2008 Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots

Good deep red. Black raspberry, licorice, game and a whiff of soil on the very deep nose. Dense and thick--even plump--in the mouth, with superb concentration to the youthful flavors of dark berries and black cherry. Already remarkably round, savory and lush. Perhaps most impressive today on the very long, suavely tannic finish, which boasts terrific echoing lift and mineral precision. From a crop level of just 24 hectoliters per hectare, according to Louis-Michel Liger-Belair

(10% vendange entier Deep ruby-red. Wild black raspberry, violet, crushed rock, mint and pepper, plus a whiff of chocolatey ripeness. Powerful, dense and sappy on entry, then superripe but bright in the middle, with a strong limestone quality that really tickles the taste buds. Finishes very long and vibrant, with terrific lift for the year. This cuvee has been especially impressive since the 2008 vintage.

Boasting both the sweetest, darkest berry fruits and gamiest, most pronouncedly animal aspects of any of Liger-Belair’s premier crus of this vintage, their 2008 Vosne Romanee Aux Reignots comes to the palate palpably dense; intensely berry-sweet; pungently peaty; loaded with fine tannins; yet for all of its metaphoric darkness, exuberantly bright and invigorating. This has the grip, energy, structure, and incipient complexity to repay extended cellaring, and will, I suspect, remain fascinating for at least 15 years. 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