Drinking Some Great Mugnier as an Hommage to Becky Wasserman

Republique - Los Angeles CA
Tasted Thursday, September 23, 2021 by Burgundy Al with 461 views

Flight 1 - Champagne to Start (3 Notes)

  • 2002 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Very bright and taut green and yellow apple on nose and palate. Great precision and length, possibly done a disservice by serving this slightly too warm. Exciting now, with upside.

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  • 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne P2 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Rich with so much concentration, you could easily identify specific contributions of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but how they even blended together into something more harmonious. Incredibly complete with so much fruit, toasted brioche, and structure in lock step. My fav of an impressive 2002 flight.

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  • 2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne Rosé 94 Points

    France, Champagne

    Very berry, but with plenty more here as well. Less texturally vibrant than the other two 2002s in this (brilliant) flight, but wonderfully powerfully and enchanting.

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Flight 2 - Comtes Lafon Meursault Charmes (2 Notes)

  • 2002 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Subtle floral start with lots of ripe apple, still nicely bright throughout. Good+ weight and length. Alongside the 1999, with both showing great tonight, but this 2002 was just less layered and complex. Fruit Day!

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  • 1999 Domaine des Comtes Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Charmes 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault 1er Cru

    Honeycomb, apple and baked apple aromas and favors. This is not as bright vs the 2002 in the next glass, but more layered and nuanced, continuously unfolding in front of us. It borders on being fat and too ripe, but easily retained it balance and focus for the entire evening.

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Flight 3 - 2010 (3 Notes)

  • 2010 Hubert Lamy Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru

    A very thoughtful wine that requires your focus instead of grabbing your attention. Plenty of orchard fruit everywhere with a faint hint of tropical sweetness. More air brought out more floral character and savory herbs and spice, with acidity and minerality ever-present in the near background. Texturally elegant throughout, only really seeming "big" on the powerful finish. A great wine.

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  • 2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux Flawed

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Alongside Forêts 2010. Both should have been decanted, but I doubt it would have helped this bottle of Butteaux, which was massively reductive to start, and I was still finding it so reduced/ unenjoyable three hours later.

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  • 2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Alongside 2010 Butteaux, both were very reductive to start to the extent they were unappealing. This Forêts moved past that phase, although never completely shed its sulphur notes, always seeming slightly green and under ripe. An odd day for Raveneau, when all other wines were shining.

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Flight 4 - Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses Vertical (4 Notes)

  • 1999 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, followed by the same vintages of Musigny. Ripe and powerful but less texturally nuanced vs the other vintages, ergo less complete. Very good length, good weight, but with a ripeness that didn't showcase Freddy's style as well as the more classic vintages of that era were able to deliver. Consistent with prior experiences with this wine.

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  • 2001 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, followed by the same vintages of Musigny. Red cherry and berry with earth and spice hints, this is prototypically Chambolle-textured with its weightless and ferrous combination. Great length and balance to start, this kept expanding with more time in glass. This wine was great when younger, but keeps getting better. The best of the flight.

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  • 2002 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, followed by the same vintages of Musigny. Also red and black cherry throughout. Slightly riper and bigger vs 2001, but less texturally nuanced. Great length with sneaky power on finish. A great wine that has kept improving with age and still has further upside.

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  • 2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, followed by the same vintages of Musigny. The only bottle of the vertical that we decanted (thankfully). Easily the biggest and most ripe of the vertical, but somewhat candied fruit that is not yet showing Chambolle elegance. So much here, but just teasing us tonight. "92 point" wine tonight, 94+ point potential, 2025 forward? Better yet, 2030 forward.

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Flight 5 - Mugnier Musigny Vertical (4 Notes)

  • 1999 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, preceded by the same vintages of Amoureuses. Red cherry, black cherry, red berry start-to-finish with intense concentration. Clearly ripe but gloriously structured and balanced. Finishes with the finesse of a great Musigny,surprising you with its sudden emergence of power. The rare vintage in which Musigny is much better than Amoureuses, and that has always been true for this vintage. In its peak drinking window, which I expect will last another two decades.

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  • 2001 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, preceded by the same vintages of Amoureuses. Bright red fruit throughout with a muscular feel, but simultaneously bright and dancing elegantly. So captivating and so much here, this is another wine that has continued to improve through the decades, and was barely ahead of the 2002 vintage as my Wine of the Night.

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  • 2002 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, preceded by the same vintages of Amoureuses. Riper, more spiced and more fleshy vs 2001, but with less power or finesse. This also starts out as a charming wine with that weightlessness that thrills me in the best Chambolle and Mugnier wines, while then popping in its long finish. A slight fraction behind the 2001 for me tonight.

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  • 2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Musigny Grand Cru

    In 99/01/02/05 vertical, preceded by the same vintages of Amoureuses. My first time tasting this vintage (there was an interruption in Chicago distribution that year), and it certainly didn't disappoint. Big and burly (for Mugnier) and less perfectly harmonious today vs the older vintages with slightly sweeter red fruit than typical. But more here and probably the longest finish. My least favorite of the four vintages for pleasure right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is best in another decade.

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