CORTON

(this is another new wine for Liger-Belair, from vines planted in 1952 and 1944; about 38 hectoliters per hectare produced; made with 20% whole clusters): Bright ruby-red. Kirsch, licorice and mint dominate the youthfully medicinal nose. Then distinctly dark in character and clenched today, showing limited sweetness and early personality to its savory flavors of dark berries, mint and licorice. There's a cool medicinal quality here that's just this side of hard. Finishes more salty than sweet, with building tannins. The white marl in the soil gives this wine a firm style, notes Liger-Belair, who may give it a later bottling. Rating: 89-92 Stephen Tanzer, www.vinousmedia.com (Mar 2018)

(30% whole cluster). A pure and very cool nose reluctantly reveals restrained notes of rose petals, red and dark berries that also flashes hints of the sauvage and freshly turned earth. There is outstanding richness and drive to the powerful and seriously intense broad-shouldered flavors that possess excellent mid-palate density thanks to the abundance of dry extract, all wrapped in a linear and robust finish. This serious effort is very impressive. Drinking range: 2031 - Rating: 91-94 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2018)

The 2016 Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru was limited to just two barrels this year and includes no whole cluster. I found the nose here a little disjointed compared to the Les Renardes, although the palate is better with blueberry, blackcurrant pastille and orange zest. The acidity here is very fine and lends much more tension than I was expecting. I am sure the aromatics will find their voice by the time of bottling and my score reflects my optimism. Drinking range: 2021 - 2038 Rating: 91-93 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2017)