From the odd “cut-out” in which the commune of Vosne-Romanee protrudes southward toward the town of Nuits-St.-Georges (while on hillsides to the west lie several of Nuits-St.-Georges’ most celebrated crus) Liger-Belair’s 2005 Vosne-Romanee Aux Reas smells of machine oil in a Cabernet Franc-like way, along with ripe cherry and medicinal herbal concentrates. Overtly meaty and stony on the palate – indeed acting more like Nuits-St.-Georges than Vosne – the wine finishes richly on salted meat and soy. This formidably-concentrated, firmly but finely tannic Pinot deserves at least 3-5 years in the cellar before revisiting. In this his fourth vintage, and (like his cousin at Comte Liger-Belair in Vosne-Romanee) young, ambitious in the pursuit of quality, well-traveled, and in the process of taking back family property from rental and negociant contracts, Thibault Liger-Belair is ensconced in deep, ancient, and bitterly-cold cellars in the center of Nuits-St.-Georges. He has begun pursuing a biodynamic regimen in his vineyards and has inaugurated a rigorously-controlled negociant arm (its wines labeled “Thibault Liger-Belair Successeurs” and designated “S” in my listings). He says he approached 2005 with great caution lest the wines lose polish and finesse to over-extraction of tannins. Certainly the results have included some very powerful and formidably structured wines. Low sulfur and a significant inclusion of whole clusters (“depending on the circumstances and site,” he says, “- I have no system”) are among other prominent features of Liger-Belair’s approach in 2005. Also recommended: 2005 Aloxe-Corton La Toppe au Vert ($64.00; 86+?). Importer: Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL; tel. (205) 980 8802