Hubert Lignier Saint-Romain Blanc 2023
We have 10 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Saint-Romain sits up in the hills behind Auxey-Duresses and Meursault, and some of its best slopes were considered so marginal that they sat abandoned for most of a century after phylloxera. Sous le Château, the source of this Saint-Romain Blanc, was only replanted in the 1970s. It is a steep, southeast-facing slope beneath the rocky outcrop that once held a Merovingian necropolis and later a feudal castle, climbing from about 350 to 430 meters on thin, stony limestone over clay. Altitude and poor soil slow ripening, which is why white wine from Saint-Romain keeps a cutting acidity even in hot years.
The Wine
Hubert Lignier Saint-Romain Blanc 2023 is 100% Chardonnay, fermented in barrel with 20 percent new oak, where it also goes through malolactic. It then rests about 15 months on its fine lees with minimal bâtonnage. The long lees contact fills out the mid-palate without softening the edges, and the modest new wood stays in the background. Expect ripe yellow plum, white peach, and lemon pith over struck flint and crushed stone, a taut, saline middle, and a finish that tightens around that high-altitude acidity. The 2023 season followed a mild, dry winter with a wetter spring, summer storms, and a late heatwave that pushed daytime highs toward 40°C and sped ripening. Burgundy brought in the largest crop in its recorded history, so site and picking date mattered more than usual.
The People
Domaine Hubert Lignier is a Morey-Saint-Denis house, known for Clos de la Roche and old-vine Morey, with its core holdings in Morey, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Chambolle-Musigny. Hubert began estate bottling in 1973, and Rosenthal Wine Merchant has imported the wines since the 1978 vintage. More recently the domaine reached south into the Côte de Beaune, adding parcels in Pommard and Saint-Romain alongside Nuits-Saint-Georges; Hubert and Laurent made their first Saint-Romain Blanc in 2004. A new cellar in Morey opened in 2008, where wines move by gravity and are bottled without fining or filtration. The estate has been certified organic since 2019, and the next generation, Sébastien and Maëlle, is now stepping into the work. This Saint-Romain is a Côte de Nuits red-wine family applying the same restraint to Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune.
Food Pairing
This is a white that wants butter and salt. Pan-seared scallops with brown butter and a celery root purée work because the wine's acidity slices the richness while the lees texture matches the sweetness of the shellfish. Trout amandine with lemon and parsley picks up the flinty, nutty side. Warm gougères made with Comté are the classic Burgundian aperitif for a reason: the salt and cheese make the stone fruit taste brighter. For a weeknight, roast chicken thighs with tarragon, white wine, and a spoonful of crème fraîche in the pan sauce. This is the bottle for the dinner when you want Meursault-style pleasure without the Meursault price.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Burgundy, in eastern France, encompasses several subregions, but it is the Côte d'Or that is home to many of the world's most expensive and revered wines. The region, primarily a single east-facing slope, has mixed limestone soils that vary dramatically from village to village and even vineyard to vineyard. White wines, crafted from Chardonnay, range from rich and opulent to lean and intensely mineral, while Pinot Noir produces silky, perfumed red wines of exceptional finesse and complexity. Centuries of winemaking tradition have resulted in every plot being meticulously recognized and scrutinized, making the Côte d'Or a true capital of terroir.
Burgundy - Cote d'Or
Chardonnay, one of the world's most versatile and beloved white grape varieties, showcases a remarkable spectrum of styles, from the lean, mineral-driven expressions of Chablis in France to the rich, buttery, and oak-aged versions from California's Napa Valley. Its adaptability extends to cooler climates such as Burgundy, where it achieves elegance and complexity, and to regions like Australia's Yarra Valley, known for producing vibrant and fruit-forward renditions. This grape's ability to reflect its terroir, coupled with winemaking techniques, results in a wide array of profiles, including unoaked, crisp varieties with apple and citrus notes, to full-bodied wines with tropical fruit flavors and creamy textures.
