Wine Advisor
Comte Georges de Vogue, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
There are just four casks of the 2016 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Amoureuses this year. They are all used as winemaker François Millet’s only option would have been to use 25% new oak, which he felt was excessive. There is something almost sedate about the aromatics, unfurling gracefully in the glass with scents of blackcurrant, bilberry, wilted violet and a splash of ink. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent and overtly fruit-driven opening sporting cassis and blackcurrant. There is a touch of chalkiness to the texture that counterbalances the tightly coiled opulence, while the finish brims with energy. Overall, this is not a deep or especially concentrated Les Amoureuses yet it is as precise as a Swiss watch.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru has an opulent and high-toned bouquet, quite Bonnes-Mares in style, with copious red and blue fruit laced with wilted violet petals. The oak comes across a little stronger here although it is simpatico with the fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannin, ripe and vivacious, almost confit-like. There are layers of blue fruit towards the finish that evolves a slightly chalky texture, but there is very good persistency here. Superb. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting.
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.
