Story
THE HISTORY
The Liger-Belair family has passed down the tradition of winemaking from generation to generation for the past 250 years. In 1720, Claude Marey, the king’s secretary, mayor of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and a vineyard proprietor, founded the C. Marey house to sell his fine wines. In 1804 his youngest son, Guillaume Felix Marey, took over the business. In 1852, Guillaume’s nephew, Comte LigerBelair, proprietor of Grands Crus in Vosne-Romanée, became his business partner under the name “C. Marey et Comte Liger-Belair”. The domaine was passed down through the family for the next five generations. In 1982, Xavier Liger-Belair died and the business was sold. That same year Xavier’s son, Vincent Liger-Belair, took over the buildings and restructured the domaine by having three sharecropper winemakers handle the work. Then in 2001, Vincent’s son, Thibault Liger-Belair, took over the vines as the winemaker and created Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair. Prior to joining the family domaine, Thibault studied viticulture and oenology for six years, and worked for a communications firm in Paris where he was able to present and taste wines internationally. In his mid-twenties, Thibault also started an internet company with the idea of discovering and selling high quality wines. But the calling of the vines was still strong, so in 2001, at the age of 26, Thibault decided to jump to the other side of the fence, this time to make wine, his true calling and passion. The year 2002 was the first harvest of the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Nuits-Saint-Georges Charmottes, as well as Vosne-Romanée Aux Réas. In 2003, the domaine enriched its range with Richebourg Grand Cru, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Petits Monts, and Bourgogne Rouge. In 2009, the domaine expanded into Beaujolais, and now a Beaujolais-Villages and several Moulin-à-Vent Cru wines are also produced.
THE VITICULTURE
The different appellations are cultivated and worked in different ways according to their soil and climate. The richness of the terroirs demands that each individual parcel is handled distinctly, rather than systematic work as is often done. The role Liger-Belair imposes on himself consists of “listening” to the vine and observing it closely. His responsibility is to better answer its needs and thus to help it realize all its natural potential – not to require that it produce large quantities of grapes, but to produce a limited quantity of exceptional quality. The domaine vineyards are certified organic by Ecocert.
THE WINEMAKING
Thibault Liger-Belair’s philosophy is to bring in the grapes to the winery in an impeccable sanitary state and to handle each operation delicately. He aims to infuse instead of extract. His belief is that the less one mistreats the grape, the better the wine will be. Three coopers are used at the domaine: Tonnelerie François Frères, Tonnellerie Mercurey, and Tonnellerie Dominique Laurent. Thibault LigerBelair closely follows the wood selection according to the texture and origin and imposes a three-year drying period before barrels are made. This allows the use of perfectly dry wood which obtains superior tannin quality, making them much silkier and delicate. Rarely is more than 50% new wood used at Domaine Liger-Belair. The wines are aged according to their appellations, between 14 and 18 months, without racking or any other aeration. They are neither fined nor filtered.
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