2005 Corton Le Rognet

From purchased grapes, the Liger-Belair 2005 Corton Les Rognets smells tartly and pungently of sour cherry and herbs. This is refined in tannins, silky in feel and with an intricate interplay of fresh cherry, cherry pit, chalk and high-toned herbs. A rich, low-toned resonance of fruit pit, chalk and roasted meats rolls along in the finish. This offers depth and dynamic worthy of at least 5-7 years in the cellar. In this his fourth vintage, and (like his cousin at Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanee) young, ambitious in the pursuit of quality, well-traveled, and in the process of taking back family property from rental and negociant contracts, Thibault Liger-Belair is ensconced in deep, ancient, and bitterly-cold cellars in the center of Nuits-St.-Georges. He has begun pursuing a biodynamic regimen in his vineyards and has inaugurated a rigorously-controlled negociant arm (its wines labeled “Thibault Liger-Belair Successeurs” and designated “S” in my listings). He says he approached 2005 with great caution lest the wines lose polish and finesse to over-extraction of tannins. Certainly the results have included some very powerful and formidably structured wines. Low sulfur and a significant inclusion of whole clusters (“depending on the circumstances and site,” he says, “- I have no system”) are among other prominent features of Liger-Belair’s approach in 2005. Also recommended: 2005 Aloxe-Corton La Toppe au Vert ($64.00; 86+?). Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980 8802