2019 Richebourg Grand Cru

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, not to mention comfortable offices and for myself, a tasting room where I broached several bottled 2018s and his entire range of 2019s, including a brief foray into Moulin-à-Vent. “It was an easy vintage to be honest,” Liger-Belair began. “There was no disease so we only had to do four treatments. The dryness was the determining factor in the middle of August but I was surprised by the effect of our vineyard husbandry. In our organic vineyard we had no damage whereas we lost 20-30% in vineyards where we buy from. It was quite a marked difference. We started the picking on 5 September. I was surprised by the phenolic maturity. The wines were balanced so we did a light vinification, maybe just a little more extraction than in 2018. I had the impression that you could do anything you want - you couldn’t make a mistake. I did around 5-6 punch downs in Les Saint-Georges in total but it varies between crus. We taste in the morning and decide what we should do in terms of extraction. It is a very floral vintage and you can tell that when you nose the empty glass. It is clear to see the terroirs, more so than in 2018.”

Liger-Belair’s 2019s showed well and maybe do have their nose ahead of the previous year. The Richebourg aside, the cuvée that caught my eye was the over-performing Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas and another superb Nuits Saint-Georges Les Saint Georges. Generally I found very good use of whole bunches here, though one or two wines showed a little hardness or toughness on the finish that will need time to soften.