The 2020 Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru has turned out especially well, wafting from the glass with aromas of peonies, sweet wild berries, orange rind, loamy soil and rose petals. Full-bodied, layered and seamless, with velvety tannins and an ample core of vibrant, perfumed fruit, it concludes with a long, seamless finish. This may well emerge as Lignier´s finest Charmes of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 trio.

Laurent Lignier began his harvest on August 27, reporting below-average yields and finished alcohols between 13% and 14%. Once again, the result is a fine vintage for both his domaine holdings and négociant sources—the latter, amounting to some 3.5 hectares of vines, now clearly distinguished in our reviews. As readers will know, winemaking is pretty classical at this address, with a short cold maceration, two to three weeks´ maceration with one pigéage and one rémontage per day and maturation in barrels, some one-third of which are new—if possible, without racking—for fully 22 months in the domaine´s cold cellars. The 2020s are more primary and tightly wound than Lignier´s 2019s, but they´re similar in terms of ultimate quality and are well worth seeking out.