Hautes-Cotes-de Nuits

This is grown on white marl on a steep south-facing slope where the grapes ripen early. Richly purple in colour, with seductive purple fruit too, the wine has an agreeable plumpness, good energy behind, attractive ripe fruit, and a persistent finish.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

From two plots, the older of which is over 60-years-old. Once again the colour is not especially deep but the soft, strawberry fruit nose, will attract attention. There is very good weight on the palate, which is open, charming and slightly peppery. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

This is our second vintage with Claire Naudin-Ferrnad and the first in the En Primeur catalogue. Don’t be put off by the simple Hautes-Côtes appellation, these are fascinating wines. The 2013 vintage was not an easy on to manage, though the grapes were all picked by 7th October and, as elsewhere in Burgundy, the wines have continued to improve in barrel.

Slightly paler purple than Orchis but with a very beautiful rose petal and raspberry nose, this is silky and seductive on the palate, mouthfilling and juicy, very long. This is a fabulous wine for its appellation. A little bit of white pepper maintains the lifted feel.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Thibault particularly likes the clay limestone mix in the soil here. The wine has attractive succulent fruit, juicy through the middle, with perfect acid balance. This was really successful this year.

Thibault has made a fine and elegant range of 2014s, with little sign of the reduction which has sometimes prevailed here in the past. He has employed a fair proportion of whole-bunch fermentation, sending a crack team of pickers into the vineyards ahead of the rest to select the healthiest bunches. Another interest at the moment lies in finding the perfect toasting for his barrels, often choosing a minimal approach. We shall also be making a separate offer of Thibault’s brilliant 2014s from his Moulin à Vent estate.

With a typically Nuits plummy style, this has lovely fruit across the palate and very good length. Nonetheless there is plenty in reserve here,; it is a wine of great promise.
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director 2011 was a relatively easy year in the vineyards for Thibault, as there were no problems with health. The main decision was the date to pick (from 5th September) which he chose by leaf colour as an indication of the end of the vine cycle. He employed very gentle vinification this year to keep the fruit fresh. Thibault has been moving towards and elegant style, a little bit away from the plumpness of his early wines. He manages this through shrewd judgement on the use of stems and particular attention to the type and toasting of wood to be used. He is especially proud of his ‘tartare’ barrels with minimum toasting.

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This is a lovely vineyard situated on red and brown clay over limestone. The wine is a bright, dense purple, rather reduced but with very beautiful fruit behind. Needs time. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

The vintage began here on 6th October, once again being short on quantity but with good qualitative potential. Thibault feels that the 2013s can take a long barrel ageing, perhaps up to 24 months. He is using fewer lees, but finer, in order to avoid too many reductive problems.

Bright, deep purple in colour, with a very fresh and exciting, almost flamboyant nose, while absolutely gorgeous purple fruit fills out the mid palate, with good energy and a sense of balance. Good length too.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Thibault’s two domaines, based in Moulin à Vent and Nuits-St Georges, both returned paltry yields of 16 hl/ha in 2012. Among the Côte d’Or appellations, the Hautes Côtes, Nuits and Gevrey-Chambertin suffered in particular. All of which is a great shame, given the quality of the wines which have been made. Even where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton and Chambolle- Musigny), Thibault makes the major decisions in the vineyard management. His own vines are farmed biodynamically, with ploughing by horse.

Beautifully red purple with fine clear and fresh red fruit on the nose, this wine is very pure and well balanced. Seamless fruit fills the middle palate leading to a lovely perfumed finish. Bravo Thibault!
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

There is a marvellous sense of energy in Thibault Liger-Belair’s 2010 wines, perhaps his finest vintage to date. This is a vintage where the wines express the characters of their terroirs very well. Thibault decided on a longer than usual vinification but with very little active extraction and fewer stems than in 2009. Where Thibault purchases grapes (Aloxe-Corton, Chambolle-Musigny) his team manages the vineyard work after the initial pruning.