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Wine Description
The Story
The ‘first lady’ of the de Vogüé portfolio is the premier cru Les Amoureuses — or, the lovers. Ploughed by horses because of the stony topsoil, the parcel is a tiny 0.56 hectare holding and so a mere 160 cases vintage leave the domaine. Millet sees the wines as Musigny’s little sister, refined but never frivolous and a tasting of his stellar 1999 vintage reveals a bouquet of redcurrant and loganberry against a back-drop of sous-bois and mushroom. In time complexity develops, yet it never reaches the leather-armchair study wreathed in cigar-smoke where Les Amoureuses older brother Musigny sits.
The highest part of the Amoureuses vineyard is separated from Musigny by a small road, it is here that the domaines' 0.56 ha holding is located. The vines average 31 years-old and produce a mere 160 or so cases per vintage. In 2009 Millet started picking on September 9 in order to keep as much as freshness as possible. The fruit was 100% destemmed. New oak ranged from 15% for the Chambolle villages to 35-40% for the Bonnes Mares and Musigny Vieilles Vignes. The malos were on the slow side and for the most part did not begin until April 2010.
Pinot Noir is well-suited to pair with poultry, beef, fish, ham, lamb and pork. It will play well with creamy sauces, spicy seasonings and may just be one of the world's most versatile food wines.
Wine Information
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé has remained by inheritance in the same family since 1450. Twenty generations enlarged and enriched this family estate whose stewardship continues with Claire de Causans and Marie de Ladoucette. They themselves are grand-daughters of the legendary Comte Georges de Vogüé who inherited the estate in 1925 and ran it for over 50 years; His daughter Elisabeth, Baronne Bertrand de Ladoucette, managed the estate from the early 1980s until 2002, and it was under her tenure that was established the new executive team that exists today - Eric
Bourgogne, Chef de Culture in 1996, François Millet, Maître de Chai and Oenologue in
1986, and Jean-Luc Pépin, Sales Director in 1988.
The house built by Jean Moisson in the 15th century, together with the cuverie and
other buildings around the inner courtyard of the Domaine, are therefore symbols of both history and continuity, awesome responsibilities now shared by Claire de
Causans and Marie de Ladoucette and their executive team.
The Domaine's holdings are located entirely in Chambolle-Musigny which is an unspoiled village surrounded by limestone escarpments.
Musigny is one of the two Grands Crus of Chambolle-Musigny. It is located on a hillside, south of Chambolle-Musigny, with a southern-east exposure. It lies in the middle of the slope, where the soil produces an optimal balance of structure and elegance. The limestone soil gives a high initial acidity, bringing a supreme elegance and an aromatic purity and finesse to the Musigny. The soil really speaks through the vine and the wine and emphasizes in the wine delicacy, finesse, elegance, and fragrance, at the expense of weight, muscle, size and overwhelming tannins but combines the above with power, intensity, grip, depth and complexity.
Musigny is the pinnacle and probably the most sought-after. It hides a great underlying power and strength, the proverbial "iron fist in velvet glove".
Soil: limestone, pebbles, clay
Production area: 7.25 ha
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé
21220 Chambolle-Musigny
France
tel + 33 3 80 62 86 25
fax + 33 3 80 62 82 38
Vintage 1988
1988 VINTAGE in Burgundy / 1988 has been a good vintage in Burgundy, with enough quantity to offset the revived demand of our foreign and home customers.
Good summer weather meant an early harvest of excellent quality for the reds. Rich and well structured, these wines which were a little rough in their youth today offer a wonderful opportunity to drink quality mature Pinot Noir, the best will continue to improve. The great whites can be put in the same category as the reds : full, round, well balanced and are very good to drink now.
The nearly geat year
As anyone knows, what we need in Burgundy is warm weather all the time, with the exception of a few showers now and then just to keep the leaves green, and at the end of the season to help the vine continue to produce sugar and to lower acidity.
The spell of cold that we had at the beginning of September interrupted a long period of sunshine and stopped for a while the maturing of the grapes: rain only came during the vendange itself, too late to ensure their perfect ripening.
The last days of the season were, as always, the most breath-taking, with marvellous summer-like weather in the second half of September. Harvesting as late as possible was beneficial, as it nearly always is: there was no rot on the superb bunches of grapes, a deep colour, and an excellent balance of the various elements.
During the summer of 1988 and until the very end we had only one half of the average rainfall. This deficit was difficult to overcome and, with the hot weather of August and most of September and the happy flowering of the grapes in the middle of June, we have been just a hair's breadth from a great vintage.
All the good winegrowers who had pruned carefully and not indulged in high yields easily obtained from 12 to 12.5 potential degrees of alcohol, which indicates very good quality; and although the lack of rain slowed the ripening, it had the advantage of keeping the individual grapes small, giving concentration, tannin and colour to the wines.
After the first "décuvage", the overall impression is that the red wines have structure and tannin, with a beautiful vivid colour, the depth of which is really only seen in good vintages.
The acidity is medium to high and it is obvious that we will have a "vin de garde", which will mellow only after a long period of ageing in cask and bottle.
It is difficult to compare 1988 with another vintage, as precocity usually means that the vines have had plenty of sunshine and produce mellow and soft wines; however, the `88 will compare more with a very good vintage picked in October, like 1978 or 1952.
The great whites will be put in the same category as the reds: good structure, power and a lot of firmness.
In the Beaujolais, the news is excellent too: good colour, perfect ripening and overall abundance.
