From old vines in a clay-rich site just north of far larger Les Millandes, the Lignier-Michelot 2006 Morey-St.-Denis Les Faconnieres smells of smoky black tea, resin, sassafras, plum and black raspberry. Bitter herbal pungency and persistent smokiness accent the sweet fruit while fine-grained but abundant tannins suggest a firm structure for 6-8 years aging. This finishes with the energy and brightness kicked to the next level from that already displayed by so many of the wines in this collection. Virgile Lignier shared the surprise expressed by many growers at how steadily the 2006s improved in the course of their elevage. He experienced only a 15% drop in net yield vis-a-vis 2005, noting that most of the fruit he discarded was what had suffered from hail rather than succumbed to rain and rot. Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70