Wine Advisor
Comte Georges de Vogue, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
It isn't always the case, but in 2012, the Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, the estate's young vines Cuvée from Musigny, is a big step up from the villages. Plump, juicy and pliant, the 2012 blossoms in the glass with gorgeous depth. Veins of minerality and acidity support the distinctly red-toned fruit. Hints of white pepper, cinnamon and orange peel add a striking top register to an invigorating, fresh Burgundy that is going to be hard to resist in its youth. I very much like the combination of exuberance and focus here.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Deep, bright red. Deep, musky aromas of blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, mocha and wild herbs lifted by rose and lavender. Round, broad and silky, offering outstanding depth and sucrosité but also excellent grip. Wonderfully rich, full and complex, finishing with superb rising length and saline minerality. A great vintage for these younger Musigny vines, showing compelling purity of fruit.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(from the Musigny vines that are younger than 25 years of age): Full red. Candied raspberry, black cherry, menthol and rocks on the ripe nose. Juicy, tactile and very ripe, with plenty of energy to support the chewy texture. Delivers a much crunchier fruit expression than the village wine, showing real limestone lift to the flavors of pomegranate and blackberry. Fresh, spicy and lightly saline on the building finish.
About the Producer
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue is one of the most important estates in the Chambello-Musigny appellation, thanks to its stake in important vineyards. The Comte de Vogue is, as the English writer Charles Dickens once said, "as historic and admirable as a great mountain". The vineyard of the Comte de Vugo covers approximately 12.5 hectares, of which about 7 hectares are located in the Mussini vineyard (70% of the entire top vineyard) and about 2.5 hectares in the nearby Bernemar region. The grapes are all hand-harvested and the vast majority are destemmed (although in 1990 100% of the stems were retained). The wines are first fermented in vats, then aged for 18 months in small oak barrels (40% to 45% renewed), clarified with egg whites and lightly filtered before bottling. The wines are extremely intense and full-bodied, which is not surprising given the extremely low yields and the limestone soils of the Mussini vineyards. The wines of the Comtes de Vugo are not meant to be tasted young, and in outstanding vintages these very long-lived wines usually require 10 to 15 years of ageing. However, it is worth noting that the 2002 vintage of Musigny Old Vine is of particularly high quality. It has intense aromas of red cherry, spice and candied raspberry aromas, with a hint of oak. This noble, full-bodied, refined wine has fragrant floral flavours with fruity notes of red and black fruits. A more feminine wine than the bold, chewy, highly robust 1990 vintage, this is a work of art with delicate tannins.
