Jacques Frederic Mugnier, Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuees 2012

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Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuees has a very well-defined, natural, seductive bouquet with crisp raspberry, wild strawberry, damp soil and dried orange peel scents that are beautifully intertwined. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, taut tannins that lend this Fuees its linearity and focus. This is a serious wine, one that is a little inhibited at the moment, but given its additional months in barrel with be more expressive next year. Very fine – very classic. It is three years since I last visited Frederic Mugnier at his impressive ivy-clad maison in Chambolle that seems to rule the roost in the clustered village. This is a producer whose wines, I must confess, I was indifferent to when I began tasting Burgundy wine. For sure, there were plenty of plaudits. However, with the odd exception, I could not engage with the wines and was not overly keen on how they evolved in bottle. As the years have rolled by, I have appreciated the wines more and more. Has my palate changed? I do not think so. Rather, Frederic has fine-tuned and adapted his approach and I sense he feels more comfortable and confident in his practices. We had a frank interchange about new oak. Nowadays he has reduced the percentage to about 15%, even for the Musigny Grand Cru. Could he envisage not using new oak at all in the future? Frederic said it could be possible and he seemed wary of unclean elements that may lurk inside new barrels and affect the purity of wines. As such, the more classical, refined style of Pinot Noir suits Mugnier to the ground. I adored the subtlety, freshness and precision of these nascent 2012s that at their peak constitute some of the finest wines of the vintage. The following wines were all tasted from used barrels in September 2013. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (Le Serbet) and through various US importers (see www.leserbet.com for full list.)