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  • Country ranking ?

    929
  • Producer ranking ?

    20
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035

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The Story

Le Musigny is considered by serious wine writers to be one of the greatest red wines of Burgundy, alongside le Chambertin, le Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze, la Tâche and la Romanée-Conti. A preference for one or other of these wines can only be due to personality and circumstance.

Our parcel of de 1.14 ha (2.8 acres) is entirely situated within the part known as  « Grand-Musigny ».
All of the vines were planted between 1947 and 1962, with the exception of only a small area (15%) replanted in 1997. The grapes from this part are declassified and are included in the Chambolle-Musigny « village » appellation. Therefore the only wine that we produce under Le Musigny appellation is from old vines.

Annual production varies between 2000 and 5000 bottles.

The composition of the soil varies in as one climbs the slope. Lower down the slope it is similar in structure to "Les Amoureuses" vineyard, although the underlying rock is more fissured. This allows the vine roots to explore deeper while enabling faster drainage .The upper part of the slope is primarily composed of a marl soil, lightened by large masses of friable oolitic limestone, this ensures good moisture reserves. The overall result is a drought-resistant vineyard that can also shrug off the September rain, the grapes are guaranteed to be completely mature every year and without irregularities.

The Wine

Le Musigny shares certain characteristics with its neighbour Les Amoureuses; the elegance of richness without heaviness, and it has a similar palette of aromatic composition, although in the case of the Musigny, the underlying structure is less vibrant, more steady, with exceptional depth and intensity of flavour. The length of the finish on the palate is incomparable.

The sommelier's advice
This great wine will open up slowly. Ten years are a strict minimum to allow full development. The ageing potential in the really great vintages is almost without limit.

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Vintage 1985

1985 Burgundy by Clive Coates MW / The 1985 vintage represents a turning point in the wine history of Burgundy. Before this date, on the whole, winegrowers made wine, merchants bought it, assembled several plots, if necessary, and sold it. Subsequently, more and more estates began to mature, bottle and market the wines themselves. In the meantime, many merchants had taken the opportunity to expand their own estates, so that, particularly at the upper end, they were more or less self-sufficient. In the 1970s, and earlier, there were barely around twenty producers – we think of Rousseau, Dujac, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Gouges, Lafarge and Leflaive – who did not sell in bulk. Many of today's super-stars bottled only a token quantity and were unknown to even the most perceptive merchant or journalist.

The emergence of these new areas is transforming Burgundy. In a very short time, almost everyone who had a grand cru and many who had a good premier cru were bottling as much as they could themselves. There was, of course, the question of cash flow. If you sold to a merchant, you were paid in full at the time of the next vintage. If you sold in bottles, you didn't get the money until about two and a half years later, after bottling 18 months after harvest and possible shipping in winter thereafter. We would therefore not be able, unless we were otherwise financed, to move from bulk sales to bottled sales overnight. I remember the late Philippe Engel explaining to me that the transformation for him took ten years.

The process was encouraged by local residents. Burgundy is a generous wine region. Most growers are on very good terms with their neighbors and are only too happy to help if there is a problem. Naturally, the best ones have a queue of potential buyers waiting to step in if one of the regular customers falls through. What could be more natural for the important owner of the much sought-after estate than to recommend a hitherto unknown young neighbor who was looking for business. If he or she was a cousin or in-law, so much the better.

 

Moreover, the quality was improving, and by leaps and bounds. The best growers went to Viti in Beaune then to the University of Dijon. Many left for a stopover in California or Australia, or elsewhere in France. Tasting each other’s wines with your neighbors has become commonplace. Firstly, selling your wine under your own label required you not to cut corners, which you might have been tempted to do if you were simply selling in bulk. Tasting your wine alongside those of your friends and reading a review of it in a wine magazine will soon tell you whether you are producing superior quality or not. Second, viticulture and viticulture techniques had become increasingly sophisticated. There has been a return to plowing and the elimination of herbicides and pesticides. The size of the harvest was taken into greater account. And finally the introduction of the sorting table: the greatest contribution to increasing quality of all. Today, everyone has a sorting table. The first time I saw it was Domaine de la Romanée-Conti when I was making a video in 1987. Finally, after a disappointing run of vintages in the 1970s and early 1980s, 1985 ushered in a series of high quality years that continues to this day. Burgundy has not had a bad vintage since 1984. Thirty years.

The consequence of all this is that it is increasingly difficult for everyone, not just the outside journalist, to keep up. Every year, new areas, worthy of exploration and waiting to be discovered. In 1985, I visited six estates in Gevry, four in Morey and Chambolle and perhaps eight in Vosne. Today I should visit 25 in Gevrey, and so on. A marathon for which I no longer have the energy. I am very lucky to have been there at the time and to have experienced what was an exciting time in Burgundy.

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

The second wine was more saucy. Roger was saying something about ‘heavy balls,’ but he was in deep conversation with a former tennis pro lol. Saucy, soupy and gamy, there were great aromas of menthol, game, iodine, tomato and cherry fruit. In fact, it had this distinct puttanesca edge with more time. There was nice spice and  better acidity in this 1985 Mugnier Musigny, his first vintage. Slover called it, ‘really really good,’ and Dave hailed it as ‘killer,’ continuing with ‘nice cherry fruit qualities mixed with its earthiness.’ This was a much better showing for me than previously experienced (94).

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Origin

Chambolle-Musigny, Burgundy
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