Thibault Liger-Belair Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 2016 (750ML)

92 JM / 88-91 BH

11 barrels made, about half the 2017 yield, from vines between 50 and 80 years old, using 30% whole bunches. Rich dense black centre with a purple rim. Lovely beautiful lifted fruit, a very vibrant finish, a perfect fruit acid balance and very persistent. Bravo. Tasted: October 2017.-Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy

Outer quote mark A pretty and airy nose blends notes of red cherry, dark raspberry, spice and a hint of violet. There is fine intensity to the highly energetic middle weight flavors that display fine length. This is mildly rustic but overall it's a quality Chambolle villages.-Burghound

No single vineyard Chambolle Musigny Gruenchers was produced by Thibault Liger-Belair for the 2016 vintage due to hail which largely slammed the region. He began picking on the 24th of September - the fruit was clean and ripe so there was almost no sorting necessary. The skins were thick and the phenolic maturities were high so he used more whole clusters than usual though and took the painstaking and very time-consuming step for the 1ers and grands crus of eliminating the central stalk. As to the wines, he liked them for their purity and freshness and believes they're going to age better than people seem to think. They're not as concentrated as the 2015 but they have excellent balance.