Morey-Saint-Denis and
Chambolle-Musigny

In Chambolle-Musigny there are very aromatic, fragrant wines with much finesse that indeed aren't so full bodied and powerful like the best ones from Gevrey-Chambertin, but more often of greater elegance. Wines from Morey-Saint-Denis are about half-way between Gevrey-Chambertin and Chambolle-Musigny.

Domaine Pierre Amiot & Fils, Morey-Saint-Denis

A domaine with lots of good climates in Morey-St-Denis and with reasonable prices. The 1996 vintage was already sold out. We tasted some of the still purchasable 1994's.

Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Millandes 1994
Blackberries, compact, full, rich. Still young good tannins, a bit green, sweetness. (90 FF)

Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Ruchots 1994
Fruity, feminine, morellos, gentle tannins, cherry yoghurt in the bouquet. (90 FF)

Clos St-Denis 1994
Richer than the 1er Crus. Flowery. Tannins still have a bite. Some Co2, vanilla, green wood from the stalk. (150 FF)

Clos de la Roche 1994
Harsher and a bit more resinous than the Clos St-Denis. Rich and strong. Hot on the tongue. Dark cherries, vanilla, long finish. Good wine! (150 FF)

Because we asked - for we had had it still in memory and there is not much of it - we tasted at the end the simple Bourgogne - surely not the best order, but it didn't perish!


Bourgogne 1997
Rich, some honey, good worth while Bourgogne! (35 FF)

Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, Chambolle-Musigny

After we visited Georges Roumier last year - one of the most excellent domains in Chambolle-Musigny - and tasted his great wines from bottles and barrels - we visited his neighbour this year, the domain Jacques Frédéric Mugnier. It also owns the top climates in Chambolle-Musigny. Frédéric Mugnier, who is a professional pilot as well, took over the wine making on the domain only before the vintage 1985 and already produced one of the village's best wines. We tasted his 1997s from the barrel.

reds:

Chambolle-Musigny 1997 barrel sample
Brilliant, clear red colour, some vanilla, morello.


Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées 1997 barrel sample
Vanilla, cherry, good tannins, wood from the stalks.

Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 1997 barrel sample
Wine from the climate Les Amoureuses belongs to the most required wines of the Côte d'Or. Therefore it is very hard to get. The biggest quantity goes to regular customers and is already sold before it is bottled.
Dark colour, cranberries, vanilla. Good structured. Velvet consistence in the mouth, complex bouquet, needs time to develop. Still a bit sparkling. Leaves a warmth in the mouth, slightly hot on the tip of the tongue, still light green components. Excellent!

Bonnes-Mares 1997 barrel sample
Lots of vanilla, strong structured. Low acidity (typical for this vintage), rather too much strong tannin. In the bouquet and in the taste dried fruit, concentration and strength, long and intense finish that doesn't go as deep as the Les Amoureuses. Creamy consistence. Needs air, quite closed.

Musigny 1997 barrel sample
From the first fragrance an unbelievable impression. Leaves the other wines definitely behind. Dark colour. Very complex and intense bouquet with a variety of phantastic aromas - it reminds one rather of dark cherries, violetts, forest soil, and cranberries. Strong tannins. Very well balanced, velvet. A class of its own.


Frédéric Mugnier is very friendly and took plenty of time for us. He told us he made wine and that was what he was interested in and not so much in the business. Mugnier reduces the yield and takes the risk of waiting with the harvest usually rather long. He wants to make elegant wines. Concerning pest control he doesn't take a dogmatic position. He uses as less as possible and as much as neccessary. He said the best a wine could reach was the balance of its components and not neccessarily concentration only. (Actually the concentration is the main aspect the wine critics judge. Or on tastings, you can compare between different wines, those wines are successful, because they "shout" - so elegant fine and balanced wines were left behind.) In his opinion the 1993's are the best vintage - excellent Burgundy.

The 1996 were completely sold out. The prices: Chambolle-Musigny (130 FF), Les Fuées (185 FF), Les Amoureuses (285 FF), Bonnes-Mares (285 FF), Musigny (350 FF)
There was still some Bonnes-Mares left of following vintages: 1992 (245 FF), 1994 (255 FF) and Musigny of the vintages: 1991 (330 FF), 1992 (310 FF), 1994 (330 FF)

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