Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier
Prices:
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Case price (Bottle 12 x 75cl)
Frédéric notes that the grapes were very healthy in 2014, with a “correct” yield, lower than 2009 but the best since then. In any case, Frédéric aims to stay below 35 hl/ha, so the wines will always have a desirable intensity. This being a given, the style here reflects the light hand of the winemaker, with minimal extraction during vinification.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 1cs
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
D. Magnum 1 x 300cl 2cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Bottle 1 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 1 x 75cl 1cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
The harvest began on 5th October, the latest since 1984 which was before Frédéric’s time. After a very cold spring and a poor September, it was hard to decide when to pick. He had to choose between lack of maturity and the onset of botrytis. In the event he began with the Clos de la Maréchale.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 3 x 150cl 1cs
Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
2010 is the perfect sort of vintage to please Frdric Mugnier. Balance, elegance, discretion, length of flavour, only the small size of the crop is to be regretted. The final decision has not been made but it seems likely that all the Clos de la Marchale fruit in 2010 will make it into the main wine and the second wine Clos des Fourches will not be produced.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 3 x 75cl 1cs
The Château de Chambolle-Musigny in the Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier has been in the Mugnier family since 1863. Admittedly at one point they had to fight a court case to prove that their house was the Château de Chambolle, as somebody else was (erroneously) claiming the honour. From 1950 the vineyards in Chambolle were contracted out to Faiveley (to 1977) and then Bruno Clair (to 1984), the latter selling the wine in bulk. In 1985 Frédéric Mugnier, the 5th generation of the family on the property, took over, though he combined running the family domaine with his job as an airline pilot until 1998. Now he concentrates solely on the domaine, where consistency has improved as a result, and from 2004 has also taken back the Nuits St Georges Clos de la Maréchale vineyard, on lease to Faiveley since 1950. The Domaine is the second largest owner of le Musigny. Part was planted in 1948 and the remainder in 1962, so this is now an old vine cuvée thoughout. Just 20-25% new wood is used in this ethereal wine which is as sumptuous as any example of Musigny, despite Frédéric’s understated handling.
The vines are run almost organically – no herbicides since 1991, no pesticides since 1997 and now only two treatments a year (against mildew) which are not organic. Frédéric is not an enthusiast for biodynamics however. A hint as to his philosophy appears on his website where he draws a parallel between the mature Glenn Gould finding ‘too much piano playing’ in his early work and the overworked winemaking evident in some Burgundy today.
The grapes are sorted diligently by the pickers before coming to the cellar in small cases. 100% stalks are removed and the whole berries are then conveyed into vats. The wines are bottled after a second winter in wood without fining or filtration. The wines are rarely deep in colour but are brilliantly fragrant in bouquet and notably persistent on the finish.
I mentioned once, while tasting at the domaine, that his wines had a sense of harmony about them. ‘That is the nicest thing you could possibly say to me about my wines,’ responded Frédéric.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director and author of the award-winning Inside Burgundy comprehensive handbook.