2017 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair guided me through his latest vintage. He was attired in trademark red trousers, as usual. (I am not sure if it is the same pair or if he has an entire walk-in wardrobe of identical pairs). I have followed his journey since he took over the running of his family’s historic estate back in 2001 and transformed it into one of the leading producers. It is now firmly ensconced in the highest echelons of Burgundy, as one would expect given the monopole jewel of La Romanée and an array of Premier Crus around Vosne-Romanée and Nuits Saint-Georges. Never one to sit still, Louis-Michel has a new vat room under construction that will include an underground tunnel linking it with the barrel cellar.

“There are two keys for the 2017 vintage,” he explained in the upper-floor oak-paneled office overlooking the courtyard. One thing Louis-Michel is never short of is opinion. “Firstly, yields. It is the first vintage in a while where there was potential to over-crop. You could have high yields and make diluted but ripe wines. Yields averaged 34hl/ha, which was my goal. We found that one out of every 10 vines had the potential to overproduce so we took a bunch off. Vine by vine, we had a look and evened out the number of bunches. The second is duration of élevage. If you have a pre-set time in terms of length of barrel ageing, then you might not capture fruit. All the wines are racked and will be bottled at the beginning of December rather than February, two or three cuvées possibly a bit later. We picked early, from September 9. The quality was great and phenolic ripeness was reached with 12.5° to 13.0° natural alcohol. Some cuvées finished their malolactic early and others not until June or July. A few wines lagged behind in terms of developing their respective personalities.”

As one expects these days, the 2017s from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair are beautifully sculpted. They are not as powerful or perhaps as complex as the 2015s or 2016s, although Louis-Michel’s astute decision in terms of moderating yields and picking date have ensured that the wines are imbued with freshness and the necessary acidity to maintain balance. There is a smooth sheen to these wines, which are quite sensual and sumptuous in style. Yes, the 2017 La Romanée is bewitching, though none but the richest can now afford it, even if you can find it. But there is plenty elsewhere, including a sublime Nuits Saint-Georges Aux Cras and a dashing Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots vying with Les Suchots for supremacy.