Comte Liger-Belair – 2014

Update 24.12.2015(22.12.2015)billn

DSC08827Tasted in Vosne with Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, 20 November 2015.

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
1 Rue du Château
21700 Vosne-Romanée
Tel: +33 3 80 62 13 70
www.liger-belair.fr

News here at harvest time was that Louis-Michel had managed to take on a long-term contract for the produce of vines in the Clos de Vougeot, a plot certified organic for the last 10 years. Although this is a contract for the fruit, important for Louis-Michel is that he can be involved in the preparations and treatments – he looks very satisfied with this addition and the look of the vines; “The vines actually looked like mine when we harvested.” The grower stopped bottling everything because a major British client stopped working with him – so now Louis-Michel has a 10 year contract. Indeed this parcel of land was previously owned by the Liger-Belairs in the late 1800s – Liger-Belair was one of the 5 families that bought the Clos de Vougeot, and had 8 hectares in the Clos at that time. Domaine Comte Liger-Belair has the right of first refusal to buy these vines should they eventually be up for sale. The parcel covers 0.4 hectares.

Louis-Michel on 2014:
“I’m super happy with 2014 vs expectation, as we have lovely wines now. A little hail that affected quantity but not quality. We began our harvest on September 15 with serious phenolic ripeness – 12.4-12.9° and there was super deep colour right from the beginning. The first part of aging was difficult, the malos being long and late.”
Yields for the domaine:
28 hl/ha in 2011
25 hl/ha in 2012
22 hl/ha in 2013
30 hl/ha in 2014 (roughly)

The wines…

As always, exemplary wines at this domaine – it’s always a question of what you are allowed, or can afford to buy, rather that which particular wines you should buy!

2014 Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos des Grands Vignes Blanc
Next year pinot noir to be planted at 24-25k/ha – a planting of 0.7 ha, ‘just to see.’ This ‘needs’ a real winter so 18 months elevage.
Wide, fresh a hint savoury. Lithe, fine over the palate, complex. Long. Based on my experience of the evolution of previous vintages, this will be seriously excellent.

2014 Vosne-Romanée
Sulfured first time, the day before racking. 11 different vines in Vosne all picked the same day with just 1 fermentation…
A hint of reduction. High toned, faintly spiced, recognisably Vosne. Nicely round in the mouth, intense, long and with a generally good complexity. This is a super wine.

2014 Vosne-Romanée Colombière
Vines 60-90 years-old.
Wider, more airy, modest below. More supple, super energy and texture – a hint of minerality in the complexity. Less round but more mouth-watering complexity. Excellent.

2014 Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château
Already bottled – since Sept – done earlier to keep freshness since 2010.
An open and bright top-line to this wine. Wide, salty tinged first wave of flavour. Modest reduction in the background. More width and complexity in the finish before quickly closing down in the finish, leaving just a hint of tannin texture… Super wine…

2013 Nuits St.Georges 1er Le Cras
A fresher and very becoming floral note. Lovely, lithe energetic, finely textured wine. The tannin is modest the wine is far from modest. This is a beauty… Very lovely with more composed finishing flavour.

2014 Vosne-Romanée 1er Petits Monts
Super nose! Bright open and precise top notes. In the mouth a mineral, textured baseline with interesting more direct flavour above. Good length. Excellent

2014 Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos des Grands Vignes
A large scaled nose, of depth and a pretty top notes, almost floral. Wide with good intensity, indeed an insinuating intensity. A super burst of flavour in the mid-palate before fading. Super!

2014 Vosne-Romanée 1er Aux Reignots
Ouf…! Not super overt, but super classy, complex, silky aromatics. Not the largest scaled, but incredibly complex without being wearing or heavy. Bright flavour in the finish and a wonderful width of complex finishing flavour. Quite exceptional – the last drops in the glass are captivating.
2014 Echézeaux
Really great colour. Here is more width and amplitude, perhaps energy too. Everything is in place to be a better wine down the line, but today the Reignots has the edge, despite a hint more length here. Still, simply excellent…
2014 La Romanée
Very wide, some discretion, a growing higher toned perfume. A roundness without particular weight, here is a wine where you think about the whole, rather than the parts. It’s a discreet wine today but one of discreet, haunting length.

2007 La Romanée
A silky nose, just a hint of maturity, large-scaled and silky on the mouth with just a hint of fat. The finish still has tannin texture, but it doesn’t jar a bit…

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