2001 Batard-Montrachet
By Domaine Leflaive
1999 Nuits St Georges les Cras from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Burgundy, France
The module of excellence crafted by the revered Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair requires no introduction to the astute collector, yet the 1999 Nuits St Georges les Cras demands specific adulation. This vintage emerges from a climatic culmination that masterfully balances ripeness and structure, bringing a unique cache of sensory indulgence.
A Vintage That Speaks Volumes
The fin de siècle vintage of 1999 stands out distinctly amidst Burgundy's historic repertoire. An exemplar such as this melds the richness of the year with an artful deftness, revealing at once both power and elegance in its profile. Amongst the tapestry of harvests undertaken by Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, the 1999 Nuits St Georges les Cras is texturally sublime and aromatically intense...
Investing in Terroir-Driven Finesse
Your palate will recognise the signature of a superbly judged terroir - the stony ‘Les Cras’ subsoil beneath the vines imparts a slate-flavoured mineral streak through what might otherwise be voluptuous red and black fruit. Tertiary notes like truffle, earth, and a whisper of game have begun to surface - the complex maturity remains a cornerstone in this wine's linguistic expression of its origin story. It is a favoured specimen for those investing not just in bottles, but in the tapestry of Earth’s narrative through viticulture.
Two decades on, and the 1999 Nuits St Georges les Cras from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair graciously enters a plateau where collector enthusiasm increases alongside its scarce availability; contriving an en primeur interest for this precious commodity among connoisseurs and investors alike.
Perfecting The Investment Cellar
In summation, explicit to astute investors: position your cellar's focus onto this poised and stately contribution from Burgundy's calibre-ridden landscape. The vintage of '99 performs astoundingly within this heralded lineage; it brings forth all requisite illustrious character for those whose palates are primed for profound elegance and whose portfolios anticipate repute. The 1999 Nuits St Georges les Cras stands as a polished gem within Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair's venerated holdings, ensuring that an acquisition here translates into an enlightened chapter for both palate and cellar.
Market price (HKD)
HK$118,110.00
12x75cl
Highest score
88
POP score
1545
Scores and tasting notes
The 2001 Batard-Montrachet, a spice, white pepper, and pear-scented wine, is broad, supple, and soft. Light to medium-bodied, it offers loads of smoky pears in its supple personality. This wine also has a trace of the “tannic” characteristic found in the Clavoillon and Pucelles. It should be consumed over the next 5-6 years. To Pierre Morey, Domaine Leflaive’s winemaker, “2001 was not an easy vintage, but it made our work that much more interesting. Our vines faced rot, hail, heat (that burned some grapes), cold, then the onset of botrytis, making us sort grape by grape.” He went on to add, “so we knew on August 3rd, the day after the hail storm, that it was a sorting vintage . . . our next surprise was the acid balance, in which we found we had normal tartaric numbers but high malic acid, making the wines difficult to taste. We opted for an extended elevage, to get the noses to express themselves and the bodies to fill out.” According to Morey, all of the domaine’s Puligny parcels were struck by hail, having lost 20% of their production of Folatieres, slightly less in other parcels. Yields, though lower than in both 1999 and 2000, came in between 40 and 45 hectoliters per hectare, after the work on the sorting tables. When I asked Mr. Morey, a deeply honest man, whether he liked the 2001s, he said, “it’s not my favorite vintage of the last 10 years, but an interesting one, I’m intrigued to see how they will age and when they will be at their best.” Importer: Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-9661
Pierre Rovani - The Wine Advocate, 29 June 2003