Domaine Lienhardt - A Small Offering of 2021s

I do not have many friends in Burgundy, mostly acquaintances. Visits I've made over the years were primarily to older winemakers, who were always friendly and down to earth, but due to the generally succinct nature of Burgundy visits  (taste, talk about vintage, handshake), there has not always been a lot of time to develop deeper relationships. This all changed when I met Antoine Lienhardt last year, at a small wine fair organized by our good friend Noella Morantin in the Loire Valley. We somehow discovered our mutual affection for 90's Hip-Hop, and became fast friends. I have since visited several times, and always make it a habit to pass through Comblanchien when I'm in the area, to catch up with Antoine and his quick-witted sister, Héloïse. I was already a fan of the wines, and we have written about them for several years now, but I am even more excited to share these exceptional wines with you as I feel more connected to the estate. Almost ironic that 'Nas is Like' would come on the radio as I write this. Here's a bit on what Lienhardt is like. Preface will be a quick reminder that 2021s are in SHORT supply. This is all we're getting. The wines will reward early drinking and will be stunning if properly aged.

-Eben Lillie

Antoine, and his sister Héloïse who manages the estate alongside him, are based in Comblanchien. Though the family had grown grapes for years, Antoine was the first to bottle wines in 2011 after taking over his family's vines, which had been leased out since the early 1990s; Prior to this he had worked for Amiot-Servelle in Chambolle-Musigny. Viticulture is organic and the soils are worked by horse. Yields are intentionally kept low for greater terroir expression.  Fermentation is with native yeasts and there is minimal use of new oak.

Though he has managed the vineyards strictly according to organic principles since he took over, and always vinified using natural yeasts, the domaine is now biodynamic, as well as certified organic. Additionally, Antoine has always been one to push boundaries and has begun to move towards regenerative farming. He is planting trees and diversifying the cover crops between rows in the vineyards to fix nitrogen and offset carbon output, and to move towards no-till farming to further reduce the estate's carbon footprint and increase the microbial health of the soil.

At the heart of domaine's holdings are two lieux-dits in Comblancien planted in the 1960s by his grandfather. Separated by a mere 200 meters, Les Plantes Aux Bois and Les Essards both have shallow top soils of calcareous clay (50 cm) overlying mother rock of hard limestone. The main differences between the parcels are the rockier top soils in Les Essards and greater clay content of those in Les Plantes Aux Bois (in addition, though of similar exposure, the rows in the former run east-west, while the latter run north-south). As in the rest of Burgundy, small variations make for distinctive flavor profiles: Les Plantes Aux Bois is more generous, a touch broader, and more lush; Les Essards a bit leaner, nervier, taut, and more pungently mineral and cool-toned. Both have lively acidity, energetic minerality, and a compelling tension between the pure Pinot fruit and savory earthiness. Decant if enjoying now or cellar for 5-7 years to allow for further knitting of the structural elements. These are delicious and affordable terroir-specific Burgundies to grace the table.