An Afternoon with Frederic Mugnier, Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier

An enjoyable small gathering of around 15 people to spend a couple of hours with the Proprietor of Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier on his first visit to Hong Kong and organized by Altaya Wines.

Although the Domaine has been owned by the Mugnier family for 5 generations, the entire estate was leased to Faiveley in the 1950s so Frederic was raised in a non wine-making family living in Paris. His introduction to wine-making was when the 5-hectare Chambolle-Musigny plot reverted to the family in 1985. Working almost single-handedly, over time he established an approach which emphasized fruit over new oak and elegance/balance/harmony over the classic Faiveley style which had emphasized deep colour and a hefty palate.

The lease on the larger 10-hectare Nuits St Georges vineyard reverted to the Mugnier family in 2004 and Frederic has since been applying same the techniques and philosophy he developed from his work at Chambolle-Musigny.

Since 1985 Frederic has experimented with various releases and now produces 5 different cuvees from the Chambolle-Musigny property. So production of each wine is very small, averaging maybe 5,000 bottles. Most significantly, he has focused on the Villages wine, to which he adds a 50% mix of grapes from the 1er Cru plot. This is because he feels that the combination is a "1+1=3" outcome. This is why the Chambolle-Musigny is priced at the high end of the range for its Villages appelation. His throwaway comment on the 1er Cru Chambolle-Musigny was that it is "too austere".

On the wines in this flight, Frederic commented that the summer was cooler in 2006 than 2005 but that in the key period 6-8 weeks before harvest the conditions were perfect. So he thinks that the 2005 will only really demonstrate is superiority in 20 years' time, which is worth considering given the significant price differential.

• 2006 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Purplish, light transparent colour. Very young tight nose of fresh strawberries and a touch of black shoe polish with hints of violets at the back. Tight, tart, tannic initial palate that is very, very young and not giving much but opens up a bit with extended time in the glass to reveal an attractive, austere angularity which suggests it could become very interesting in 5-10 years time. Not much length and thinned out to unattractive acidity after a long time in the glass. Clearly well made, it has more "character" (in the German sense of the word......jumping into ice-cold lakes and that sort of thing) than the 2005 and Frederic Mugnier said that he thinks it will be better than the 2005 until 20 years out. Very good but not compelling, especially at around $60 per bottle, even though all the 1er Cru grapes go into it.

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• 2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny

  Purplish-red transparent colour. Lovely forward and quite beguiling nose of fresh strawberries. Young on the palate.....very, very fresh fruit but a bit primary and one-dimensional. Velvety tannins. Great purity and structure. Develops with time in the glass into very sweet and light fruit with noticably velvety tannins (none of the muscular angularity of the 2006):elegant but not intruiging. Some length. Frederic Mugnier said that it will be good in 3-5 years' time but that in 20-30 years it could be one of the best Burgundies ever. Hmm....at nearly $100 per bottle I'm not sure that I'd take that chance.

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Since this plot reverted to the Musigny family in 2004, he only produces two wines, with the only difference that the younger (20+ years old) wines go into the "Clos des Fourches" cuvee and the rest go into the Clos de la Marechele cuvee.

On the wines in this flight, he commented that the summer was cooler in 2006 than 2005 but that in the key period 6-8 weeks before harvest the conditions were perfect. So he thinks that the 2005 will only really demonstrate is superiority in 20 years' time, which is worth considering given the significant price differential.

• 2006 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges Clos des Fourches 87 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges

  This is made in a separate cuvee from the younger grapes on the Clos de la Marechele vineyard and is declassified from 1er Cru accordingly (there is no Clos de Fourches 1er Cru). Deep transparent red with slight purple at the edge. Not surprisingly, a heavier colour than the chambolle-Musigny we tasted beforehand. Nose displays a slight hint of earth and white mushrooms with an attractive fruit bouquet which is more raspberries than strawberries, although both are there. Tart and very tannic but pure and balanced on the palate with the fruit hinting at deep red plums but showing more plum stones at this stage. Low acidity. Very dry and tannic on the finish. Overall, it comes across in style very much like a Faiveley, which is not surprising because the Mugnier family leased the Clos de la Marechele/Clos des Fourches vineyard to Faiveley until 2004. This wine needs hiding away for 5-10 years at least.

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• 2006 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Dark red, only slightly transparent. Nicely attractive but reticent nose, elegant and perfumed, with some strawberries but more sous bois.A very nice nose indeed. On the palate it has a dry, austere but not unattractive tannic structure and lively acidity. Good purity of fruit which is more plum stones and white cherry stones at the moment but will evolve into plums and cherries in time. Some white mushroom on the finish. Very young but has a lot of promise. Frederic Mugnier pointed out that the Clos de la Marechele is one of the very most southerly plots in Nuits St Georges, which means that it has all the typical structure of the appelation but is not quite so austere. However, it needs at least 10-12 years to start to display its full potential.

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• 2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru

  Lovely purple translucent colour. Focused and precise nose of fresh warm strawberries, some sous bois , with a bit of warm white toast and hints of red liquorice. The nose unfolded partly to show more complexity with time in the glass. The palate was deep, pure and fresh strawberries and white cherries with a touch of boxwood. Very elegant and less sweet than the Chamboll-Musigny 2005 we tasted earlier. Very dry on the finish and needs many more years to unfold. Frederic Mugnier pointed out that the Clos de la Marechele is one of the very most southerly plots in Nuits St Georges, which means that it has all the typical structure of the appelation but is not quite so austere. However, it needs at least 12-15 years to start to display its full potential. This vineyard was leased to Faiveley for roughly 50 years until 2004 and the wine displays a lot of the tightly-wound, slow to unfold character I associate with Faiveley, although Frederic says he is trying to lighten it a little.

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As evidence of the need for patience with these wines, I have to say that I made very liberal use of the spit bucket.

I also wonder whether the prices of these wines represent compelling value when, in the current economic climate, you can increasingly find great value with comparable wines that already have 15-20 years bottle age.