RICHEBOURG
2016 Grand Cru Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair
30% Whole bunch as Thibault feels this can make the wine seem more open. Jasmin is certainly there as suggested by Thibault, but lovely spices too. 5 spice, richer fruit, dark but ripe. Good and powerful. Intense. Black wine gums here and such a sleek feel in the mouth. Deep and dense fruit, but a lovely lifting acidity too. I like this impressive wine very much. L&S (Oct 2017)
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The 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru has a bouquet that rivets you, or your senses, to the spot, delivering a payload of intense blueberry, raspberry and wild strawberry fruit that is bewilderingly gorgeous. Upon further investigation there are traces of orange pith and even a hint of lavender. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins, perfectly pitched acidity, beguiling harmony and an effortless nature that is a wonder to behold. Like drinking a luxurious penthouse apartment overlooking an azure sea. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting. Drinking range: 2026 - 2060 Rating: 96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Oct 2019)
(from a .55 ha parcel; 30% whole cluster). A strikingly floral-suffused and perfumed nose offers up a mix of violet, lavender and rose petal that adds elegance to the panoply of spicy dark fruit aromas. There is an almost painful intensity to the beautifully well-detailed big-bodied and superbly mineral-driven flavors that possess a gorgeous mouthfeel, indeed the mid-palate is almost lacy, that gives way to a wall of tannin on the serious, powerful and breathtakingly long finish. This stunner of a Richebourg is also going to require extended keeping as it’s very, very tightly wound today. Drinking range: 2038 - Rating: 95 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2019)
Cask sample. Bonfire smoke, black cherry and firm, furry tannic grip. Layers of concentration, although not significantly more complex than their Charmes-Chambertin. Drinking range: 2022 - 2046Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2018)
(from a .55 ha parcel; 30% whole cluster). A strikingly floral-suffused nose offers up a mix of violet, lavender and rose petal that adds elegance to the panoply of spicy dark fruit aromas. There is an almost painful intensity to the beautifully well-detailed big-bodied and superbly mineral-driven flavors that possess a gorgeous mouthfeel, indeed the mid-palate is almost lacy, that gives way to a wall of tannin on the serious, powerful and breathtakingly long finish. This stunner of a Richebourg is also going to require extended keeping as it’s very, very tightly wound today. Drinking range: 2034 - Rating: 92-95 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2018)
(Liger-Belair lost 40% of the crop here, noting that mildew was more of an issue than frost in Vosne-Romanée in 2016; vinified with 30% whole clusters, the highest percentage to date for this cuvée): Bright ruby-red red. Very expressive and less tight on the nose than usual (due to the stem influence?), offering sweet aromas of boysenberry, cassis and licorice. Compellingly sweet and sappy, showing considerable sweetness leavened by a saline quality. Not as unrelievedly black as the last couple of wines, and a bit less dominated by its structure than it appeared to be in barrel in late 2016. Finishes with terrific breadth, substantial totally ripe tannins and a touch of chocolatey ripeness. Surprisingly approachable today but probably deceptively so. Rating: 92-95 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Jan 2018)
The 2016 Richebourg Grand Cru includes 30% whole cluster fruit, the highest at the domaine ever, which Thibaut said combined all the elements of the vineyard together. There was just a slight reduction on the nose, though underneath lies intense blackberry and raspberry fruit, hints of truffle and cedar and then later subtle white flower scents. This seems to gather momentum in the glass, and it fans out beautifully on the regal finish. It will clearly require some time in bottle, so find a berth for this in your cellar and then forget about it. Not forever. Just say 8 to 10 years for it to show its pedigree. Drinking range: 2022 - 2048 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2017)
Planted in 1934 and 1936…this is very well placed. The soil is very diverse. 40% whole bunch. “Much more whole bunch than usual and has made it more open and less shy” There is gorgeous fruit, tea and herbs and spice - actually showing really well with luscious depth and intensity. Satin texture. The is excellent intensity in the core. Fine focused finish with notes of jasmine. Power with elegance. This is a sumptuous wine. Drinking range: 2024 - Rating: 19.85 Sarah Marsh MW, The Burgundy Briefing (Nov 2017)
Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair
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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