Louis-Michel Liger-Belair founded this Domaine in 2000, but the Liger-Belair family has been making fine wines in Vosne-Romanée for almost 200 years. Louis Liger-Belair, a general for Napoleon, acquired the Château de Vosne and an impressive number of prime parcels in 1815. As is the case with the history of many Burgundian Domaines, however, inheritance laws caused the family holdings to fracture, and by the mid-20th century, the Liger-Belair family had returned to the military profession, with Count Henry, Louis-Michel’s father, attaining the rank of general just like their ancestor Louis. A young Louis-Michel, however, declared his intentions to eventually take over the remaining family holdings and he did just that in 2000 after finishing his studies in agricultural engineering and oenology.
Today, the glory of the Liger-Belair name lives on in this small-production but prestigious Domaine that counts among its holdings the smallest grand cru in Burgundy and the smallest AOC in France, La Romanée, of which it is the sole owner. Louis-Michel believes that the quality of the wines he produces lies in the vineyard; he maintains that the vine is a living entity and it should not be subjected to anything that we ourselves could not tolerate. The Domaine abides by the belief that the less one does in the winery and in the cellar, the better the wines turn out.
Comte Liger-Belair's mostly Pinot Noir-based wines are made using biodynamic principles, and vineyards are plowed by horse. Short maceration times are favoured to avoid over-extraction, and the Domaine uses mostly new oak.
Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair's elegantly structured wines are highly sought-after, despite the Domaine's youth. The La Romanée monopole wine is regularly among the most expensive wines produced in Burgundy.
