A great wine, this blends a touch of Gamay from Beaujolais into classic Burgundian Pinot Noir. It offers cool aromas of fresh-picked black cherry and liquorice, mixed with dark raspberry and black pepper. The palate reveals a touch of rusticity to its very ripe, plush flavours, with moderate tannins guiding the wine along its path. There is superb focus coming from the stunning minerality and notes of granite, no doubt from the touch of Gamay. Delicious.

Burgundy winemaker Thibault Liger-Belair owns some fine vineyards on the Côte d’Or and in Beaujolais. Starting in 2001, he has grown his holdings to now encompass some of Burgundy's finest vineyards, plus some great plots in neighbouring Beaujolais. “I’m a lazy winemaker,” he says, “but I’m a very hard vineyard worker. Because you cannot make good wine if the grapes aren’t good.” An example of his fanaticism is shown in his dedication to choosing the best oak tress for his barrels. He travels to the forest and selects the trees that he wants his barrels to be coopered from. In the forest, he makes sure the timber from the south side of the trunk is kept apart from that from the north side. The south side, which faces the sun, is selected for the staves that go into the barrels for his top Côte de Nuits wines because this timber is tighter-grained and finer. Wild dedication! His vines are tended organically and look prime and healthy. His wines are complex and solidly built, providing easy pleasure and long cellaring potential.