Wine Advisor
Jacques Frederic Mugnier, Musigny Grand Cru 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Incredible nose combines cool blackberry liqueur, violet, crushed stone, exotic spices and mocha, along with ineffable soil tones of mushroomy underbrush; not quite as high-pitched today as the Amoureuses but then this is holding more in reserve. Hugely silky and thick but youthfully brooding today, with very ripe flavors of berry liqueur, dark chocolate, mocha and earth; today the treble notes of flowers and minerals are covered by the wine's sheer volume. This amazingly long and mouthfilling wine was inscrutable from barrel a year ago, and I continue to find it extremely closed today. No doubt it will require a good 10 to 12 years of cellaring to achieve its adult form. Today it's the Amoureuses that hits my G-spot but this will be a monument.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Red-ruby color. Showing darker, wilder fruits on the nose than the Amoureuses: blackberry, violet pastille and blood orange. Hints at subtle sweetness but comes across as quite tight and reserved today, and not yet expressive. A good example of a wine that may be so rich that nothing stands out now. Most impressive today on the back end, which features palate-staining spices and bitter chocolate and unflagging aromatic persistence. Definitely inscrutable today; it's possible that I am underrating this wine. This was far from the only top 2005 grand cru that was hard to get a grip on in November.
About the Producer
Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier is a Burgundian wine producer based in Chambolle-Musigny. It is particularly well-known for its Musigny Grand Cru wine which is regarded as a benchmark for that vineyard. While the estate is most closely associated with Pinot Noir wines from Chambolle-Musigny, it has 10 hectares (25 acres) of vineyards in Nuits-Saint-Georges as well. The Château de Chambolle-Musigny has been owned by the Mugnier family since 1863. From 1950, as there was no winemaker in the family, the vineyards were contracted out to Faiveley and Bruno Clair, with the latter selling the wine in bulk. Between 1985 and 2004, Frédéric Mugnier was able to take back the vineyards as leases expired. On top of the Musigny Grand Cru, Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier makes a wine from the Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru vineyard, as well as two premier cru wines, Les Fuées and Les Amoureuses, and a village-level wine. From the Nuits-Saint-Georges holdings, Mugnier makes a Clos des Fourches premier cru wine, and a red and a white premier cru from the Clos de la Maréchale vineyard, which is a monopole of the domaine. Vineyards are farmed without herbicides or pesticides and just two mildew treatments per year. Grapes are de-stemmed and whole berries are fermented in old open wooden vats. After around 16 months in oak, wines are bottled without fining and filtration.
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Package Size
1 x 75cl
