La Toppe-Au-Vert

60 year old vines form the backbone of this cuvée which boasts exuberant redcurrant, raspberry and cherry fruit. The energy comes from the high limestone content in the soil.
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.

This wine has been livened up by the inclusion of some whole bunches for the first time. Light, pure red fruit dominates the bouquet, while the refinement and tensile strength of the fruit on the palate are quite a notch up from most Aloxe-Cortons. Drink 2020-2027.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

While delighted with the health and quality of his grapes, Thibault felt that it was necessary to adopt a light hand with extraction this year, as phenolic ripeness was only just in place. Sugar levels were correct, acidity in the end just what was needed, so his wines have the typical energy of 2015. There are a few more whole bunches than usual. As always, the wines take longer in this cellar to come round but we were impressed with the potential.

Hold the front page: Thibault managed to make half a barrel more of this than in 2015! Just below Maréchaudes, on the Ladoix border, this is a not-so- typical Aloxe with big tannins. All the fruit was de-stemmed, and 50 percent new oak was used; the result is pure and direct, frank and sincere. Drink 2020-2027.
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.

This vineyard sits underneath the Corton Maréchaudes, in a bowl-like depression filled with soil, which gives an atypical Aloxe full of charm and elegance. The nose is floral and perfumed, the palate rich with crushed strawberry fruit but with a taut, linear structure. Drink 2020-2026.

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.

Just by Corton Les Maréchaudes, the vines are in a south-facing basin of broken rock, filled by eroded topsoil. This is not in the broad-shouldered Aloxe style; it’s delicate and linear, with appealing floral and red-fruit notes, and a silky, easy finish. Drink 2021-2027.