Hautes-Cotes-de Nuits

The harvest here was so small that Thibault told us that the whole crop was harvested before the casse-croûte at 9.30 in the morning. The fruit was all de-stemmed and underwent a long vinification. Attractive, pure and focused fruit is enhanced with 20 percent new oak. Usually Thibault is able to make 50 barrels, but this year there are only 10. Drink 2020-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

In 2001 Thibault took over an old family property in Nuits-St Georges, reclaiming the vines which had been contracted out to various share-croppers. The family jewels ( his branch) consist of Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot and Nuits-St Georges Les St Georges, to which he has added further vineyards and a few cuvées made from purchased grapes. The vineyards are certified organic and farmed biodynamically, with horses used to plough the vineyards where possible. The oak regime is not to exceed 50 percent new barrels but also not to use any barrels more than three years old. Thibault has also developed several single-vineyard bottlings of Moulin-à-Vent (Beaujolais). In summer 2017 Thibault opened a new, environmentally friendly cuverie which harnesses geothermal and solar energy and recycles rainwater. Thibault Liger-Belair is a busy man. He has his fascinating project in Moulin-à- Vent (find his Cru Beaujolais wines on page 55) as well as overseeing the forestry and manufacture of the barrels for all his wines, and experimenting with very light toasting. Overall, he is quietly satisfied with this year’s results. He continues to work with varying levels of whole bunches and is trialling a refinement which involves removing the thick, central stalk of bunches, to leave mini-bunches. He was especially badly hit by frost in the Hautes Côtes and Chambolle but elsewhere this is a relatively happy cellar.

Myosotis is forget-me-not, and like the flower itself, this is a delicate wine. The nose is lifted, light and ethereal, while on the palate there is an exquisite deftness and finesse. That is not to say there is no structure; there is plenty of fruit flavour here,  which resembles a coulis of tiny red berries. Drink 2019-2024.


After the catastrophic 2016 vintage, which saw her lose around 70 percent of the crop, Claire Naudin is much happier with 2017. She still didn’t get a full crop, though, because the frost had damaged the vine, stunting the following year’s growth and limiting the crop to 80 percent of a full yield. The vintage certainly suits her style, with wines that are all about elegance, finesse and delicacy. These are appetising wines which always give great pleasure, on even the grandest occasions. As ever the wines are made with 100 percent whole bunches.

Fine, rich, dense purple with an exotic perfume, this is very floral yet also has vibrant raspberry notes. A very graceful, sensual wine – if anything it is longer and finer than Orchis. Drink 2018-2022.
Jasper Morris MW, WIne Buyer


Since 1994, Claire Naudin, one of Henri Naudin-Ferrand’s three daughters, has been in charge of this small domaine based in the Hautes Côtes at Magny-lès-Villers, a village that sits astride the dividing line between Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Hautes Côtes de Nuits. Claire is relatively susceptible to sulphur and uses the product as little as possible. Her most exciting wines are those which are vinified with whole bunches (all the stems) and without sulphur, though some SO2 is added at bottling to ensure that the wines remain stable thereafter. Claire’s theory, which her wines bear out admirably, is that there is none of the harshness sometimes evident when the bunches are vinified with their stems if sulphur is not used. Instead a magical floral perfume emanates from the wine.

Claire Naudin has made beautiful wines in 2015, though not in great quantity, as the year’s dry conditions restricted volumes. The wines from the Hautes Côtes are little more than 12 degrees alcohol but have impressive density. All the wines were vinified without sulphur, but have had sulphur added before bottling to ensure stability thereafter.

After the frost forced Thibault to blend his three Hautes Côtes wines in 2016, they are being made separately again this year. This site is at 400 metres’ altitude, on white marl soil, which translates to a fresh, energetic and pretty wine with vibrant but rich raspberry fruit. Drink 2019-2024.

Thibault continues to keep himself busy, having bought more vineyards in Moulinà-Vent. In the Côte d’Or he waited until 13th September to pick, feeling that the skins were not ripe until that point. He describes the vintage as transparent, where each vineyard’s identity is clearly visible, and one where those with large yields will not be able to hide. In the Beaujolais, hail was again a significant factor, reducing the average yield for those wines he made to an eye-watering 8hl/ha. The damage was so bad that it cost more to pick the grapes than he will make on the wines, but he felt a duty to harvest and vinify the fruit. With careful use of the vibrating sorting table, he was able to carefully select only the clean fruit and has made exceptional wines.

This remote vineyard, 10km west of Arcenant, sits at 400 metres’ altitude, with steep (40% incline) south-facing slopes of white marl and limestone. The vines here were planted in 1986 and 2002. It always achieves really good maturity, and it got really ripe in 2018. A deep bouquet for a Hautes Côtes but the fruit is pure and still spritely. Drink now to 2024.

Myosotis is forget-me-not. From between Magny-lès-Villers and Villars-Fontaine, this vineyard has a lot of active limestone and the resulting wine is delicate with, in 2018, vivid blackcurrant scents. Lots of whole-bunch gives a succulence to the wine’s fresh cassis style. Drink now to 2024.