The Ligniers own just under a hectare in this hallowed grand cru, split among two plots: 0.62 hectares in the climat of Monts Luisants, and 0.28 hectares in Les Fremières. Laurent’s grandfather Henri planted the first vines here in 1955 and propagated the remainder of the holdings via selection massale between 1960 and 1966. One of the most iconic wines in our portfolio, Lignier’s Clos de la Roche is also one of the greatest wines in Burgundy, vintage after vintage. The site’s particular terroir—a few inches of pebble-strewn topsoil above solid limestone rock—yields a wine of unfathomable mineral intensity, with rugged spices and a profound sense of earth framing its flinty, smoke-tinged core. It is a site that always asserts itself with force, showing its pedigree even among such lofty company as can be found in the Lignier cellar. This cuvée spends a full 21 months in barrels, a third of which are new, and it should always be cellared with utmost patience.