2014 Beaujolais

Less “nervous” than on its release, but just as energetic, with lifted red berry and floral aromas, fresh acidity and chalky tannins which seem to channel the eponymous rock beneath Thibault’s vines – this parcel just beside the (also eponymous) windmill. There’s real weight of fruit on the palate, including darker berry flavours behind the initial surge of red. A hugely complex wine which will reward a decade’s cellaring.  
Will Heslop, Wine Buyer

Although from the same variety (100 percent Gamay), Thibault Ligier-Belair's concentrated, complex Beaujolais is poles apart from the bright and breezy nouveau style with which most drinkers are familiar. From eight parcels of vines of up to 95 years old, on the nose this shows an appealing hint of reduction which gives way to aromas of kirsch and dark berry fruit. The palate is characteristically mineral and tannic, and will benefit from decanting. Drink now to 2029.

A serious wine in the sense that its complexity, concentration and structure mean it will benefit greatly from another five to ten years in bottle. But equally, Les Impénitents bursts with such intense aromas of blue fruit and something akin to watercolour paints (the result of carbonic maceration) - it’s bound to bring a smile to your face. With every swirl of the glass, an extra layer of aromatic complexity is revealed: earth, gunflint, woodsmoke…
Century-old vines in heavy, clay-rich soils at the base of the Côte du Py (in the lieu dit Javernières) give a wine that is at once massive, with exceptionally fine medium to high tannins, yet light on its feet. The ’14 is shot through with fresh acidity, indicative of a stellar vintage described as ‘classique et gourmand’ by Louis-Benoît Desvignes.
For what it’s worth, the esteemed La Revue du vin de France rated this the top wine of all Beaujolais in 2014.