2011 Moulin a Vent Vieilles Vignes

A bit reduced and marked by its low sulfur when tasted as a tank sample, Liger-Belair’s 2011 Moulin-a-Vent Vieilles Vignes nonetheless reveals enticing cassis and blackberry garlanded with peony and iris and laced with black tea. With polish and lift similar to that of its stable mates, this cuvees tart berry edge, seedy crunch, and pungent, piquant herb and tea inflections serve for invigoration, while marrowy depth and salinity serve for saliva-inducing savor. Expect it to perform well at least through 2018. Thibaud Liger-Belair (see my reports in Issues 190 and 196 for more about his Beaujolais project) was not able to connect with me late last year, so I tasted his latest collection, which includes an exciting new bottling, via tank samples of the final assemblages. Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to re-taste Liger-Belair’s 2010s from bottle, but it seems clear from the promise which not only those wines but their successors have shown before bottling (a process which seldom seems to be especially traumatic in his hands) that this estate will be among the beacons of its region. Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980-8802

Quite dark crimson. Big, beefy, and not at all beaujolais-like! Though there is some acidity… A rugby player… (JR)