August 10, 2022 - Gorgeous cherry and liquorice on the nose. Good structure here. Deep red in color. If served blind would have guessed much younger than 93. A very good showing here, but be curious to revisit in 5 years. Perfect combo with any red wine based meet sauce. 18/20
January 27, 2021 - Bottle condition was great and levels are high. Great color and clarity as well. When opened nose was amazing, a little shy to start with but the Bonnes Mares structure is evidently there. Red fruits, liquorish, a little stony earth and warm spices. On the palate still young, closed to start with, definitely needs more air. Rich and fuller bodied, tannins are still a little un-integrated, on the rustic side. Enjoyed the nose more than the palate. Not a wow wine but still enjoyable. After 3 hours going downhill. Would drink it in the next couple years.
February 7, 2020 - Acker 2020/02: Good structure and aging, not particularly memorable. 93
July 20, 2019 - Later in the evening and not a ton of notes. This was very good but suffered in comp to a 93 Engel GE. Great Bonnes Mares character - lots of power and darker fruits, earth and plenty of red fruits. Good structure here - this will go for a while.
September 25, 2018 - From a pristine bottle this looked and drank fairly young. It was distinctly Mugnier style, with heaps of roses, sandalwood and strawberries, and tbh if it was served blind I think I’d have identified Mugnier but struggled with vineyard and vintage. Could easily have been a younger Amoureuses, at least for the first 90 minutes. Wonderful balance, it kept finding new layers of depth, with soft velvet on the finish....over time it provided some mildly earthy character but more Mugnier than Bonnes Mares.
July 21, 2018 - Earthy, dark sauvage that opens up with air becomes sweeter, more floral. Very special ����
Even after a couple of hours, we were scratching the surface.
September 25, 2015 - 1st of the Mugnier-themed wines of the evening. Most (of us) know Mugnier by reputation, but they don't appear on our tasting sessions too often, so I believed most didn't know what's to come... And wow, this screamed "I'm solid" right out of the gates. Autumn leaves, truffles & a bit of earth on the nose. Red-dark cherries with some tobacco. Suave & fresh. Very good! At the end of dinner before this was unveiled, I had thought that this was the 2000 Moose and along with half the rest, lost a bet...
September 25, 2015 - Freddy Mugnier dinner at Jade Palace. Deep dark red, very primary, but with that very slight touch of bricking at the rim. This had an absolutely gorgeous nose, DRC like, with that Arabian spice, so alluring, wild and exotic, with minerals, crushed rocks, violets, lavender, red roses and a beautiful clarity and elegance. This really had a 99 point nose. Very good structure on the palate as well, with truffle, wild strawberries, honey, red kiwi, leather, chocolate and lots of "clean" earthiness. This really was a quite perfect mature Bonnes Mares from a great vintage and a great vigneron. My only grouse was that it seemed to turn a little dry and slightly herbaceous at the very end (after about 3 hours in glass). And there must be something wrong with me, because in the company of 4 Mugnier Musignys, this was my WOTN.
September 8, 2015 - Dark ruby in the glass. Initially superior on the nose then the palate but become more complicated within 30 minutes. Dusty red velvet, the softest red cherries, overripe strawberry, medium ripe red apple. Later on more intriguing notes of thin top soil, damp tobacco, smouldering campfire embers, and burnt forest. This bottle really performed.
October 23, 2014 - Birthday Dinner with Good Wine (NEXT Restaurant - Chicago IL): Popped and poured. Attractive fresh fruit aromas to start with modest spice. Firm fruit flavors with ever-so-slightly too much firm tannic structure coming across from the beginning. Never quite improved as we hoped. Best when first poured, but then less harmony and balance with more air. others liked this more than I did tonight.