées and Regnard, Chambolle-Musigny Les Bussières, Pommard, Volnay, Monthelie, Fixin, Saint-Romain, Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Bourgogne Passetoutgrain, Bourgogne Aligoté and a Coteaux Bourguignons Chardonnay. As of 2017 the domaine also bought grapes, all vinified at the domaine, and exported about 80 percent of its production.

• Clos de la Roche: 90 ares (Monts Luisants 62 ares, Fremières 28 ares)
• Clos de la Roche Cuvée MCMLV: 400 to 600 bottles a year from a 1955 planting
• Mazoyères-Chambertin: 10 ares
• Charmes-Chambertin from purchased grapes or wine; Clos de Vougeot purchased as wine since 2017
• Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Didiers: barrels bought at the Hospices de Nuits auction since the 2005 vintage

Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted, then vinified in the domaine's vats with a proportion of whole bunches kept. Pumping over and punching down are used to extract the tannins. Before the wine is put into barrels, the lees are selected and distributed equally in each barrel, with a proportion of 20 to 30 percent new wood. Élevage lasts around twenty months, after which the wines are racked and bottled by gravity, without filtration or clarification. As of 2017, up to 25 percent whole clusters were used, where historically all fruit was destemmed, and the tanks were cooled for 5 to 8 days before the onset of fermentation. The domaine sets out its aim as 'authentic, sensual wines' that 'must express their respective terroirs', and its crus as combining 'freshness, finesse and elegance'.

• Hand harvest and sorting; a proportion of whole bunches
• 20 to 30 percent new oak; around twenty months of élevage
• Racked and bottled by gravity, without filtration or clarification

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://hubert-lignier.com/en/home/, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/domaine-hubert-lignier-morey-saint-denis, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/vintages, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/clos-de-la-roche-grand-cru, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/clos-de-la-roche-grand-cru-cuvee-mcmlv, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/charmes-chambertin-grand-cru, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/mazoyeres-chambertin-grand-cru, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/clos-de-vougeot-grand-cru, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/morey-saint-denis-1er-cru-vieilles-vignes, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/morey-saint-denis-1er-cru-la-riotte, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/gevrey-chambertin-1er-cru-aux-combottes, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/bourgogne-pinot-noir-grand-chaliot, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/morey-saint-denis-trilogie, https://hubert-lignier.com/en/wines/nuit-saint-georges-1er-cru-les-didiers-hospices-de-nuits. Secondary sources: Burgundy Report (profile, 7 June 2017) and Wine Spectator (29 July 2004). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.