The Château de Chambolle-Musigny in the Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier has been in the Mugnier family since 1863. Admittedly at one point they had to fight a court case to prove that their house was the Château de Chambolle, as somebody else was (erroneously) claiming the honour. From 1950 the vineyards in Chambolle were contracted out to Faiveley (to 1977) and then Bruno Clair (to 1984), the latter selling the wine in bulk. In 1985 Frédéric Mugnier, the 5th generation of the family on the property, took over, though he combined running the family domaine with his job as an airline pilot until 1998. Now he concentrates solely on the domaine, where consistency has improved as a result, and from 2004 has also taken back the Nuits St Georges Clos de la Maréchale vineyard, on lease to Faiveley since 1950. The Domaine is the second largest owner of le Musigny. Part was planted in 1948 and the remainder in 1962, so this is now an old vine cuvée thoughout. Just 20-25% new wood is used in this ethereal wine which is as sumptuous as any example of Musigny, despite Frédéric’s understated handling.
The vines are run almost organically – no herbicides since 1991, no pesticides since 1997 and now only two treatments a year (against mildew) which are not organic. Frédéric is not an enthusiast for biodynamics however. A hint as to his philosophy appears on his website where he draws a parallel between the mature Glenn Gould finding ‘too much piano playing’ in his early work and the overworked winemaking evident in some Burgundy today.
The grapes are sorted diligently by the pickers before coming to the cellar in small cases. 100% stalks are removed and the whole berries are then conveyed into vats. The wines are bottled after a second winter in wood without fining or filtration. The wines are rarely deep in colour but are brilliantly fragrant in bouquet and notably persistent on the finish.
94+ Points Wine Advocate
Mugnier’s wines of the vintage, his 2007 Musigny exudes ripe, vanilla- and star anise-tinged black raspberry and cassis, underlain by clean, marrow-like meatiness. Already satiny in texture, yet buoyant, this finishes with dark-fruited, forest floor-inflected, palate-staining persistence yet a soothing, enveloping personality that is anything but palate-straining. Even though this is an unusually approachable example of its kind, few Burgundian Pinots of its vintage, I suspect, will justify the 15 or more years of glory that I would anticipate from this Musigny.
93-95 Points Allen Meadows
A restrained, airy, clean, bright and beautifully layered nose features red pinot, violets, spice and mineral notes that complement perfectly the seductively textured medium full flavors that display a taut muscularity and superb focus on the refined and firmly structured finish. I particularly like the intensity and drive and this should reward about a decade of patient cellaring. A Musigny of harmony and grace.
96 Points John Gilman
Monsieur Mugnier’s 2007 Musigny is one of the wines of the vintage, and though it is still very early days for this wine, its ultimate quality is very, very evident. The simply gorgeous nose wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black cherries, a touch of cocoa, roses, a beautifully complex base of iron-infused soil tones, mustard seed, woodsmoke, orange zest and a deft framing of new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and very sappy at the core (particularly for an ’07), with stunning backend energy and grip, laser-like focus, fine-grained tannins and magical balance on the very, very long, classic finish. A great, great 2007! (Drink between 2020-2060)