Echezeaux Grand Cru Comte Liger-Belair (Domaine du) 2006

Lot presentation

Echezeaux Grand Cru Comte Liger-Belair (Domaine du) 2006

The wine

Located in the commune of Flagey-Echézeaux, the Echézeaux grand cru produces superb, delicate wines. Although these wines are a little less concentrated than the other great Vosne wines, they are still incredibly sophisticated and precise. Count Liger-Belair's Echézeaux is a textbook example of its type. Its bouquet evokes cherry and blackberry. The palate is somewhat soft and fruity. The long finish is exceptional.

Domaine du Compte Liger-Belair (also called Château de Vosne-Romanée) is recent, it was created in 2000 by Viscompte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair. But the family settled in Burgundy well before that date. The Château de Vosne-Romanée was acquired by Louis Liger-Belair in 1815, with a domaine that was then 60 hectares (including the famous plots of La Tache, les Malconsorts and les Brulées!). The family history in the twentieth century was subsequently tumultuous. The domaine was sold at auction in 1933, before the two brothers (and Count Michel) redeemed a part of it and notably one of the jewels of Vosne: La Romanée, the smallest AOC of France (0.84 ha). The plots were left for sharecropping with winemakers and Burgundy houses. In 2000, the arrival of Louis-Michel Liger-Belair changed everything. The domaine was recreated, he put an end to the sharecropping of La Romanée and other plots by Bouchard and took over the bottling (from 2001 to 2005, part of the production was still bottled by Bouchard). The 9 hectare area is managed following the principles of biodynamic agriculture and is now one of the best of the Côte de Nuits.