Domaine Thibault Liger-Bélair

Thibault Liger-Belair, based in Nuits St-Georges, is at the helm of a “young” historical domaine that he created in 2001, when he took over family vineyards that had long been contracted out to various share croppers. His cousin is the famous Vicomte Liger-Belair of Vosne Romanee, who represents the other branch in the Liger-Belair family tree.

A young winemaker, Thibault has risen rapidly to the upper echelons of Burgundy’s elite. His meteoric ascent is due in no small part to his impressive holdings, including Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, and an over 2 hectare parcel of Les Saint-Georges, the most prestigious premiers cru in Nuits Saint-Georges. But the terroir isn’t responsible for everything: Thibault, it goes without saying, is a phenomenal vigneron.

He seeks more than anything to allow the expression of terroir in his wines, which is why all of his vineyards are farmed biodynamically. He also uses horses to plough his vineyards, whenever possible. Vineyard yields are drastically low, allowing him to focus on gentle extractions, with very little punching down or pumping over. For some cuvées, a certain amount of whole clusters are used. In recent vintages, he’s made significant progress and his wines are constantly improving in terms of definition and purity. The hard work of putting his fields back in order has started to pay dividends. The Domaine expanded to the Beuajolais in 2009 with the acquisition of vineyards in Moulin-à-Vent.