MUSIGNY – MUSIGNY - MUSIGNY x 28 in GRAZ

WINE TALK
1

Tasting 4th December 2010 in Graz

Some facts:
MUSIGNY Grand Cru: 10,8555 ha
Consisting of: La Combe d´Orveau 0,6128+0,1532=0,766 ha Jacques Prieur
Les Petits Musigny 4,1935 ha Comte de Vogüé
Le Musigny 5,8942 ha (10 owners)

  • from the latter below the „Route des Grands Crus“: 0,1337 ha (4 owners)

Owners:
Comte de Vogüé: 7,1421 ha (incl. 0,0213 unplanted below the „Route …“)
(incl. 0,66 ha Musigny blanc, declassified as Bourgogne blanc since at least 1997)
Jacques-Frederic Mugnier: 1,1358 ha
Domaine Jacques Prieur: 0,766 ha (2 parcels Combe d´Orveau)
Drouhin (-Jousset): 0,672 ha
Domaine Leroy (Nouvelle): 0,08 + 0,19 ha from Moine-Hudelot in 1989 = 0,27 ha
de Vougeraie (ex-Pierre Ponelle): 0,2104 ha
Trinquier (to Jadot): 0,1665 ha
Drouhin-Laroze: 0,1193 ha 1996 from Moine-Hudelot
Roumier: 0,0996 ha
Dufouleur: 0,098 ha
Christian Confuron: 0,076 ha (below the „Route …“)
Faiveley: 0,0338 ha
Monthelie-Douhairet-Porcheret 0,0156 ha (below the „Route …“) – ex-Bilik
Commune de Chambolle: 0,0245 ha (unplanted)
Domaine Bertagna 0,0208 (unplanted below the „Route …“)
Bernard Clair 0,0051 ha (planted or not? Grapes sold?)
(Moine-Hudelot until 1989 0,3093 ha, until 1995 0,1193 ha)

The tasting:
25 people, partially sharing 16 series of 5 stems each. The points are mine, after each flight we voted for the „favorite wine“ by raising hands.

1st flight – WHITE:

#1 quite woody nose, high acidity, hints of minerality, but not giving THAT much, can improve a bit, but all in all not very exciting, 86points
#2 quite full in the nose, domestic and exotic fruits, same on the palate, very fine definition and balance, 91+points

Group votes:
#1: 0
#2: 24 votes

#1 2006 BOURGOGNE blanc (declassified Musigny blanc) - Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
#2 2006 MEURSAULT Village (most probably from Vireuils) – Coche-Dury

2nd flight – RED:

#3 quite full colour, first nose a bit muted, then more and more corky, also bitter on the palate, off
#4 quite bright transparent red, orange rim, looks very mature, but beautiful nose of red berries and fruity sweetness, very elegant, very enjoyable, but lacking a bit weight and finish, 90p
#5 full saturated dark ruby, spicy, still structured, plummy on the palate, good follow thru, youthful, 93p
#6 medium red, fine and complex nose, good balance between sweetness and acidity, lively, not extremely long bthough, 92p
#7 full colour, open nose, beetroots and all kinds of berries, youthful, nice acidity, very long and persisting, 92+p

group:
#3: 0
#4: 7
#5: 6
#6: 4
#7: 8 votes
– no clear favorite

#3 1993 Musigny Maison Georges Vasseur (Nuits-St-Georges)
#4 1995 Musigny Domaine Christian Confuron (Vougeot)
#5 1990 Musigny Domaine Jacques Prieur (Meursault)
#6 1991 Musigny Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé (Chambolle-Musigny)
#7 1996 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru „La Combe d´Orveau“ - Dom. Henri Perrot-Minot (Morey-SD)

Perrot-Minot did very well with his Combe d´Orveau parcel against e.g. Prieur.

Amuse gueule

3rd flight:

#8 bright orange-ruby, also orange peels and raspberries in the nose, very mature, but still good, slightly forthcoming acidity, very good luncheon wine, 88p
#9 still brighter, a bit neutral in the nose, but some elegance, finish slightly bitter, over apogee, 84p
#10 bright but full saturated red, very elegant nose, sweet and very long on the palate, super balance, 94p
#11 good full mature ruby, mouthfilling with lively acidity, nose a bit less interesting, medium long, very enjoyable, 91p
#12 very nice colour – and first seemed excellent, then TCA

group:
#8: 7
#9: 0
#10: 12
#11: 6
#12: 0
… #10 the winner

All Musignys:
#8 1980 Morin Pere et Fils (Nuits-St-Georges)
#9 1981 Domaine Mugnier (mis en bouteille most probably by Bernard Clair/Clair-Daü)
#10 1979 Maison Antonin Rodet (Mercurey) – fruit most probably from Mugnier
#11 1976 Maison Bouchard Pere & Fils (Beaune)
#12 1971 Maison Charles Parizot (Beaune)

1st course: lamb

4th flight:

#13 good full saturated ruby, nose slightly closed, full but not that sweet, youthfully austere, long, 92p
#14 medium bright ruby, forthcoming and complex nose, really singing with underlying acidity, very fine, drinking great, 94p
#15 very full, lots of ripe fruits, sweet, open, very long with excellent core, 95p
#16 the darkest, full and plummy in the nose and also on the palate, great potential, perfect balance but too early, 94+p

group:
#13: 2
#14: 10
#15: 7
#16: 6

#13: 1998 Domaine Drouhin-Laroze (Gevrey-Chambertin)
#14: 2001 Dominique Laurent (Nuits-St-Georges)
#15: 1997 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé (Chambolle-Musigny)
#16: 1999 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier (Chambolle-Musigny)

(to be continued)

2

interesting but your posting format is certainly hard for me to read.
Thanks.
alan

3

Fascinating Gerhard-nice to see Laurent doing so well and I am encouraged to continue my little collection of Combe D’Orveaux.

4

Sorry - but the posting program seems not to be perfectly compatible with mine …

5

(2)

5th flight:

#17: quite bright orange-red, ripe nose, beautiful sweet palate, textbook Burgundy, with only slightly forthcoming acidity and a certain lack of mid-palate from the vintage, nebertheless nice, 89p
#18: not dissimilar to #17, slightly less orange, browner, sweeter and deeper, less acidity, more depth, fine,
if old-fashioned, 92p
#19: very full bright red, immensly sweet fruit, mouthfilling, long, intense, great follow through, 96p
#20: quite dark ruby, full but slightly austere, hints of coffee, enjoyable and excellent with food, but hard competition in this flight, 90p
#21: very mature orange ruby, very open sweet nose, same on the palate, with tiny hints of oxodation (from less than perfect fill), great finesse, long and persisting, nevertheless certainly fine, 93p

Group:
#17: 0
#18: 5
#19: 14
#20: 5
#21: 0

#17: 1972 Maison Louis Latour (Beaune)
#18: 1964 Henry de Boursault (Savigny-lés-Beaune)
#19: 1969 Domaine Moine-Hudelot (Chambolle-Musigny)
#20: 1953 Maison J. Calvet (Beaune)
#21: 1961 Joseph Drouhin (Beaune)
Great wine from Moine-Hudelot – a pity that he sold the vineyard

Main course: Styrian beef

6th flight:

#22: medium deep ruby, full of ripe strawberries, soft on the palate, nice but a bit harmless, 90p
#23: deep purple red, lots of woody toast, very modern style, full and intense but slightly bitter, a bit overdone for me, but also far too young, 90-92?p
#24: beautiful classy fruit, youthful but very harmonious, nice sweetness with exellent structure and balance, wait another 5-8 years, 94p
#25: full saturated, tons of red and dark fruits, nice touch of well integrated oak, very intense with great inner core, youthful but super, 98p
#26: very dark and full ruby, cassis, dark cherries, youthful austerity, great potential, great length, far too young, looked indeed younger than #25, 96p

group:
#22: 0
#23: 2
#24: 5
#25: 12
#26: 5

#22: 2003 Maison Joseph Drouhin (Beaune)
#23: 1999 Domaine de la Vougeraie (Premeaux) – I think the 1st vintage
#24: 2002 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier (Chambolle-Musigny)
#25: 2006 Domaine Joseph Faiveley (Nuits-St-Georges) – 148 bottles produced
#26: 1998 Domaine George Roumier (Chambolle-Musigny)
… if only the Faiveley wasn´t that rare and expensive … I wish I could taste a mature example someday …

7th flight:

#27: very full medium ruby, lots of violets, plums, blackberries, soft but intense and mouthfilling, drink now until 2020+, 93p
#28: brighter ruby with orange hints, fine deep complex nose, sweet on the palate with excellent definition, a poînt, 95p
#29: medium saturated red, hints of tomatoes and beetroot, good structure, lively, fleshy, fine, 96p
#30: orange ruby, first slightly dusty which (almost) blew off, old fashioned, very good sweetness, forthcoming acidity, outstanding but not worth the money, 91p

group:
#27: 7
#28: 5
#29: 5
#30: 5

#27: 1992 Domaine Leroy (Vosne-Romanée)
#28: 1989 Maison Louis Jadot (Beaune)
#29: 1989 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé (Chambolle-Musigny)
#30: 1980 Maison Leroy (Auxey-Duresses) – a recent release
… all in all Vogüé proved his class, Jadot also super, Leroy not up to the price …

French cheese

Dessert wines:

#31: ?2001? GERMAN Riesling Auslese – sorry, no details put down, excellent
#32: 2007 Muscat Beaumes de Venise – Domaine de Beaumalric, fruity, good match with the dessert
#33: 1995 TBA Chardonnay UMATHUM / Austria-Burgenland, very sweet, outstanding
#34: NV Delaforce Port, most probably a Tawny from the 60/70ties- very nice

Dessert variations

6

Thanks for the great notes Gerhard. A few thoughts:

  1. Surprised a young D. Laurent scored so well. I have always harboured the suspicion that his oak regime tends to be better suited for top-end plots where the fruit can stand up to the wood - wonder whether it was true for the Musigny. Wonder where he got his fruit from though.

  2. Kudos to Erwan Faiveley for producing a solid Moose. Like you said though, pity it is so rare and expensive.

  3. Did you notice any stylistic change between the 1991 and 1997 de Vogue?

7

Well done Gerhard!

It seems that despite the price, your Faiveley search was very successful!

Cheers, Bill

8

Paul,
FIRST you made me aware of an error in my typing:
#29 was 1989 (!) Vogüé (already edited)
#15 was 1997 Vogüé (was correct)
and #6 1991 Vogüé (was correct)

The difference between 1991 and 1997 wasn´t that huge in style, both were more fruity and primary, less developed and also more modern in style (despite the difference in age),
while 1989 was more transparent and first seemed lighter, showed more tertaer aromas, more acidity, but eventually had an exceptional sweet and lingering finish and was a really “singing” textbook Burgundy.
While 91+97 will certainly gain complexity with age, they will always be more “modern” … the “point”-difference is IMHO due to the vintages …

The 2001 D.Laurent didn´t show any excessive oak influence … really excellent balance! DL will never tell where his fruit comes from …
maybe Jousset or Trinquier doen´t sell all barrels to Drouhin or Jadot resp. … ??? Or it was a “less convincing” Vogüé-barrel … ??? Read thru my list of proprietors … and the question is even harder ???

Reg. Faiveley 2006: this was the first REAL Faiveley Musigny bottle I have actually seen - so I HAD to buy it on the spot for this tasting - most expensive bottle after the Domaine Leroy!

9

Domaine Louis Jadot is proprietor of .4 acres in Le Musigny acquired in 1985 through the purchase of Domaine Clair Daü. Vines are 90 years old. They make 3 barrels.

10

An extraordinarily interesting report, many thanks.

11

Not his fruit, his wine.

12

I too have seen the Laurent wines perform amazingly well (one recently topped our Clos Vougeot tasting) but they can be wildly inconsistent. A recent '98 Bonnes Mares was quite good while a '98 Clos de la Roche was scarred with tarry, high toast oak.

13

Granted, but first came the fruit, then the wine ! [wink.gif]

OK, .4 acres - that´s the 0,1665 ha of (Roger) “Trinquier (to Jadot)” above.
If Jadot now is proprietor, or has a long-term contract on the Musigny-vines is not easy to verify … some infos are talking (still in the 90ies) about a 25-year-loan from the widow of R.Trinquier who is a Clair-relative …
Also the mysterious “0,0051 ha (planted or not? Grapes sold?)” of Bernard Clair might here be included somehow …

14

Thanks for the great write up. Interesting set of domaines and vintages, my first though is that there is a fairly wide range of Moose out there, not that I see it, only a few I can relate to… Cheers Mike

15

Mike,
at the moment there are only 13 producing proprietors - and only 6 or 7 out of these are available without huge efforts (or great luck) if always expensive.
In addition only Dom.Laurent - as far as I´m concerned - seems to be able to buy and bottle Musigny … all the other negiciants in the tasting were old vintages only available thru auctions.

Does anybody know: Potel, LeMoine or other good negiciants never bottled a Musigny?

Kind regards
Gerhard

16

I think Eric is pointing out that Laurent purchases finished wine, not grapes.

17

Gerhard – To the best of my knowledge, Potel never had a Musigny. However, Pascal Marchand has one in 2009.

In the old days, de Vogüé would sell to negociants and at certain times, Mugnier, too, I believe. François Millet has told me on multiple occasions that the policy at de Vogüé now is not to sell anything off to negociants. As a result, you can see why it is considerably more difficult for negociants to get any Musigny, as those two estates take up the large majority of the vineyard.

18

Claude,
thanks - the Marchand bottling is completely new to me …

As far as I´m concerned the only negoce bottlings 2000 and later I have seen (besides D.Laurent) were:
Charles ANTONIN (NSG) 2005
Louis MAX 2005
Golmard-Sauvageot (2003?)
Francois de TONNAY 2001 (seems to be Ziltener)

… but there were a lot from the 60ies to early 90ies …

19

As Claude notes Gerhard, there was a lot of non VV juice sold by de Vogüé until their ‘1er cru’ cuvée from 95…

20

Thanks for posting, but this just seems like raw data from a scientific study. What was your overall opinion of the wines? Could you detect terroir characteristics across the different bottles? Were any wines emotionally moving?