France · Burgundy

Domaine Comte Liger-Belair

Domaine Comte Liger-Belair holds one of the most remarkable histories in Burgundy: Napoleonic general Louis Liger-Belair acquired the Château de Vosne-Romanée in 1815, and the family assembled holdings that at one point included La Romanée, La Tâche, La Grande Rue, and parcels across six villages. After much of the estate was sold at auction in 1933, the family retained La Romanée and a few key parcels. For decades the grapes were sold to négociants — most notably Bouchard Père & Fils bottled La Romanée from the 1970s. Louis-Michel Liger-Belair reclaimed estate management in 2002, returning this 0.8452-hectare Grand Cru monopole — the smallest AOC in France — to family bottling for the first time in a generation. Today the 11-hectare domaine is certified organic, farmed with horses, and produces some 3,600 bottles of La Romanée per year. At auction, La Romanée commands $1,800–$5,000 per bottle, and the estate's rapid rise since 2002 mirrors the most exciting renaissance stories in Burgundy.