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Pinot Noir Wines

Pinot Noir Wines

Pinot Noir Wines

Pinot Noir is possibly the most versatile red grape when it comes to the ways it’s been used over the years. From red wines to sparkling wines and beyond, there aren’t many places where you can avoid hearing about it, and for a good reason. It’s often easy to spot a bottle of Pinot Noir simply by the pale, translucent color, which transitions into a shade reminiscent of old-timey brickwork, adding a lovely dash of country charm to an already awe-inspiring drink.

While it may be an omnipresent varietal, it doesn’t exactly grow just anywhere. Because it demands a relatively cool climate, it thrives in some places more than others. Most notably, the region of Burgundy is known for excellent Pinot Noir harvests, and California isn’t too far behind these days.

The flavor is reminiscent of what you might find in a fantasy novel landscape. From flowers to red fruit to spicy undertones, there’s no shortage of aromas to discover as you take your time and get to know your wine. The French variety often includes an undercutting earthy baseline, whereas the Californian version tends to feel softer and lusher. In both cases, the wine goes down smoothly and is light enough to work with many different dishes.
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2005 Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Saint Georges

(Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair Nuits St.-Georges Les St. Georges 1er Cru Red) This is primary to the point of being overtly grapey with an interesting mix of intense earth and game nuances that merge into solidly structured middle weight flavors that possess outstanding length and real depth. As good as the Petits Monts is, there is another dimension here. (Drink starting 2015)Burghound | 90-93 BHFrom substantial holdings planted with old vines, the Thibault Liger-Belair 2005 Nuits-St.-Georges Les St.-Georges displays both roasted, charred and raw red meatiness to a degree unusual for a Nuits-St.-Georges. Ripe black cherry and blackberry are also very much present, but this wine is not about sweetness of fruit. Substantial, firm but finely-tannic and formidably concentrated, it finishes with dark, faintly bitter berries, roasted meats, beef blood, a soy-like savor, and an intense yet hard to describe minerality. The wine tastes like something one should if anemic. Heady yet not hot in its nearly 15% alcohol, palpable extract rich and thick yet not leaden, it will need at least 5-7 years, I suspect, if it is to be tamed and refined at all. (The 2004, incidentally, was also powerful if very slightly lower in alcohol and displayed intriguing potential.)In this his fourth vintage, and (like his cousin at Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanee) young, ambitious in the pursuit of quality, well-traveled, and in the process of taking back family property from rental and negociant contracts, Thibault Liger-Belair is ensconced in deep, ancient, and bitterly-cold cellars in the center of Nuits-St.-Georges. He has begun pursuing a biodynamic regimen in his vineyards and has inaugurated a rigorously-controlled negociant arm (its wines labeled “Thibault Liger-Belair Successeurs” and designated “S” in my listings). He says he approached 2005 with great caution lest the wines lose polish and finesse to over-extraction of tannins. Certainly the results have included some very powerful and formidably structured wines. Low sulfur and a significant inclusion of whole clusters (“depending on the circumstances and site,” he says, “- I have no system”) are among other prominent features of Liger-Belair’s approach in 2005.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91-93 RP(14.8% alcohol; vinified with 30% whole clusters) Bright red-ruby. Superripe aroma of black raspberry liqueur. Fat, sweet and powerful; a big, chocolatey-rich wine that retains freshness yet comes across as a bit heavy. Will make a major mouthful but today I don’t find the near-grand cru class of the best examples from this vineyard.Vinous Media | 89-92 VM

91-93
RP
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