2007 Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots

The Liger-Belair 2007 Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots really shows its class of origin. Blackberry mingled with rhubarb makes for a sweetly ripe, yet tart, expression of fruit that both stains and invigorates the palate, and which puts me in mind of 2008. The tannin here is extremely fine-grained, resulting in a seamless, almost silken feel; and a sense of salted, multi-bone meat broth concentration underlies a long, saliva-inducing finish. This might well hold for a decade, though one ought to feel no compunction about waiting. Louis-Michel Liger-Belair’s 2008 collection strikes me as hands-down his best so far, and he is inclined to agree. But the quality of his 2007s also bespeaks increasing mastery of technique; focusing of his aesthetic (and a more focused resultant style); and certainly too, greater familiarity with his vineyards, a substantial portion of which (as explained in issue 186) was only acquired in 2006. (Liger-Belair would also put emphasis on the accumulated effect of a biodynamic regimen, including deep horse-plowing for the estate’s top acreage.) Malos were not inordinately late in this relatively warm cellar, and bottling of the 2008s took place between mid-January and late March, three weeks after which I tasted the wines. “The big deal,” opines Liger-Belair, “was – a bit of rot, of course, but – the major problem was rose, pink grapes. So my primary goal was to be at the beginning of the sorting table to pick out bunches” that harbored some of those berries, an imperfection that evidently could easily be missed. Liger-Belair continues to experiment with the inclusion of stems and whole clusters, although he limited this vendange entier approach in both the 2007 and 2008 vintages, lest any greenness intrude. Finished alcohols on the 2008s range from the low 12’s to low 13’s with only a minor amount of chaptalization performed on certain cuvees. A Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70

Good full red. Raspberry, minerals and complex soil tones on the nose. Sweet, suave and creamy but at the same time sappy, juicy and deep, with resounding, lightly saline flavors of raspberry and pungent minerality. Amazingly flashy wine today, with its smooth tannins buried in sweet fruit. A beauty for drinking over the next eight or ten years. (I also tasted a single-barrel lot of Brulees, vinified with 100% whole clusters from fruit picked a week later for total ripeness, and was slightly put off by a note of horseradish and a slight dryness on the back. This rather extreme and puzzling wine will probably be bottled in magnums and will not be commercialized.)

Bright, full red-ruby. Knockout nose combines black cherry, licorice, bitter chocolate and minerals, with a whiff of reduction. Wonderfully juicy and penetrating, with a wild small-berry flavor intensified by urgent acidity. Finishes with palate-saturating flavor, outstanding verve and lingering subtle perfume. Should make a classic example from this vineyard.