Nuits St Georges Blanc Clos de la Marechale Mugnier 2011
HED91629
75 cl
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93 Vinous
88 Jancis Robinson
I was delighted to return to the home of Frederic Mugnier in the cluster of houses that make up the village of Chambolle, his perhaps the grandest and most imposing. Those are not adjectives that would describe the man himself, ever congenial and humble when I met him at the domaine. I was there to taste his 2012s in barrel, but with some free time before my next appointment he kindly offered to show me his bottled 2011s. This is a producer whose wines I have warmed to in recent years. When I commenced my Burgundy odyssey in the 1990s I felt that his wines were outshone by his neighbor Christophe Roumier and felt that they did not quite reach their full potential. However, in recent vintages Frederic has really honed his style and to me he seems more comfortable with the level of new wood that he is using, even countenancing the idea of a grand cru sans new oak. The wines seem “happier,” as banal as that sounds. But they just sang from bottle with freshness, verve, personality and charm – facets of a great Burgundy wine. Most of these cuvees would have been allocated on release, but I am sure some 2011s remain available and they come highly recommended.
A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet, various American importers, including: Martin Scott Wines, Little Neck, NY; tel. (516) 327-0808; Veritas Imports, Beverly Hills, CA; tel. (310) 205-3803; Toepfer Imports LLC, CO; tel. (303) 818-7640Neal Martin30th October 2013
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Jacques-Frederic Mugnier
Precision and Beauty
Located the famous Château de Chambolle-Musigny, which has been owned by the Mugniers since the mid 19th century, Frédéric Mugnier took the hem at the family winery in 1985. Frédéric farms around 35 acres of vines, including plantings in some of Burgundy's most desirable crus, most notably the famous Les Amoureuses Premier Cru and Musigny Grand Cru. A notable recent addition to the portfolio is Clos de la Maréchale in Nuits-St-George, returned to the family stable after a 54 lease to Domaine Faiveley.
The winemaking is methodical and reasoned, reflecting Frédéric's training as an engineer - all fruit is destemmed before crushing, new oak is limited to 25% and all wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. Bucking the trend somewhat, Frédéric has decided not to pursue organic or biodynamic certification. While pesticide and herbicide-free since the mid-1990s, the domaine take a pragmatic approach to vineyard management rather than a dogmatic one.