2015 Thibault Liger-Belair, Corton Grand Cru, Les Renardes

The 2015 Corton-Renardes Grand Cru is the second year that Thibault has used whole bunch fruit in order to maintain the freshness. He describes this as an "intellectual wine" because every time you come back to it, the flavors are different. It works nicely on the nose: well defined, vibrant, bright and lively with lifted blackberry and raspberry scents mixed with wet limestone aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with a grainy structure on the entry. There is a mixture here of red and black fruit, a savory element coming through with a dash of brown spice towards the finish. This is one of the best releases from the domaine this year.

(40% vendange entier ; two-thirds new oak): Dark red-ruby. Subtle, sexy scents of raspberry and smoked meat, plus a whiff of licorice. Distinctly darker in the mouth than most of the foregoing 2015s, offering moderate flesh and sweetness but good subtle intensity to the juicy flavors of blackberry, licorice, minerals and bitter chocolate. The dusty tannins coat the sides of the tongue. This rather understated wine is in a distinctly intellectual style and should evolve slowly.