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Thibault Liger-Belair 2012

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Thibault Liger-Belair 's 2012 red burgundies are a step up from any previous vintage I recall from this producer. I hadn't drunk many of his wines in the past, simply because on the occasions I had tried them, they had left me uninspired. However, the 2012's are high-quality, albeit not necessarily all to my liking in terms of style and flavor. The domain is relatively young, though the vineyard holdings go back for generations. In its present shape under Thibault's name, it was established in 2001 by then the 26-year-old passionate Thibault Liger Belair who took back family vineyards from share-croppers. It is perhaps not surprising that several years were required for the results of that work to start showing. The 2012's certainly make me re-consider the 2012 as a more serious vintage for reds than I have been giving it credit for. Recently, I had an opportunity to taste several of Thibault's 2012's and though not exhaustive, the tasting pulled this prod

2012 Raveneau Chablis

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Raveneau is the top Chablis producer, everyone knows it, the prices are sky high, yet worth it in my opinion, as the quality experience is virtually guaranteed, both young and especially with age. 2012 vintage in Chablis was particularly strong, and Raveneau's 2012's that I tasted were fabulous. Riesling-like minerality, honeyed, spicy butteriness that lingered on the lips for hours, viscous oily textures and exotic seawater / seaweed salinity were the hallmarks of this lineup, with the bonus 1999 Montee de Tonnerre showing amazing seamless silkiness and marvelous complexity. Yet with all those admirable attributes, these are not wines of weight and obviousness, but rather of elegance, complexity, texture, precision and enormous class. My oh my, I was smitten, they were the best 2012 white burgundies (if you can call Chablis that) I have had! In 2012, there were other excellent Chablis producers that cost a fraction of Raveneau - the likes of Dauvissat, William Fevre, Christian