Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
2008EchézeauxGrand Cru Red barrel
Score: 90-93
Tasted: Jan 30, 2010
Drink: 2018+
Issue: 37
Note: from a .6 ha parcel situated two-thirds in Cruots and the rest in Champs Traversin
Producer note: Louis-Michel Liger-Belair told me that 2008 was a “very complicated vintage. The April to June period was reasonably good but July and August were difficult. We began picking on the 27th of September and there was a moderate amount of sorting required. I would estimate our sorting losses at between 5 and 12%, which when coupled with the naturally lower yields of the vintage left us with, on average, 30% less wine than in a normal harvest. This is to say that in 2008 we realized yields of between 19 and 27 hl/ha. Sugars for the grapes that we kept were very good at between 12 and 13%. I did a relatively soft vinification as I reduced the cuvaison by a few days. Extraction though was really no problem as the grapes that we kept had normal skin thicknesses. The new wine had very high levels of malic acid, which definitely has affected the élevage due to the long malos. You had to be very vigilant to make sure that everything was very clean. Normally, we would just add a dose of SO2 but if you’re malolactic is still progressing, you risk stopping it. Overall, I really like the vintage as the wines are pure and very transparent.” As the scores and comments suggest, the in-bottle ’07s have turned out very well, which is to say pretty much consistent with my original expected ranges. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/Le Serbet, www.leserbet.com, Beaune, France; additional distributors include Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com, CA & TX, and USA Wine Imports, www.usawineimports.com, NY, NY for “Selection Pas Mal”, New York, NY; Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, UK and Richards Walford & Co., Ltd., www.r-w.co.uk, UK).
Tasting note: This is the ripest wine to this point yet despite the heightened maturity, the aromas remain quite cool and airy with ample spice notes characterizing the blue and black pinot fruit that also evidence background notes of violets and rose petal. The seductive and broad-shouldered flavors are blessed with plenty of dry extract which confers a sappy texture to the firm structure and slightly tangy finish.
Domaine du Comte Liger Belair, Echezeaux Grand Cru
US$20,000 / 每箱價格
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
2008EchézeauxGrand Cru Red barrel
Score: 90-93
Tasted: Jan 30, 2010
Drink: 2018+
Issue: 37
Note: from a .6 ha parcel situated two-thirds in Cruots and the rest in Champs Traversin
Producer note: Louis-Michel Liger-Belair told me that 2008 was a “very complicated vintage. The April to June period was reasonably good but July and August were difficult. We began picking on the 27th of September and there was a moderate amount of sorting required. I would estimate our sorting losses at between 5 and 12%, which when coupled with the naturally lower yields of the vintage left us with, on average, 30% less wine than in a normal harvest. This is to say that in 2008 we realized yields of between 19 and 27 hl/ha. Sugars for the grapes that we kept were very good at between 12 and 13%. I did a relatively soft vinification as I reduced the cuvaison by a few days. Extraction though was really no problem as the grapes that we kept had normal skin thicknesses. The new wine had very high levels of malic acid, which definitely has affected the élevage due to the long malos. You had to be very vigilant to make sure that everything was very clean. Normally, we would just add a dose of SO2 but if you’re malolactic is still progressing, you risk stopping it. Overall, I really like the vintage as the wines are pure and very transparent.” As the scores and comments suggest, the in-bottle ’07s have turned out very well, which is to say pretty much consistent with my original expected ranges. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/Le Serbet, www.leserbet.com, Beaune, France; additional distributors include Veritas Imports, www.veritaswine.com, CA & TX, and USA Wine Imports, www.usawineimports.com, NY, NY for “Selection Pas Mal”, New York, NY; Justerini & Brooks, www.justerinis.com, UK and Richards Walford & Co., Ltd., www.r-w.co.uk, UK).
Tasting note: This is the ripest wine to this point yet despite the heightened maturity, the aromas remain quite cool and airy with ample spice notes characterizing the blue and black pinot fruit that also evidence background notes of violets and rose petal. The seductive and broad-shouldered flavors are blessed with plenty of dry extract which confers a sappy texture to the firm structure and slightly tangy finish.
