Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair Bourgogne Blanc ‘Les Charmes’ 2020

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Thibault Liger-Belair

The Liger-Belair family has passed down the tradition of winemaking from generation to generation for the past 250 years. In 1720, Claude Marey, the king’s secretary, mayor of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and a vineyard proprietor, founded the C. Marey house to sell his fine wines. In 1804 his youngest son, Guillaume Felix Marey, took over the business. In 1852, Guillaume’s nephew, Comte LigerBelair, proprietor of Grands Crus in Vosne-Romanée, became his business partner under the name “C. Marey et Comte Liger-Belair”. The domaine was passed down through the family for the next five generations. In 1982, Xavier Liger-Belair died and the business was sold. That same year Xavier’s son, Vincent Liger-Belair, took over the buildings and restructured the domaine by having three sharecropper winemakers handle the work.

Then in 2001, Vincent’s son, Thibault Liger-Belair, took over the vines as the winemaker and created Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair. Prior to joining the family domaine, Thibault studied viticulture and oenology for six years, and worked for a communications firm in Paris where he was able to present and taste wines internationally. In his mid-twenties, Thibault also started an internet company with the idea of discovering and selling high quality wines. But the calling of the vines was still strong, so in 2001, at the age of 26, Thibault decided to jump to the other side of the fence, this time to make wine, his true calling and passion. The year 2002 was the first harvest of the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Nuits-Saint-Georges Charmottes, as well as Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas. In 2003, the domaine enriched its range with Richebourg Grand Cru, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Petits Monts, and Bourgogne Rouge. In 2009, the domaine expanded into Beaujolais, and now a Beaujolais-Villages and several Moulin-à-Vent Cru wines are also produced.

In the Vineyard

The different appellations are cultivated and worked in different ways according to their soil and climate. The richness of the terroirs demands that each individual parcel is handled distinctly, rather than systematic work as is often done. The role Liger-Belair imposes on himself consists of “listening” to the vine and observing it closely. His responsibility is to better answer its needs and thus to help it realize all its natural potential – not to require that it produce large quantities of grapes, but to produce a limited quantity of exceptional quality. The domaine vineyards are certified organic by Ecocert.

In the Winery

Now comfortably ensconced in his new winery on the outskirts of Nuits Saint-Georges, Thibaut Liger-Belair has finally settled into a facility that gifts his team space and hygiene.

Thibault Liger-Belair’s philosophy is to bring in the grapes to the winery in an impeccable sanitary state and to handle each operation delicately. He aims to infuse instead of extract. His belief is that the less one mistreats the grape, the better the wine will be. Three coopers are used at the domaine: Tonnelerie François Frères, Tonnellerie Mercurey, and Tonnellerie Dominique Laurent. Thibault LigerBelair closely follows the wood selection according to the texture and origin and imposes a three-year drying period before barrels are made. This allows the use of perfectly dry wood which obtains superior tannin quality, making them much silkier and delicate. Rarely is more than 50% new wood used at Domaine Liger-Belair. The wines are aged according to their appellations, between 14 and 18 months, without racking or any other aeration. They are neither fined nor filtered.

The 2020 Vintage at Thibault Liger-Belair

From Burghound:

Thibault Liger-Belair, who is the cousin of Louis-Michel Liger-Belair commented that 2020 is a “surprising vintage in that such a hot and dry vintage produced such exuberantly fresh and energetic wines. The dryness was a constant concern but other than an August hailstorm in the southern part of Nuits, there were no other climatic incidences of note. We began picking on the 29th of August and brought in clean and ripe fruit that had incredibly thick skins. Yields were definitely on the lower side as the ranged between 21 and 22 hl/ha as there was just very little juice in the berries. I have done some sampling over the years and have established a baseline average weight per berry of about 1 gram. However, in 2020 the average weight per berry was .7 gram, which is 30% lower than usual and this pretty much explains why our yields were off a similar amount. Potential alcohols were all over the place at between 13.5 and 15%, which is still slightly lower than 2019. I used a high percentage of whole clusters, which I think helped in terms of preserving the freshness. As I noted, the 2020s are ripe yet still manage to be exceptionally fresh and bright. I think they should age well as they have everything that they need to do so.” 

From Vinous:

A more hirsute winemaker greeted me at his winery on the outskirts of Nuits Saint-Georges, Thibault Liger-Belair having acquired a lockdown beard and longer locks. He told me: “I started picking August 29 after a little rain on the 28th. The grapes changed after that rain, gaining coherence and firmness. [A view shared by Nicolas Groffier in Morey-Saint-Denis.] They also developed more sapid flavors. It was an easy season. There was just a little hydric stress on limestone soils, which is why we had concentration via evaporation.” This eclectic range of wines encompasses Beaujolais, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. The strong cards are the Nuits Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges and, predictably, the Richebourg, although the Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas is one not to overlook.

Where in the World is Thibault Liger-Belair?

Thibault Liger-Belair is based in the Côte-de-Nuits village Nuits-Saint-Georges with holdings in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin, Corton and Beaujolais.