THE STORY CONTINUES

As part of a family-owned, four-generation-old wine domaine, Benoit Stehly always knew he was destined to become a wine producer. Having completed his studies in viticulture and oenology, he took over the running of this wine domaine in 2003 and has since allowed his passion for the vine and its ecosystem to guide him and ultimately impart his own identity into the domaine’s wines.

With an extraordinary terroir covering 16 hectares split between 50 different plots, Domaine Georges Lignier et Fils cultivates 17 appellations, nicely representing the diversity of the Burgundy wine region. Every year Benoit Stehly has the pleasure of vinifying these 17 appellations, four of which are grand crus.

THE VINE

The nurturing of the vine needs as much respect as possible for the plant and the soil. Grass cover is practiced at maximum, and the vine-shoots are crushed in such a way as to favour microbes in the soil. We decide on vine treatments by monitoring the development of the plant and the climate in order to keep application to a minimum. The use of Guyot pruning, de-budding, green harvesting and leaf-plucking allows us to obtain optimum maturity and the finest expression of the different soils.

All our vines are planted on chalk-clay soil. The average age of the vines is 50 years, and there hasn’t been any major replanting for more than 15 years, resulting in a vineyard where production is regulated by means of low yields. The grapes, by being much smaller and more concentrated, deliver a deep-seated, clearexpression of the terroirof each site.

THE WINEMAKING

The harvest is principally manual. Our loyal and tested harvester team sortes grapes a first time direct in the vineyard and then at the estate on the sort table. The vinification starts with 70 to 90% destemming, then we carry out a cold pre-fermentation soak for 4 to 5  days. The fermentation is temperature-controlled and periodic pumping over allows for a gentle extraction and colour stability.

Once the alcoholic fermentation has finished, 3 to 4 days of supplementary maceration are necessary to complete the extraction of the soluble material (tannins, anthocyanins..) and to encourage a harmonious blend of all the constituent parts.

This method allows us to express the finesse and the elegance of the Pinot Noir derived from our unique soils.

After the pressing, the new wine is directly transferred in to oak barrels of 228 litres, to mature for a period of 18 to 20 months, but this period can vary according to the character of the vintage.

During maturation, the wine is racked twice. The first time after the malolactic fermentation, to remove the biggest particles. The second time is carried out one month before bottling. We avoid total filtrationin order to preserve the wine’s structure. The wines are also matured in casks,with the oak being sourced from various French forests (Vosges, Allier, Nivers …).

The wine is racked about a month before being put in bottle in order to eliminate the fine lees and so as to avoid the need for filtration. Bottling is carried out at the property under our control. We choose natural corks allowing our wines to evolve slowly during maturation which can take more than 15 years for the best vintages.

ADRESSE

41, Grande Rue
21220 MOREY-SAINT-DENIS

THE STORY CONTINUES

As part of a family-owned, four-generation-old wine domaine, Benoit Stehly always knew he was destined to become a wine producer. Having completed his studies in viticulture and oenology, he took over the running of this wine domaine in 2003 and has since allowed his passion for the vine and its ecosystem to guide him and ultimately impart his own identity into the domaine’s wines.

With an extraordinary terroir covering 16 hectares split between 50 different plots, Domaine Georges Lignier et Fils cultivates 17 appellations, nicely representing the diversity of the Burgundy wine region. Every year Benoit Stehly has the pleasure of vinifying these 17 appellations, four of which are grand crus.

THE VINE

The nurturing of the vine needs as much respect as possible for the plant and the soil. Grass cover is practiced at maximum, and the vine-shoots are crushed in such a way as to favour microbes in the soil. We decide on vine treatments by monitoring the development of the plant and the climate in order to keep application to a minimum. The use of Guyot pruning, de-budding, green harvesting and leaf-plucking allows us to obtain optimum maturity and the finest expression of the different soils.

All our vines are planted on chalk-clay soil. The average age of the vines is 50 years, and there hasn’t been any major replanting for more than 15 years, resulting in a vineyard where production is regulated by means of low yields. The grapes, by being much smaller and more concentrated, deliver a deep-seated, clearexpression of the terroirof each site.

THE WINEMAKING

The harvest is principally manual. Our loyal and tested harvester team sortes grapes a first time direct in the vineyard and then at the estate on the sort table. The vinification starts with 70 to 90% destemming, then we carry out a cold pre-fermentation soak for 4 to 5  days. The fermentation is temperature-controlled and periodic pumping over allows for a gentle extraction and colour stability.

Once the alcoholic fermentation has finished, 3 to 4 days of supplementary maceration are necessary to complete the extraction of the soluble material (tannins, anthocyanins..) and to encourage a harmonious blend of all the constituent parts.

This method allows us to express the finesse and the elegance of the Pinot Noir derived from our unique soils.

After the pressing, the new wine is directly transferred in to oak barrels of 228 litres, to mature for a period of 18 to 20 months, but this period can vary according to the character of the vintage.

During maturation, the wine is racked twice. The first time after the malolactic fermentation, to remove the biggest particles. The second time is carried out one month before bottling. We avoid total filtrationin order to preserve the wine’s structure. The wines are also matured in casks,with the oak being sourced from various French forests (Vosges, Allier, Nivers …).

The wine is racked about a month before being put in bottle in order to eliminate the fine lees and so as to avoid the need for filtration. Bottling is carried out at the property under our control. We choose natural corks allowing our wines to evolve slowly during maturation which can take more than 15 years for the best vintages.

ADRESSE

41, Grande Rue
21220 MOREY-SAINT-DENIS