Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru 2007 750ml

Frédéric Mugnier filed his 2007s as wines for gourmands rather than collectors, and at eighteen years that verdict reads as an invitation rather than a caveat.

The domaine's Musigny comes from a single parcel of 1 ha 14 a that sits entirely inside the section known as Grand-Musigny. Every vine was planted between 1947 and 1962; the one block replanted in 1997, about 15% of the surface, is declassified into village Chambolle-Musigny, so the only Musigny bottled here is old-vine fruit. Output runs between 2,000 and 5,000 bottles a year. The estate describes two soils: the lower slope is built like Les Amoureuses but on more fissured rock, which lets roots travel wider and drains faster, while the upper part sits on marl lightened by friable oolitic limestone scree that holds water. In the domaine's words the parcel is little troubled by summer drought or September rain, and ripens evenly and fully each year.

At the end of élevage in May 2009, Mugnier wrote that after two structured, very long-keeping vintages, 2007 arrived tender and supple yet intense and complete, with fleshy, precise fruit. He called it a vintage for gourmands more than collectors: open, cheerful, generous wines that should evolve steadily, without the chaotic phases more tannic years go through. Cellar work, as described by the Japanese importer Luc Corporation, is plain: fruit fully destemmed, no cold maceration, wooden vats and stainless steel used according to volume, then about 17 months in barrel with 15 to 20% new oak.

The estate dates from 1863, when Frédéric Mugnier, a Dijon liqueur maker, founded it; the Chambolle climats were bought in 1889 from the Moret-Monge family. Today's Frédéric Mugnier, formerly an engineer and airline pilot, took the vines back in 1985 at the age of 30 when the leases ran out. Farming, per Luc Corporation, is close to organic, with no herbicides or insecticides.

In the glass

The producer sets Musigny beside its neighbour Les Amoureuses: the same richness without heaviness and a close aromatic palette, but carried here by a calmer, more settled body of great depth and intensity, with a finish of unequalled length. Luc Corporation describes the house style as moderate in colour, soft on entry and silky in texture. For the 2007, La Revue du Vin de France gave 97/100 and Bettane+Desseauve 18.5/20 (as quoted by ploc.co).

When to open

Mugnier's own advice is that Musigny develops slowly, needs ten years to express itself fully, and in great vintages ages almost without limit. At eighteen years this 2007 sits well inside that window. Serve at 14 to 16°C (ploc.co).

At the table

Our suggestion: roast guinea fowl, a simple pigeon breast with its jus, or soft-ripened cheeses such as Époisses or Cîteaux.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from the Japanese importer.

Sources: Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier (mugnier.fr, wine page and vintage notes); Luc Corporation (Japanese importer); ploc.co for La Revue du Vin de France and Bettane+Desseauve scores; Bottles Japan label photo