The Liger-Belair surname carries some serious weight in Burgundy: The comte (count) Louis Liger-Belair was a Napoleonic General who acquired the Château de Vosne in 1815, and the family went on to amass an incredible collection of Burgundy’s best vineyards, including “La Romanée” and “La Tâche.” More than a century later, in 1933, complicated inheritance laws forced the family to sell their vineyards at auction, although some were re-acquired by future generations. That was the point at which Thibault Liger-Belair’s forebears went their own way, focusing on vineyards primarily in Nuits-Saint-Georges.

Cut to the modern era, and you’ve got the Comte Liger-Belair domaine, resurrected by Count Louis-Michel Liger-Belair in 2000, and you’ve got Thibault Liger-Belair’s label, created in 2001 (their great-grandfathers were brothers). Thibault grew up in Paris but had wine on the brain from an early age; he started his training in Beaune at the age of 16 and spent time working in wine communications and internet sales before diving headlong into viticulture and winemaking. He took over nine hectares of vineyards, most of them in Nuits-Saint-Georges, that had been in his branch of the family for generations. One of his first orders of business was to eliminate all chemicals from the farming, eventually converting to biodynamics.

This tiny-production Chambolle, a focused and elegant beauty with highly perfumed red and black cherry notes leading the charge, hails from five different lieu-dit parcels in the village, “Bourniques” (near Musigny Grand Cru), “Fremières,” and “Gamaires.” Vinified using 40% whole grape clusters and aged 18 months in 30% new oak, this is a beautifully precise, high-toned wine that captures the ethereal essence of Chamboile-Musigny. Lay it down for a while for best results!