The siblings Héloïse and Antoine Lienhardt are the talented, enjoyable people behind Domaine Antoine Lienhardt in Comblanchien.

These are wines I know very well as they are go-to every day wines … from the smallest cuvees to the Emphace

To taste the wines here has become increasingly important, as they use a combination of different elevage vessels, namely barrels and amphorae of different materials – see photo below.

Why I like the Lienhardt style

Domaine Lienhardt remind me of what I sort of miss in Burgundy today: a relaxed effortlessness and the willingness and urge to experiment and challenge conventions and methods.

Maybe it’s just me, but things can be too well organised and controlled for my taste. Still, as a journalist, one needs to understand the rules and preferences at the place one is tasting.

All wine production is, in the end, commercial. But I prefer that this is kept at a reasonable level, where not every tasting is to promote sales. So it is refreshing to taste with Antoine and Héloïse and feel the relatively relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in which they produce their wines.

Are they Vin natur (natural wine) as some would name it – perhaps?. I prefer to call it organic and biodynamic, as this sort of puts an understandable framework on describing the producer’s relationship with nature.

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Vigneron: Antoine Lienhardt –

The Lienhardts are clearly on the experimental side of winemaking in Burgundy, constantly evolving and looking to make better wines. What can seem unorganised is, as the years pass, getting more and more focused from experience and plainly getting more mature. Luckily, the urge to experiment is not curbed … and the courage to change and try is still undeterred.

The style is organic and fruit-driven. Normally fruity and quite delicate with an effortless feel and free spirit. The definition and the focus are partly determined by the vintage, letting the year assert itself in the wine. In the end, very expressive and emotional wines.

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Domaine Antoine Lienhardt’s of today

This is becoming a barrel and amphorae setup (with both concrete and clay amphoraes). The proportions vary a bit from cuvee to cuvee, but Antoine would love to have one third matured in amphorae and the rest in different sizes and brands of barrels.

The preferred barrel here is now Stockinger, and the use of 400-litre vessels seems like an excellent choice (more about the older barrels below).

In the end, it is the assembled wines that are bottled, though. The disparate elements do demonstrate the expected variations: amphorae are more airy, free, and effortless; the barrels are slightly more compact and precise.

Knowing the differences is the name of the game here. Of course, one also wants to taste the assembled wines to get a more precise understanding. But things will change as bottling approaches.

It is sometimes difficult to taste the wines, having to visualise the finished wine from the elements tasted separately from amphorae and barrels.

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Domaine Antoine Lienhardt Cote de Nuits Village Les Plantes Aux Bois 2023

One of my favourites here is Les Plantes Aux Bois. It’s deep and lively, delicate and elegant. I really like the balance between hedonism and detail here, and it exemplifies why I drink many Lienhardt wines in private: just for the pleasure of it. A bit rough around the edges compared to 2022.

(Drink From 2025) – Very Good – (88p) –  

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Domaine Antoine Lienhardt Cote de Nuits Village Aux Vignottes 2023

Aux Vignottes is perhaps superior (but I do like Les Plantes Aux Bois). It took some time to understand and appreciate Vignottes, as it is slightly deeper and, given a bit of air, more finely detailed, quite some hedonistic joy here.

(Drink From 2027) – Very Good – (89p) –  

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Domaine Antoine Lienhardt “Emphase” 2024

This cuvee is an assembly of all of Lienhardt’s best Côte de Nuits village lieux-dits, and it is an expressive, expansive wine. I have loved it in vintages like 2021, and now the 2024 is down that road. Very lightfooted for this wine .. but still quite intense on the light side .. lovely frambroise … with very fresh fruit. Just such a lovely wine with quite some precision and delicacy. Not a points wine … but an emotional wine. Classic 2024.

(Drink From 2027) – Very Good – (88-89p) –  

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