Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Aux Reignots is the vineyard directly above La Romanée, and Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair is its largest owner. This is the ripe, generous 2009 in magnum.
About This Wine
A geological fault separates Reignots from La Romanée below. The name comes from Burgundian dialect for kidneys, after small rounded flint cores in the rock, and the domaine's parcel climbs about 200 metres up the slope through every soil type in the climat. Topsoil is rarely more than 20 to 25 cm deep over limestone, so roots follow cracks many metres down. Young Reignots often shows flinty, struck-match notes that fade in bottle. 2009 was dry and consistently warm, giving ripe tannins and lower acidity.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Ripe dark cherry and plum, rose and sweet spice, with a smoky, flinty edge still in the background.
- Palate: Generous and rounded, with plush 2009 fruit, a dense, stony core and ripe, polished tannin.
- Finish: Warm, with spice, earth and a lingering mineral note.
Serving & Food
Drinking well now and should hold for the next decade in magnum. Allow 30 to 60 minutes in a decanter, serve at about 16°C and use large Burgundy glasses. Roast duck breast with plum sauce, slow-cooked lamb shoulder or an aged Gouda are all good choices.
How to Enjoy
A ready-to-drink magnum of Vosne premier cru for a festive table, from a vineyard the family has held since the nineteenth century.
Product Details
Producer: Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair
Appellation: Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Aux Reignots
Country: France
Region: Vosne-Romanée, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy
Vintage: 2009
Grape: Pinot Noir
Parcel Size: 0.7319 ha
Format: Magnum
Size: 1.5L
About the Maison
For decades after the 1930s, Aux Reignots and La Romanée were farmed under métayage. From 1946 the Forey family ran them, with Jean Forey in charge from 1961 and Régis Forey from 1988 until 2001, and the wine was sold on to négociants. Louis-Michel Liger-Belair took both vineyards back in 2002. He now holds 0.73 hectares of Reignots, about 45 percent of the climat, including a small 3.6-are plot leased from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Above the vines stands the granite cross of La Romanée, raised in 1978 for the golden jubilee of Canon Just Liger-Belair.