2008 Richebourg Grand Cru

Less sorting was required in 2008 than during the previous harvest, said Thibault Liger-Belair, who told me that there was less rot in '08 than in '07 but more heterogeneous ripeness. Only the best clusters, mostly those that were tiny and well aerated due to millerandage, went into the cuve intact (the rest were destemmed), and even then it was Liger-Belair's most experienced pickers who were given the duty of harvesting the best fruit. Liger-Belair describes 2008 as "a vintage with richness and tension-denser and deeper than the more elegant 2007s." He planned to bottle in January to preserve their fruit, whereas most of the 2007s remained in tanks for five or six months and weren't bottled until July of 2009. Most of the 2008s had been racked during the week or two prior to my visit and thus were tricky to assess. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL)