Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru, “Les Chaffots”

The Ligniers own just under half a hectare of 50-year-old vines in this great premier cru, which sits just above Clos-Saint-Denis on the slope. This vineyard yields a wine of brooding tension, black of fruit and stern, with a rigorous acid profile and real power underpinning it. “Les Chaffots” is unfailingly a profound wine that beckons for some patience, but the purity of fruit is striking here, even in the context of such tight-grained structure.