Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair Bourgogne Blanc Les Charmes 2019
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
A candied, tropical nose. On the palate, ripe butterscotch flavors with an easy silky texture. Golden Delicious apple flavor and quite floral, too, with a minty finish.
This domaine, located in Nuits-Saint-Georges, has been in the Liger-Belair family for 250 years. In 2001, Thibault Liger-Belair took over the vines as the winemaker and created Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair. Prior to joining the family domaine, Thibault studied viticulture and oenology for six years, and worked for a communications firm in Paris where he was able to present and taste wines internationally. In his mid-twenties, Thibault also started an internet company with the idea of discovering and selling high quality wines. But the calling of the vines was still strong, so in 2001, at the age of 26, Thibault decided to jump to the other side of the fence, this time to make wine, his true calling and passion. The year 2002 was the first harvest of the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Nuits-Saint-Georges Charmottes, as well as Vosne-Romanée Aux Reas. In 2003, the domaine enriched its range with Richebourg Grand Cru, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Petits Monts, and Bourgogne Rouge. In 2009, the domaine expanded into Beaujolais, and now a Beaujolais-Villages and several Moulin-à-Vent Cru wines are also produced.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The most acclaimed region of Burgundy, the Côte d’Or is defined by a long, limestone escarpment beneath the ground's surface and is home to all of Burgundy’s most famous wines. While Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are produced throughout the Côte d’Or, the north tends to excel at Pinot Noir and the south, at Chardonnay.
The northern half of the Côte d’Or is called the Côte de Nuits. Here reside most of the Pinot noir Grands Crus vineyards of Burgundy—the only one farther south, in Côte de Beaune, is Aloxe-Corton.
The Côte de Beaune is the center all of the Chardonnay Grands Crus with the exception of Le Musingy, found in Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte de Nuits, which produces both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with Grand Cru status.