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RICHEBOURG

2020 Grand Cru Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair

EN PRIMEUR
Pinot NoirRedFrance,BurgundyCôte d'OrCôte de NuitsVosne RomanéeGrand Cru 14%Richebourg

30% whole bunch. Vines planted 1931-1934. For now this is hard to discern, a real baby. Power more than elegance, thinks Thibault. Aromatically unformed, the concentration of the vintage and old vines depth is there, but it's just not giving enough away to say anything very interesting! Drinking range: 2035 - 2050L&S (Nov 2021)

* 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.

This is the oldest vineyard of the domaine, planted between 1931 and 1936 on yellow and red clay with limestone rocks. Thibault recommends a long aeration on this one, saying you have to coax it out and contemplate on it. Its nose and palate dazzle with Damson plum, black cherries, lit bonfire, struck flint... and on and on. Working for more extraction was not a theme for anyone in 2020, yet seems this Richebourg couldn't be held back. There's a firm core of mid-palate extract and the tannins are tightly coiled. Let this one hibernate a while. Drinking range: 2027 - 2045 Rating: 97 Christy Canterbury MW - TimAtkin.com (Feb 2022)

(from a .55 ha parcel; 35% whole clusters). A wonderfully spicy and quite floral-suffused nose reflects notes of anise, Asian-style tea, violet, lavender, black cherry and cassis. The suave and exceptionally rich broad-shouldered flavors are both generous and seductive before, much like the Les St. Georges, tightening up on the impressively complex and hugely long finish. This is terrific though it too is a wine that will require extended keeping to reach its peak. Drinking range: 2038 - Rating: 93-96 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Jan 2022)

The vines date back to 1931 and 1934. Jet black purple, with a little wood and not quite the freshest bouquet at this stage, albeit with an enormous intensity of very dark fruit. Probably just a question of the sample, or else in need of the lightest freshening up when sulphur levels are adjusted. Certainly there is no issue on the palate. Powerful and brooding, the fruit extends all the way through, absolutely shows the profile of the appellation, needing time. This will certainly get there. Now freshens up with more minerals. The 2020 Richebourg has very much got the back of the palate power which the young Thibault’s wines did not always have. Tasted: November 2021 Rating: 95-98 Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy  (Jan 2022)

The 2020 Richebourg Grand Cru contains 30% whole cluster this year from vines planted between ‘31 and ‘34. It has a beautiful bouquet, very pure with perfumed red fruit, crushed limestone, rose petals and touches of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, gentle grip, slightly chalky in texture. What I admire is the discrete build in intensity, delivering Richebourg-like power and density on the finish. Very classy, but do have a cellar and patience handy. Drinking range: 2028 - 2065 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2021)

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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