CLOS VOUGEOT

2016 Grand Cru Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair

EN PRIMEUR

40% Whole Bunch this year. For now from barrel the oak is quite present. Some ginger powder spice to the perky black fruit. Blueberries too. But bright - then a denser middle, framed by minerality too. Impressive drive here, a subtle underlying power. Powerful, dense. Nice zip and tension. Long and with an exciting buzz about it. L&S (Oct 2017)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru is relatively deep in colour. The bouquet is very attractive with black cherries, kirsch and brambly black fruit, nicely defined with well integrated oak. The palate is medium-bodied with steely tannins on the entry. A firm backbone here. I appreciate the focus of the wine, even if it is a tad austere on the finish. Give this another two or three years to flesh out. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. Drinking range: 2022 - 2042 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2019)

(from a .72 ha parcel on the Vosne side in the middle against the southern wall; 40% whole cluster). Mild reduction and wood toast make for a pungent nose so be sure to aerate this if you’re tempted to crack a bottle young. Otherwise there is outstanding intensity, volume and delineation to the imposingly-scaled flavors that possess a supple mid-palate that contrasts markedly with the youthfully austere and ever-so-slightly rustic finish. This too is going to need time as it’s very backward. Drinking range: 2026 - Rating: 94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2019)

(from a .72 ha parcel on the Vosne side in the middle against the southern wall; 40% whole cluster). Reduction. Otherwise there is outstanding intensity, volume and delineation to the imposingly-scaled flavors that possess a supple mid-palate that contrasts markedly with the youthfully austere and ever-so-slightly rustic finish. This too is going to need time though it’s less backward than either the Richebourg or the Les St. Georges. Drinking range: 2028 - Rating: 91-93 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2018)

(most of the two-thirds of this holding that was planted in 1994 was vinified with whole clusters but the younger vines, which Liger-Belair said accounted for 60% of his Clos Vougeot production in 2016, were destemmed): Bright medium ruby. Tight nose hints at kirsch, cassis and licorice. Juicy and intensely flavored, with its dark fruits complemented by lovely spicy lift and subtle saline soil tones. A strikingly delineated Clos Vougeot; a bit less broad-shouldered and rustic than in past years but firmly tannic and built for a slow and graceful evolution in bottle. Rating: 92-94 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Jan 2018)

The 2016 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru comes 70% from the older vines planted in the 1940s and includes 40% whole cluster. It has a touch of reduction on the nose, but the palate is well structured, strict and linear, fresh in the mouth, although I would be seeking for more weight and fruité toward the finish. Let’s see... Drinking range: 2020 - 2032 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2017)

Situated on the south side, with long rows 200m. 3 soil: limestone, then to clay, to white clay and silt. It had been 100% de-stemmed, but in 2014 20% and in 2015 40%. 2016 40%, but the all hand removed the main stem by hand so less green material. This is large, but silky up front. It has a firm presence. It wants to be seen. It is bold, but there are subtleties too, the fruit is draped over the structure. There is a full mid palate and the finish powerful but focused. Rating: 19.25 Sarah Marsh MW, The Burgundy Briefing (Nov 2017)

Thibault Liger-Belair has two hectares in Les Saint Georges, the vineyard which gives Nuits the rest of its name, and 60 ares out of a total of 4 hectares of the Grand Cru Richebourg, as well as a good holding in the Clos Vougeot and some well-placed village wines. The vineyards are a good start, but it is Thibault himself who has catapulted this domaine straight into the very top echelons of Côte de Nuits domaines from his first vintage (2002). Thibault was trained as an oenologist but first worked as a wine buyer. He has come to wine making with a wide experience of wine buying, and has had the advantage of having discussed wine-making for many years, with the benefit of his oenological background, with some of the best winemakers of the world. Viticulture is biodynamic (since 2005), yields low but not ludicrously low, everything is pragmatic, so that he should be doing just what is necessary and no more. He uses 40-50% new wood maximum. The wines are bright, pure, focused, aromatic and elegant without lacking anything in the way of stuffing.

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