| Region of production: | Côte de Nuits |
| Winery Location: | Vosne-Romanée |
| Year Established: | 2000 |
Vineyard Holdings
5.57 ha
- La Romanée Grand Cru (monopole): 0.85 ha Pinot Noir, 50-year-old vines
- Echézeaux Grand Cru: 0.62 ha Pinot Noir, 65-year-old vines
- Vosne-Romanée Suchots Premier Cru: 0.22 ha Pinot Noir, 50-year-old vines
- Vosne-Romanée Brûlées Premier Cru: 0.12 ha Pinot Noir, 50-year-old vines
- Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots Premier Cru: 0.73 ha Pinot Noir
- Vosne-Romanée Petits-Monts Premier Cru: 0.13 ha Pinot Noir, 50-year-old vines
- Vosne-Romanée Chaumes Premier Cru: 0.12 ha Pinot Noir, 60-year-old vines
- Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château (monopole): 0.83 ha Pinot Noir, 35-year-old vines
Top Wines Produced
- La Romanée Grand Cru (monopole)
- Echézeaux Grand Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Suchots Premier Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Brûlées Premier Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Aux Reignots Premier Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Petits-Monts Premier Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Chaumes Premier Cru
- Vosne-Romanée Clos du Château (monopole)
Inaugural Vintages
- La Romanée Grand Cru (2002)
Average Total Production
- N/A
Summary
Louis-Michel Liger-Belair founded the modern version of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair in 2000 but its origins go back much further. The Napoleonic general Comte Louis Liger-Belair purchased the Château de Vosne-Romanée in 1815 and started the domaine. He and his son Louis-Charles expanded vineyard holdings and Louis-Charles married into the Marey-Monge family, bringing extensive holdings to Liger-Belair. During this time the domaine owned La Grande Rue, La Romanée, La Tâche (the parcel that pre-dates the annexation of the Gaudichots section), large pieces of most of the top premier crus in Vosne-Romanée, Clos de Vougeot, Chambertin, and others totaling 60 hectares. In 1931, Louis-Charles’ grandson passed away and his ten children could not agree how to divide the family heritage so the domaine was put up for auction. Two of the heirs managed to purchase the holdings in La Romanée, Reignots, and Les Chaumes at the auction and the vines were leased to sharecroppers. From a young age Louis-Michel was determined to run the family domaine, and in 2000 and 2002 he brought vineyards leased through contract back to the domaine. The arrangement with Bouchard to split the wine produced in La Romanée continued through the 2005 vintage.
Style & Vinification Techniques
The Liger-Belair wines are modern and polished. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard and then again in the winery at the sorting table. The grapes are completely de-stemmed, cold-soaked for about seven days, and fermented without added yeast. The wines stay on skins for about ten days, and the frequency of pigeage and remontage varies depending on the taste of each lot. After free-run and press wines are blended, the wine settles in tank for about a week before being racked to 100% new oak. The wines are only racked once—into the bottling tank—after 13-15 months in oak. There is no fining or filtration.
Producer Website: Comte Liger-Belair