2006 Nuits St Georges les Cras
By Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
2006 Griottes Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Fourrier, Burgundy
As the autumn leaves fell in 2006, heralding shorter days and longer nights, nature was putting the final touches on what would become one of Burgundy's more intriguing vintages. The 2006 Griottes Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Fourrier stands as a testament to this bewitching year—a vintage that challenged viticulturists and yet one that has produced wines of resounding elegance and depth.
A True Expression of Terroir and Time
The year 2006 was marked by an irregular climate in Burgundy, which saw a scorching July followed by an august August and a cooler, rainy September. Amidst these conditions, Domaine Fourrier's handling of the Griotte-Chambertin vineyard showcased the confluence of expertise and nature. Their vintage offers a captivating snapshot—ripe with cherries and their characteristic stone-fruit namesake, framed by a tapestry of taut minerality and earthy undertones.
Vintage Vigilance Pacifies Climatic Challenges
Nurtured by hands weathered by vintages past, Domaine Fourrier's selection for this grand cru magnifies the importance of precision during an unpredictable season. The wine articulates both resilience and delicacy; its structure is impeccably balanced by Jean-Marie Fourrier's vigilant watchfulness during fermentation and aging. The result is a harmonious blend of power and finesse—the very signature of the grand cru terroir—coupled with spicy notes that attest to its unique seasonal story.
For fine wine investors, this 2006 Grand Cru not only represents the high-calibre production synonymous with Domaine Fourrier but also exemplifies the allure of Burgundy's unpredictable vintages. Its complexity on the palate is mirrored in investment potential, nuanced in potential growth as much as it is in taste.
Conclusion: An Investment Worthy Vintage
In summation, the 2006 Griottes Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Fourrier brims with the distinctive character of its year—an illustrious envoy for investment and hedonism alike. Relish in its maturity now or anticipate further narrative through cellaring; either path leads to the rewarding complexities inherent in this superb expression of Burgundian artistry.
Market price (SGD)
$20,510.00
12x75cl
Highest score
90
POP score
1229
Scores and tasting notes
The newly acquired 2006 Nuits-St.-Georges Les Cras – whose fruit, Liger-Belair relates, its previous owner blended with the Les Lavieres as Nuits villages – seems to reflect the stony austerity of its site, not only in overtly chalky suggestions, but in firm tannin suffusing its spiced red fruits and roasted meats. Faintly resinous and sweaty overtones as well as the faintly abrasive synergy of tannin and new wood in the finish render this place a question mark over this in my mind, although the wine's sheer persistence is certainly impressive. It would be something of a gamble to cellar. Liger-Belair says the soil here reminds him of Reignots. Louis-Michel Liger-Belair reported higher potential alcohol levels this year than in 2005, but also maintains that the nature of the ambient yeasts in 2006 accounted for a thankfully inefficient conversion, so that finished alcohols were not noticeably higher. Triage in his cellars, he maintains, was and will in future vintages remain "two to three percent," thanks to restriction of yields and meticulous vine management. Liger-Belair remains a proponent of gentle extraction but high levels of new wood. What I misleadingly announced in issue 170 as "a new negociant side of the business" is in fact an arrangement whereby Liger-Belair himself farms around 15 acres that had previously been tended by a grower who once enjoyed a share-cropping arrangement with Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair (during the long period when their wines were pledged to Bouchard). Half of the acreage in question yields Bourgogne and is genuinely sold as a negociant project, but the rest will be treated to the domaine's vine-papering, biodynamic regimen, including the horse plowing of whose revival they were among the earliest and most conspicuous proponents. Liger-Belair reminds me, however, that it will take time for the effect of this attention to be felt. Beginning with this vintage also, all of the Liger-Belair monopole La Romanee and all of their Vosne Reignots are estate-bottled, none being sold any longer to Bouchard. A Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70
David Schildknecht - The Wine Advocate, 21 December 2009