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.
92-95 Points Wine Advocate
Musky peony, brown spices, game, and ripe red berries on the nose of Mugnier’s 2007 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses presage a palate performance of sweet, sumptuous, yet freshly juicy fruit, tinged with rose hip and spices; abundant inner-mouth florality; and savory, lightly-salted meat stock reduction. This deliciously decadent expression of its great site should be worth following for at least a decade but I suspect you’ll have trouble resisting its blandishments over the next several years.
94 Points John Gillman
The 2007 Mugnier Amoureuses is a brilliant example of the vintage that is certainly approachable now, but which really demands at least five or six years in the cellar to really allow its secondary layers of complexity to blossom. The bouquet is deep and refined, as it offers up a compelling blend of red plums, cherries, roses, coffee, beautiful soil tones, mustard seed and a gentle note of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is medium-full, long and suave, with great elegance, fine mid-palate depth, silky tannins and a very long, classy and bright finish. A beautiful bottle of Amoureuses.
93 Points Stephen Tanzer
Bright medium red. High-toned aromas of sweet red fruits, mint and spices; the most detailed and delicate nose among the 2007s today. Wonderfully sweet without being exaggerated in any way, conveying lightly saline, soil-driven flavors of cherry, raspberry, minerals and flowers. Here the terroir speaks more loudly than the vintage. A 2007 of uncanny energy, finishing with fine-grained tannins and enticing lingering perfume.