Visit at Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair – March 2013

This year I had the opportunity to taste some 2011s and 2012 from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair at a tasting the day after the Trilogie en Cote de Nuits.

The tasting program comprised of some of the 2011s not presented at the Trilogie, and some of the 2012 wines – including the white from the new vineyard Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Grandes Vignes. This article focus on the tasting of the 2012s – the 2011s will be covered in a separate article.

Tasting of 2012 – Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair

The tasting included the new white and a five reds 2012s. All the reds tasted had completed the malolactic fermentation.

The overall impressions of the 2012s reds from Liger-Belair are very positive. The wines are quite rich and fullbodied with a lovely vibrant layers of intense fruit – a nuanced and complex expression of pinot. The 2012s are quite transparent and nervy despite the quite intense fruit – the acidity is quite crisp and offer excellent support for the rich fruit.

It’s still early … but I’m very optimistic about these wines. They are currently very tastable and extrovert – but they are in a very early stage of the development. Can they rival the great 2010s from this estate – perhaps not quite – but the 2012s could well be better than the excellent 2009s from Liger-Belair – I’m looking forward to follow these wines.

The 2012 wines tasted on March 19th 2013:

• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Grandes Vignes
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges Lavieres 2012
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee 2012
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Colombiere 2012
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Clos du Chateau 2012
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Les Chaumes 2012

Tasting notes 2012 Liger-Belair

The tasting notes are all from the tasting on March 19th 2013.

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Grandes Vignes

First white from Louis-Michel – from the newly acquired vineyard Clos des Grandes Vignes in the southern Nuits-Saint-Georges. The wines were re-grafted with Chardonney in 2010 – so this is a fairly new vineyard for the whites. The bouquet is quite expressive with notes of pear, melon and citrus – the oak is present but delicate and the minerality is showing quite finely grained. On the palate crisp and pure fruit, a good framework of minerality and acidity. The minerality seems quite smooth and refined for a Cote de Nuits white. It’s very pure and offer good fresness for the vintage – will be interesting to follow this wine. Really fine potential – but too early to rate this wine at this stage.

No Rating at this stage – Tasted 19/03/2013 from CASK

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges Lavieres 2012

The NSG Lavieres is quite expressive but showing a slight reduction. In the nose lovely red berry fruit spiced with a nice minerality and oak – hints of coffee. On the palate it offers quite weighty fruit – good concentration for this level – very juicy and with a good focusing minerality. A very good village in the making.
(Drink from 2022) – Very Good (87 – 89p) – Tasted 19/03/2013 – from CASK

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee 2012

The Vosne Romanee Village offer a lovely spicy nose – red berry fruit, violets white peppar and cinnamon – slight reduction. The palate offer lovely juicy fruit – good complexity in the fruit – lovely midpalate concentration for this level. The finish is quite focused with a nice balance from the vibrant 2012 acidity. Love the expression of the 2012 fruit – and the generic Vosne village is improving year after year.
(Drink from 2022) – Very Good (87 – 89p) – Tasted 19/03/2013 – from CASK

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Colombiere 2012

The Colombiere is quite a step up from the very good generic village – as it offers a more focused and refined expression of terroir. The nose is slightly reduced currently, but is still showing a lovely juicy red berry fruit – and it’s popping with Vosne spicyness – violets, peony rose – combined with a crisp minerality. The palate is showing juicy vibrant fruit with the support of the lovely minerality from the Colombiere terroir – it’s quite weighty for this level – but still maintain a lovely mineralic tension and nerve. A beautiful Colombiere in the making.
(Drink from 2024) – Very Good+ (88 – 90p) – Tasted 19/03/2013 – from CASK

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Clos du Chateau 2012

The Clos du Chateau is another step up – adding even more minerality and Vosne spicyness. The bouquet is somewhat reduced but still offering a juicy fruit, crisp minerality and loads of Vosne spices. On the palate excellent weight for this level – the fruit is deep and complex supported by the stony minerality from this lovely village terroir. It offers a lovely nerve and transparancy – a truly fine village from Liger-Belair.
(Drink from 2025) – Fine (90 – 92p) – Tasted 19/03/2013 – from CASK

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Romanee Les Chaumes 2012

The last wine is Les Chaumes – one of the lesser 1er cru In Vosne Romanee. This wine contain 18% whole cluster grapes. The bouquet offer rich and quite dense red berry fruit – notes of raspberries, forest strawberries and discrete Vosne spices. The minerality is there – but not as forward and crisp as in Clos du Chateau. On the palate quite weigthy fruit – it’s rich and almost creamy – but with a lovely acidity. A lovely rich and pure Chaumes.
(Drink from 2024) – Very Good (89 – 91p) – Tasted 19/03/2013 – from CASK

Latest Tasting Notes for this producer

• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Chateau 2013 March 23, 2022
• Domaine Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Chateau 2007 in magnum September 8, 2021
• Domaine Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Chateau 2018 September 8, 2021
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne Clos du Chateau 2009 January 3, 2020
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Clos de Chateau 2009 July 26, 2019
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne Clos du Chateau 2016 March 6, 2019
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Echezeaux 2009 March 6, 2019
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Echezeaux 2009 October 17, 2018
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, La Romanee 2006 September 6, 2018
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Vosne-Romanee Aux Reignots 2009 May 1, 2018

Related articles

• On the Table, In the Glass #35: The Need for Indulgence
  Let me be clear: Wine is about hedonism and joy, and it is always timely and appropriate to open a vin d’émotion. The prices of some wines are astronomical, but it is rarely the fault of the winegrower, who often gets less than 20% of the inflated grey-market price. What! How can you open … ? Wine ...
• Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne-Romanée Clos du Chateau 2013
  The 2013 Liger-Belair Clos du Chateau is firing on all cylinders, and is a magnificent wine, currently exploding with Vosne spices and airy, energetic fruit. It’s very expressive and exuberant, flashing all its scents and spicy notes as a great tribute to Vosne-Romanée. While not a big wine, it is a true, core expression of Vosne ...
• Terroir Insight: Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Grands Echézeaux
  Grands Echzeaux is one of the more prominent grand crus which sits just below the very top tier – meaning Romanee-Conti, La Romanée, La Tâche, Richebourg, Romanée Saint-Vivant, and Musigny. It is a brilliant terroir, and is perhaps even a bit overlooked, although new producer names in this vineyard have led to increased consumer focus on ...
• Vins d’Emotion from Vosne-Romanée and Flagey-Echezeaux
  To simplify your search for emotional wines, I have decided to compile a list of the top emotional producers in each appellation. Comments and thoughts The list contains producers that regularly score an emotional rating, and they are ranked in three levels. I hope this proves useful; here we go! Note that any wines marked with brackets ...
• To Passion in 2022!
  I have made it my “calling” to discover emotional wines for you to seek out and enjoy in your personal hedonistic quest. These vins d’émotion have nerve, tension, and energy behind their hedonistic intensity. I hope they evoke your passion: the passion to explore and the passion to have another glass, drink another bottle, then ...