As I reflect on the latest news, to the effect that even owning a bottle of wine is a sign of moral turpitude that will consign you to Hell and that passing within 10 meters of an open bottle is the equivalent of smoking at least 40,000 cigarettes an hour 24 hours a day for 100 years and will condemn you to cancer of the everything, I find this bottle a very compelling case for the benefits of an early end vs a long, miserable life.
This is a village wine and yet it has happily passed its 25th year in fine fettle. This is a tribute, of course, to a very good vintage, the Domaine owning very good vineyards and being very careful in their viticulture and oenology. That this has years ahead still is shown by the fact that on day 2 it really hits its straps, being far better than on day 1 and I was dashed happy with it on day 1.
My corks pulls like a randy 13 year old, although somewhat more cleanly. No signs of leakiness or other crimes against wine. The colour is a startlingly youthful ruby with some garnet hues. No 24 year old wine should look this young.
On day 1 this was tasty strawberry and some notes of darker fruits, with a little cinnamon and undergrowth. Really good stuff. Length and intensity way above village level expectations. One slight issue I had was that the finish was a little dry and firm, albeit the tannins were very fine. Still, the balance with the fruit was not perfect.
On day 2, the fruit has blossomed into a dark red rose; glorious to look at, better to smell and (unlike the rose) even better to drink. Lustrous dark jube fruit that swells in the mouth but dances across the palate. This is the combination that I think Pinot Noir tragics go for and I can see it. There is still a touch of undergrowth and something slightly cedary, but the wine is glorious. The tannins remain but now they provide the support, keeping the finish from getting baggy.
The thing with the count's wines are that his family have been prancing about Chambolle-Musigny for around 600 years (my God, I hate these parvenu, 'Johnny come lately' families), they have a large foothold in what was not so long ago regarded as far and away the best part of Burgundy and, after a naughty time in the 70's and 80's, they put a lot of work into their vineyards, selection at harvest and understanding the vintage before deciding how to approach things like oak treatment, approach to ferment etc. When you combine a vast amount of local knowledge with a commitment to quality and really good source material you have a recipe for even your base level wines being really good indeed.
So, here's to hell, or any place full of people who like a good time and don't believe in the divine, unless it be wine.
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Zuerst recht verschlossen, später öffnet er sich und bereitet Freude. Schöne Textur, substanzvoll. Hervorragende Qualität. Einer der besten Burgunder, die ich je getrunken habe.
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This wine opened with a dusky red crimson coloured and initially closed nose. An hour later the nose was a melange of red fruits with touches of sous bois and spice. The palate is quite intense and weighty reflecting the fruit characters on the nose with red berry fruits predominant leading into some nice minerality and savoury characters. The length was 1er Cru in character and provides a lovely persistence. If you open a bottle of this I would advise a couple of hours at least of slow oxygenation.
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13% alcohol. Good dense cork with barely 2mm of wine penetration. Fairly deep colour for pinot, with some fading at the rim. Very classy full nose with semi-dried berries, just the right side of raisiny. The mouth shows sweet red berries (not in the sense of residual sugar) and good acidity in the finish. However, the best thing is the excellent mouthfeel combined with good grip (not a frequent association). This wine is easily of first growth standard; I seem to remember that it does actually incorporates a sizeable chunk of first growth juice, probably from young vines. In excellent condition and just about ready to drink, but seems to have plenty of life ahead (in fact it is still a bit tight). Pretty expensive when I acquired it some eighteen years ago, and totally out of reach now; no problem, just move to red Sancerre.
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Final bottle. Now properly mature, sous bois, compost and earthy beetroot nose. Some amber. Mellow and autumnal, vegetal, vestige of fruit, earthy flavour. Nice mature burgundy, village quality. But in truth I liked this best when in the fullness of youth for its fruit.
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Comte De Vogüé Chambolle Musigny 1999 is one of the most impressive Chambolle Musigny village wines I’ve tasted. It’s almost 18 years old and it has just stepped into it’s drinking window, very impressive! One of the reasons for its superior quality is the vineyards, 13-14% of this village wine came from two well-known Premier Cru vineyards (Les Baudes and Les Fuées). It’s bright and sappy, lovely subtle oak spices and strawberries and red currant. Feminine playful character, a fine village wine. (88/100)
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Comte de Vogue 1999 dinner: The red wine series kicked off with a great red - this Village was rocking. Very elegant, pure and complex, light but not too light for a village. This is from the high up the hill village plot Les Porlottes but commercial director Jean-Luc Pepin told us it also contains parts of 1er Cru fruit from Les Fuees and Les Baudes and one can see it from the quality. Notes of pomegranate, red cherry on the long, aromatic finish.
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Seven years since I last had this back then it was beautifully deep, full of fruit but quite youthful. Now it tasted a few years past its best. Hint of prune on the nose some fade at the rim but not excessive but the nose lacks any exuberance, sous Bois or complexity. Taste, drying a little, some fruit, hint of oxidative character. Past best I’d say. I’ve 1 left (bottle 000001!)
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1999, a great year... Loads of sour cherry nose and secondary underbrush notes. Even a hint of glue which is not unpleasant, is this a chemical reaction that shouldn't be there? On the palate ripe fruit, acidity and some ageing starting to show. Structure comes more from acidity than tannins which seem resolved. Better than most tonight. Really like this style of PN so my score is scientifically probably too high for the level of this wine. 93-94p
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Pale cherry red, lighter rim but no orange. Black cherry, some lovely forest floor spicy development, bright and fragrant, no real gamey/earthy characters though, quite a youthful scent. On the palate mostly about fruit - cherry, strawberry and raspberry. Aged fruit characters add complexity, a little earthiness, some dark char and cherry pip spice adds zip. Plenty of acidity, quite a crisp finish. Tannins are quite soft. Fully mature, drinking beautifully although probably past its peak. Classic silky chambolle.
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Back vintages from three Burgundy producers with Tryffelsvinet (Grappe, Stockholm): Nose with ripe strawberries, developed notes with some warm earth and undergrowth, spice, some flowery notes and some oak. The palate is medium bodied(+) with ripe strawberries, tart cherries, good acidity, and spice. Premier cru-styled with good power and elegance. Rather fully developed, but still youthful. 90 p.
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Dark red, slightly muddy. Sour cherry, bright fruits, hint of earth, light sherbet spice. Med wt, rich and earthy, plums and cherries, crisp and well structured with fine tannins. Finishes just a little hard. Fruits are sweet and rich.
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Simply delicious. Full of fruit to the nose. Rounded and well balanced. Tastes of berries and jam (strawberries). Great finesse, almost chewy and buttery. Long lingering aftertaste. Not too complex, but bursting with fruit and balance.
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Mature, delicate and nuanced nose. Slightly animalic. Red fruit with hints of dark fruit. Quite oaky, even inky. Barnyard hints. Generous and easy to like, but maybe too oaky? Medium-fullish body. Balanced and quite austere, even though aromas tell of good development. Plum fruit, almost cedary oak character, forest floor. Harmonius in mouth. Good grip. Tasted blind, we were surprised of the staying power on a mere village wine. But then it contains element from the domaine's PC strips. This could compete with two GC from Rossignol-Trapet...
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A touch rustic with sou r cherries, open up, but grudingly. Good, great acidity (rocked with steak), but lacking sophistication and elegance. A good quaff, lacking grand cu richness and depth, still good, not op tier.
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Very little evolution since I last had this 4 years ago. Deep cherry aromas, not primary but nothing secondary showing yet either - very fine nose all the same. Soft and with tannins completely masked. Great depth and great texture - real finesse here. More deep,earthy cherry flavours -one dimensional but quite beautiful. Lovely now but can only improve. Will revisit in another 4 years.
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Bottle no 000026! Lovely sour cherry nose opened up well over 2 hours, distinctly of tomato pips later on. A bit of a ragu flavour too, nice cherries but a distinct savoury fruit aspect too. Excellent, well above village level as you'd expect. Quite a bit more evolved than when I last had it a year ago but this still has a long life ahead - 15-20 years easily. Drink or keep.
Aging very well and coming along since release. No signs of falling apart or early peaking. Hold for another 5 years. While not the '99 VV, this wine offers something different. Maybe a little more stucture but without the same class and depth.
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4/6/2024 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 93 Points
As I reflect on the latest news, to the effect that even owning a bottle of wine is a sign of moral turpitude that will consign you to Hell and that passing within 10 meters of an open bottle is the equivalent of smoking at least 40,000 cigarettes an hour 24 hours a day for 100 years and will condemn you to cancer of the everything, I find this bottle a very compelling case for the benefits of an early end vs a long, miserable life.
This is a village wine and yet it has happily passed its 25th year in fine fettle. This is a tribute, of course, to a very good vintage, the Domaine owning very good vineyards and being very careful in their viticulture and oenology. That this has years ahead still is shown by the fact that on day 2 it really hits its straps, being far better than on day 1 and I was dashed happy with it on day 1.
My corks pulls like a randy 13 year old, although somewhat more cleanly. No signs of leakiness or other crimes against wine. The colour is a startlingly youthful ruby with some garnet hues. No 24 year old wine should look this young.
On day 1 this was tasty strawberry and some notes of darker fruits, with a little cinnamon and undergrowth. Really good stuff. Length and intensity way above village level expectations. One slight issue I had was that the finish was a little dry and firm, albeit the tannins were very fine. Still, the balance with the fruit was not perfect.
On day 2, the fruit has blossomed into a dark red rose; glorious to look at, better to smell and (unlike the rose) even better to drink. Lustrous dark jube fruit that swells in the mouth but dances across the palate. This is the combination that I think Pinot Noir tragics go for and I can see it. There is still a touch of undergrowth and something slightly cedary, but the wine is glorious. The tannins remain but now they provide the support, keeping the finish from getting baggy.
The thing with the count's wines are that his family have been prancing about Chambolle-Musigny for around 600 years (my God, I hate these parvenu, 'Johnny come lately' families), they have a large foothold in what was not so long ago regarded as far and away the best part of Burgundy and, after a naughty time in the 70's and 80's, they put a lot of work into their vineyards, selection at harvest and understanding the vintage before deciding how to approach things like oak treatment, approach to ferment etc. When you combine a vast amount of local knowledge with a commitment to quality and really good source material you have a recipe for even your base level wines being really good indeed.
So, here's to hell, or any place full of people who like a good time and don't believe in the divine, unless it be wine.
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12/26/2022 - Member 592 Likes this wine:
Zuerst recht verschlossen, später öffnet er sich und bereitet Freude. Schöne Textur, substanzvoll. Hervorragende Qualität. Einer der besten Burgunder, die ich je getrunken habe.
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9/16/2021 - drjb Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine opened with a dusky red crimson coloured and initially closed nose. An hour later the nose was a melange of red fruits with touches of sous bois and spice. The palate is quite intense and weighty reflecting the fruit characters on the nose with red berry fruits predominant leading into some nice minerality and savoury characters. The length was 1er Cru in character and provides a lovely persistence.
If you open a bottle of this I would advise a couple of hours at least of slow oxygenation.
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2/23/2020 - Eudemis Likes this wine:
13% alcohol. Good dense cork with barely 2mm of wine penetration. Fairly deep colour for pinot, with some fading at the rim.
Very classy full nose with semi-dried berries, just the right side of raisiny. The mouth shows sweet red berries (not in the sense of residual sugar) and good acidity in the finish. However, the best thing is the excellent mouthfeel combined with good grip (not a frequent association).
This wine is easily of first growth standard; I seem to remember that it does actually incorporates a sizeable chunk of first growth juice, probably from young vines.
In excellent condition and just about ready to drink, but seems to have plenty of life ahead (in fact it is still a bit tight).
Pretty expensive when I acquired it some eighteen years ago, and totally out of reach now; no problem, just move to red Sancerre.
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10/6/2019 - kevin h wrote: 91 Points
Final bottle. Now properly mature, sous bois, compost and earthy beetroot nose. Some amber. Mellow and autumnal, vegetal, vestige of fruit, earthy flavour. Nice mature burgundy, village quality. But in truth I liked this best when in the fullness of youth for its fruit.
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3/31/2019 - Jammy Wine wrote: 88 Points
Comte De Vogüé Chambolle Musigny 1999 is one of the most impressive Chambolle Musigny village wines I’ve tasted. It’s almost 18 years old and it has just stepped into it’s drinking window, very impressive! One of the reasons for its superior quality is the vineyards, 13-14% of this village wine came from two well-known Premier Cru vineyards (Les Baudes and Les Fuées). It’s bright and sappy, lovely subtle oak spices and strawberries and red currant. Feminine playful character, a fine village wine. (88/100)
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1/15/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Comte de Vogue 1999 dinner: The red wine series kicked off with a great red - this Village was rocking. Very elegant, pure and complex, light but not too light for a village. This is from the high up the hill village plot Les Porlottes but commercial director Jean-Luc Pepin told us it also contains parts of 1er Cru fruit from Les Fuees and Les Baudes and one can see it from the quality. Notes of pomegranate, red cherry on the long, aromatic finish.
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10/22/2017 - kevin h wrote: 89 Points
Seven years since I last had this back then it was beautifully deep, full of fruit but quite youthful. Now it tasted a few years past its best. Hint of prune on the nose some fade at the rim but not excessive but the nose lacks any exuberance, sous Bois or complexity. Taste, drying a little, some fruit, hint of oxidative character. Past best I’d say. I’ve 1 left (bottle 000001!)
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4/21/2017 - larsth wrote: 88 Points
Wine meet - Lars @ St Paul de Vence: Maybe an off bottle. This showed age with plum and prune flavours and was a bit tired.
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2/11/2015 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 93 Points
1999, a great year... Loads of sour cherry nose and secondary underbrush notes. Even a hint of glue which is not unpleasant, is this a chemical reaction that shouldn't be there? On the palate ripe fruit, acidity and some ageing starting to show. Structure comes more from acidity than tannins which seem resolved. Better than most tonight. Really like this style of PN so my score is scientifically probably too high for the level of this wine. 93-94p
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12/26/2014 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pale cherry red, lighter rim but no orange.
Black cherry, some lovely forest floor spicy development, bright and fragrant, no real gamey/earthy characters though, quite a youthful scent.
On the palate mostly about fruit - cherry, strawberry and raspberry. Aged fruit characters add complexity, a little earthiness, some dark char and cherry pip spice adds zip. Plenty of acidity, quite a crisp finish. Tannins are quite soft. Fully mature, drinking beautifully although probably past its peak. Classic silky chambolle.
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1/30/2014 - Vintomas wrote: 90 Points
Back vintages from three Burgundy producers with Tryffelsvinet (Grappe, Stockholm): Nose with ripe strawberries, developed notes with some warm earth and undergrowth, spice, some flowery notes and some oak. The palate is medium bodied(+) with ripe strawberries, tart cherries, good acidity, and spice. Premier cru-styled with good power and elegance. Rather fully developed, but still youthful. 90 p.
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1/19/2014 - Le Musigny wrote:
This is in a good place right now with nice red fruit.
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12/25/2013 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark red, slightly muddy.
Sour cherry, bright fruits, hint of earth, light sherbet spice.
Med wt, rich and earthy, plums and cherries, crisp and well structured with fine tannins. Finishes just a little hard. Fruits are sweet and rich.
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4/3/2013 - TOTOM wrote: 92 Points
7 sec. finish
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11/3/2012 - jbm wrote: 94 Points
Simply delicious. Full of fruit to the nose. Rounded and well balanced. Tastes of berries and jam (strawberries). Great finesse, almost chewy and buttery. Long lingering aftertaste. Not too complex, but bursting with fruit and balance.
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4/21/2012 - Argrath wrote: 92 Points
Mature, delicate and nuanced nose. Slightly animalic. Red fruit with hints of dark fruit. Quite oaky, even inky. Barnyard hints. Generous and easy to like, but maybe too oaky?
Medium-fullish body. Balanced and quite austere, even though aromas tell of good development. Plum fruit, almost cedary oak character, forest floor. Harmonius in mouth. Good grip.
Tasted blind, we were surprised of the staying power on a mere village wine. But then it contains element from the domaine's PC strips. This could compete with two GC from Rossignol-Trapet...
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2/17/2012 - Margauxguy wrote: 89 Points
A touch rustic with sou r cherries, open up, but grudingly. Good, great acidity (rocked with steak), but lacking sophistication and elegance. A good quaff, lacking grand cu richness and depth, still good, not op tier.
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12/12/2010 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Very little evolution since I last had this 4 years ago. Deep cherry aromas, not primary but nothing secondary showing yet either - very fine nose all the same. Soft and with tannins completely masked. Great depth and great texture - real finesse here. More deep,earthy cherry flavours -one dimensional but quite beautiful. Lovely now but can only improve. Will revisit in another 4 years.
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4/21/2008 - noppakit s. wrote: 91 Points
Open up with full-toasted and strong oaky but gone in 15 mins, then very clean and becomes oaky again after 1 hour. Sleep period ??
Good structure, acidity, fine tannin, quite easy delicious. Reminds me of Musigny 1984.
Powerful aftertaste for AOC wine. I will open my next bottle in next 5-6 years when it's getting old.
IMO, this is Chateau Margaux of Burgundy !!!
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2/15/2007 - EMichels wrote: 88 Points
Strong deep nose; Thin; Tart; Light; Despite all that, drinks well
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12/23/2006 - kevin h wrote: 92 Points
Bottle no 000026! Lovely sour cherry nose opened up well over 2 hours, distinctly of tomato pips later on. A bit of a ragu flavour too, nice cherries but a distinct savoury fruit aspect too. Excellent, well above village level as you'd expect. Quite a bit more evolved than when I last had it a year ago but this still has a long life ahead - 15-20 years easily. Drink or keep.
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4/3/2006 - RiojaGuru wrote: 93 Points
Aging very well and coming along since release. No signs of falling apart or early peaking. Hold for another 5 years. While not the '99 VV, this wine offers something different. Maybe a little more stucture but without the same class and depth.
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