2019 Nuits-St Georges Blanc, Clos des Grandes Vignes, 1er Cru, Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair, Burgundy

From younger Pinot vines grafted over to Chardonnay in 2009. Tank sample.

Quite rich. With good tension. Really trying! Ready to drink! Lightly bitter note on the finish.

From a .32 ha parcel.

Ripe and mildly exotic aromas include those of white peach, passion fruit and apricot that are trimmed in pretty citrus nuances. There is both good volume and richness to the vibrant middleweight flavours that conclude in a nicely dry citrus-tinged finish that is more powerful if a bit less elegant than its 2020 counterpart. This too should drink well young.

Drink 2023

Fullish yellow, some oak, some evolution. I am finding this a little clumsy compared to some other wines, which are undoubtedly weighty. It fills the mouth quite impressively and is fresher on the palate. Perhaps going through a phase rather than on the downward slope, as there is no bruised apple.

Drink 2025 - 2030

The 2019 Nuits Saint-Georges Clos des Grandes-Vignes Blanc 1er Cru is well-defined and focused on the nose, with scents of hazelnut infusing the citrus fruit, pressed flowers, broom and freshly-baked popcorn. The palate is slightly honeyed on the entry, perhaps with a touch of botrytised fruit? The 2019 shows good acidity and is overtly spicy toward the finish. This Meursault has fine substance despite a shortfall in terms of mineralité and tension on the finish.

Drink 2023 - 2038

This comes from 0.32 ha that had been budded over to Chardonnay. The fermentation is carried out in cask, 40% new, giving a result with ripe apricot fruit and hints of beeswax and hay. The texture is silky and fairly dense, with balanced acidity and a lingering finish. Liger-Belair uses a slow, four-hour press cycle without sulphur to improve the wine's stability.

Drink 2024 - 2029

Notes of pear, almond paste, orange oil, and white flowers introduce the 2019 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Clos des Grandes Vignes Blanc, a medium—to full-bodied, round, and fleshy wine that's open and giving. It has a generous core of fruit and a long, subtly heady finish.

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair began picking on September 14, reporting alcohol levels between 12.5% and 14% with most wines coming in at below 13.5%) and an average yield across the domaine's holdings of 22 hectoliters per hectare. Opting once again for an early mise to capture freshness, Liger-Belair had bottled several of his 2019 reds by the time of my November visit, and he's decided to shorten the élevage of his white Clos des Grands Vignes, too.

As always, the style at this address is supple and sumptuous, and the 2019s offer an abundance of succulent fruit, richly patinated by new oak from Tonnelleries Séguin Moreau, François Frères and Plantagenet. More vibrant and refined than the 2018s, this is a terrific set of 2019s that will delight admirers of Liger-Belair's wines.

Drink 2022 - 2038