La Charmotte

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.

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.

Glamorous purple in colour, La Charmotte is really lively all the way through, without any reductive notes. On the palate, this is a plump and cheerful wine with good structural grip. There is a fine zip of energy and burst of fruit at the finish. Drink 2020-2026.
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.

Just on the northern outskirts of the town, under the Bousselots Premier Cru, this site has quite a lot of clay. Here, Thibault is aiming for softness and freshness, achieved using 40 percent whole-bunch. Just like its Gevrey cousin, this is a very welcoming interpretation of the appellation. Drink 2020-2026.
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.