2006 Montrachet
By Domaine de la Romanee-Conti
The 2004 Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
Embarking upon a review for the 2004 Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair invites one to delve into a narrative that speaks to the confluence of exemplary viniculture and the serendipity of climatic grace. This particular Burgundian vintage, a jewel in the storied tapestry of the region, holds an enigmatic allure retrospective of a year marked by contrasts and climactic challenges.
Vintage Veneration: A Testament to Terroir
The year 2004 bore witness to a fascinating push and pull of nature, forging wines of pronounced character driven by Burgundy's exceptional terroir. The vintage took vintners and viticulturists on an odyssey through an unusually cool summer that was punctuated by bouts of heat and precipitation shifts, necessitating judicious attention in vineyard management. The result was a harvest that demanded precision, translating into wines of defined structure and a potential for longevity not overtly avowed by initial reports.
The 2004 offering from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair indeed epitomises this balance, with time coaxing out layered nuances previously shrouded beneath the vintage's youthful assertiveness. Patience has rewarded investors and collectors with a wine of compelling complexity; a crescendo where dark berry fruit notes interlace with hints of earthiness and whispering spices—a tapestry made richer through tertiary development.
An Investment in Elegance
Distinguished palates searching for investment-grade Burgundy will appreciate the poise inherent in the 2004 Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres. Firm tannins, once tightly wound, have now evolved into silky ribbons tying together the bouquet and palate profile. This is none other than the esteemed work at hands of Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, whose respect for biodynamic viticulture contributes profoundly to the sophistication perceived within each glass poured.
In concordance with its heritage, the 2004 Nuits St Georges Aux Lavieres emerges as a contemplative exemplar of what makes fine wine investment so rewarding; it is indeed one of those rare entities that offers both cerebral engrossment and sensorial gratification—a stratagem for divining value within complexity. With due reverence to the storied lands from which it hails, it stands timelessly—both on the palate and within one's cellar as a pinnacle of prudent collectability.
Market price (HKD)
HK$863,170.00
12x75cl
Highest score
96
POP score
5643.75
Scores and tasting notes
Aubert de Villaine and his team harvested their 2006 Montrachet on September 26, and it was bottled (as a single assemblage) at the end of 2007. High-toned peach, lemon oil, musk, and floral aromas mark the penetrating, ethereal nose. Smoky, peach kernel pungency weaves its way through nutty, peachy richness on the palate. Less obviously dense, rich and sappy than the extraordinary 2005, this 2006 for all of its sheer viscosity and ripeness, displays a dynamic, almost shimmering sense of fruit and mineral interplay. Intriguingly, in my initial – November, 2007 tasting – this effect was more pronounced from a barrel that had been rolled to disburse the lees than in one that had undergone conventional batonnage. The youthful 2006 reflects its new wood environment in a way that the 2005 – at similar stages in its evolution – did not. There is no lack here of the mystery that should be expected from one of the world’s most fabled and expensive wines, not just in the paradox of viscosity, richness and power combined with elegance, lift, and refinement; but also in nuances that left me groping the lexicon for animal or mineral descriptors. Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2008