When PnP, the wine has a fairly floral bouquet of strawberries and red fruits. With air, the bouquet reveals pollen-like rose petal notes - gentle, ethereal but not perfumy.
On the palate, it has refreshing acidity and rose petal notes. Not awfully complex, but pleasant and persistent enough for grand cru burgundy. After a few hours or airing, the palate becomes plummy and tertiary.
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The 96 Mugnier Musigny is fully mature with rose petals, potpourri, perfume and red currants. On the palate, it was ethereal with red tart fruit that kept singing throughout the evening. At this stage of the evolution, it was more ready and enjoyable than its 99 sibling, and arguable a lot more “Mugnier”.
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Glorious spice and a touch of burnt quality - in a good way a la Vosne Brulees. This was a terrific pair with 13 which also had a similar spice note but of course more youthful fruit.
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My first reaction to this was that it tasted like a great bottle of 90's Chave Hermitage. More northern rhone than Burgundy in style, this was spicy, ripe and meaty. A bold and powerful wine, not a particularly floral and elegant one. Still very classy and delicious, but lacked a bit of the 'pretty' factor that generally comes with younger Mugnier.
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Decanted for a couple of hours. Beautiful aroma, really exceptional nose. Balanced wine; it doesn’t have the 1996 angular acidity that mars most 1996 red burgundies. It’s so well balanced that I can see it lasting many more years. It’s in its drinking plateau. My last bottle (of two bought in 1997).
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PnP, right from the start there is a beautiful nose here with sour cherry, dried meat, some sous bois and sweet spices. Great complexity. Enters the palate fresh, alive with good structure and fruit, all balanced and polished. Wonderful! This is much better than the 1998 I recently had. 96-97pt
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I thought this was very good, probably the best '96 I've had to date. Not sexy, not austere, not too acidic, just right. Fruit was to the dark red end of the spectrum.
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Slightly hazy, looked unfiltered. Spicy nose, spy sauce, earth, green pepper and lean. The biggest of 3x 1996s including a Roumier Bonnes Mares. Medium plus acidity, slightly mouth puckering tannins. A real luxury to try. At BVs
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For my 77th BD in Vegas. Very good. Dark fruits, concentrated with good acidity of the vintage. Solid wine but not quite the balance of fruit/structure I would like to see.
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A very good bottle of a wine that’s not near it’s apogee. I suspect this will always be in “95” point range rather than “100” but it was a great drink.
1996 Burgundy Retrospective - The Second Session (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): En magnum. The darkest wine of the night. The first note is ash and smoke. Medium expressive nose displaying pure black fruit, blackberry, black cherry, rose, a hint of asparagus, stem, ash, smoke and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, very finely layered black fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity and mineral, and a long pure black fruit driven finish with ash and asparagus at the end. This remains very youthful especially en magnum. I wish the nose is a bit more expressive.
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From magnum. Great bottle with and elegant nose of dark red and blackberries, soft spice and rocky notes. Smooth and balanced palate lacking perhaps the last degree of focus. 94-95
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This was one of the guest’s wines of the night and was really a knockout. Green notes first and foremost upon opening the bottle, but as the dinner went on this wine became prettier and opened beautifully. I saved a teeny bit in my glass until the end of the night to see this wine’s evolution and the floral notes and balance this wine displayed at the end of the night was fairly breathtaking.
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Mugnier Musigny Dinner (Blue Hill (NYC)): Initially comparable to the ‘98 but surprisingly quieter with less energy to the red cherry and more in the way of roses and teas. Scratch that - a few more swirls and this quickly surpasses the comparatively dark ‘98 with pretty and elegant red berry aromatics. Stemmy florals (although this is stemless) with huge perfume. Gorgeous. On the palate there is youthful and lush red cherry, juicy and long. Big acid but with so much fruit that it’s balanced and hedonistic. Tied with the 2001 for my favourite wine of the program.
Drunk with my Great Wine Buys colleagues (who brought '85 Krug and Andre Clouet 1911) prior to starting my chemo, purely to have had the experience before my palate gets whacked. In company with '88 Rousseau Chambertin, no slouch. Both wonderful, both in decanter 2+ hours, Musigny has such brilliant power and aromatics, purity, understated generosity, years to grow. Pretty thrilling. I'm a lucky guy.
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M&M (Montrachet & Musigny) at Nicolas. First red in a flight of 3 Musigny. I actually though this was a Vogue 1998. Deep red, touch of bricking right at the rim. This was the most closed and backward wine of the flight. There was a really intense nose of violets, cassis, blueberries, cocoa powder and earth. Good structure on the palate, with some Arabic spice, blueberries and cherry cola, dried figs, pomegranate and lavender. There seemed to be a lack of complexity and length on the finish, and while this was good, it seemed to lack the sensuality and seductiveness of a good Musigny. Maybe an additional 10 years would do it a world of good.
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M&M (Montrachet and Musigny) Dinner (Nicolas Restaurant, Teck Lim Street, Singapore): Second time I have had this in a few weeks, and while this was again superb, one could really tell how much the earlier bottle benefitted from having been opened for a longer period before service. This was probably the most complete wine amongst the trio of Musigny tonight, but it was also the most backward. The nose was really attractive, but it was rather tighter than its brethren's, with deeper-set wafts of fragrant spice swirling around stoned notes of dried earth, blue fruit and violet petals. It was on the palate that the wine really showed it chops though. Full, juicy, deep, yet absolutely pure and true, this filled the mouth with beautiful flavours of gummy blue fruit seasoned with dashes of spice and drifts of violets. Great depth, understated power, but above all, a beautiful transparent feel, all this leading into a long, deep, juicy finish, with blueberry fruit lined with a lovely touch of minerality. It probably still needs a good 5-6 more years, but this was a truly lovely wine.
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1996 Burgundy Grand Cru Dinner (Forlino's, One Fullerton, Singapore): On a night of great wines, this was one of my favourites. It had an absolutely wonderful nose that floated out of the glass in perfumed wafts violets and high-toned berry fruit, dried minerally earth, and then fragrant spices: a mix of cardamom and clove with all sorts of other exotic shades. Beautiful. On the palate, this was by far the finest wine on the night in of texture and elegance, with a wonderful silkiness to its flavours of dark cherries and blueberries infused with gentle tones of earth and spice. Past the midpalate, the wine was carried along on deeply floral undercurrant, with the finest of tannins and fresh acidity pulling away into an effortlessly long finish. This was a Musigny of wonderful finesse, but while all was fine and transparent and pure, there was also true sense of iron grip underlying all the silk. A truly lovely wine, but I think it will be even better in 5 years' time.
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light purple color with some sweet red fruit, not as mean as many 96's. this wine put on weight through dinner but i think it still needs time to strut its antlers. we will see
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Still ridiculously young. It grew in the glass with red fruit, stems and some iron. The depth is really impressive. It will need at least 8-10 years for it to be accessible. Great potential.
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Fresh and cool with a red fruit nose, slightly tart. Tart raspberry and cranberry on the palate with hints of bitter orange on the finish. Bright acidity. Dark earth emerges with air time. Probably better in a few years. 94-95
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Pre-Paulee Warm-up Dinner (Piperade - San Francisco CA): Maturing red cherry with spice and earth hints. Slightly austere, but so nicely balanced and textured. Very glad Ken opened this tonight when we could give it some attention, because it wouldn't be as easy to enjoy in the Paulee gala setting.
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Absolutely gorgeous - this is in a terrific spot right now. Beautiful airy aromatics with red berry, stone and herbs. Could just smell this all night. So pure, so silky and so easy to drink. Weightless intensity. Finishes with plenty of acidity and super smooth tannins suggesting a long life ahead but I just love this right now. This was fantastic right out of the bottle but even better after it was open for a couple of hours. Awesome wine.
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Dark ruby in the glass. Beautiful, complex, if somewhat subdued nose of drying cranberry and spent coffee grounds. Super pure, but not as clean as other Mugniers, probably attributable to the '96 vintage. Evolved wonderfully over two hours showing off a great balance of soft red fruit and underbrush and thin wet top soil. Leathers and tobaccos intertwined with red berries. Lovely.
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My notes indicate a colorful description that I'll self-censor here, but needless to say....
Absolutely unbelievable wine, brilliant. Sheer purity in the mouth with insane depth. Deeply fruited nose. Class to the Nth degree. Tied #1 for wine of the evening and tied as the best wine I've had all year (with the '90 Roumier Bonnes also served this evening)
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This wine needs another decade in the cellar, and if you serve it now, think about two hours in the decanter, but eventually the magic of Musigny comes out -- velvet texture with the firmness of the limestone, i.e., the classic iron fist in the velvet glove, with voluptuous dark fruits.
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Wine of the year (so far). Decanted for a 1/2 hr. a bit of Tannin, but smoothed out over a couple of hours. Extraordinary flavor that just stretched on forever. Musigny has always been my favorite- to bad the price is so high. But,I really remember the half dozen times with great fondness and special memories. If I had some, I'd wait 5 more years.
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Musigny (Marea): One of my favorites of the evening. The aroma has everything, including a pleasantly old-fashioned barnyardy thing, although it does close up some as it sits in the glass. It's light and airy on the palate -- not sure I would even call this medium-bodied in concentration -- and still has a lot of tannin to it, but the tannin is so finely grained and cashmere-textured that it enhances the wine instead of obscuring it. There is a very slight cola/burnt-sugar note from the barrels but it's practically a whisper at this point.
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Burgundy Retrospective - 1996 (Version KS) (Washington DC): Delicate but strong core energy I often notice in a great Musigny, fresh cherry and, raspberry but the nose is shy. Excellent balance, polished palate, nice length but wishing for more nose.
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Burgundy Retrospective - 1996: Nose that drops down a full register in one sniff. Potting bark and dried flowers. Nice beats and harmonies make this a soulful wine. Not as powerful as I expected and a hollowness to the middle doesn't carry those broad shoulders. That is too harsh really - a really good and enjoyable wine and complimented by a lovely dry-down. A treat.
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This was a bit reserved, and didn't finish with much impact. Bottle? Phase? My last two bottles have been like this, so suggest burying this in the cellar for a while.
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1996 Burgundy Horizontal w/ Bob Macdonald (Minneapolis): Third time tasted. This was a touch shut down, and not nearly as expressive as previous bottles. Aromatically complex and intense after some extended aeration: blackberries, flowers, spice, and earth. The palate was a touch more reserved than usual, but really began to emerge after a few hours. Hold off on opening these for several years.
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Burgs w/ Burgundy Bob & The Boys (Bob Macdonald's House, Minneapolis): Gloriously perfumed nose. Incredibly rich layers of black cherries, herbs, and spice that culminate in a long, savory finish. A complete wine with near-perfect balance. Lacy, silky texture. A glorious, classic Musigny, and a notch better than the bottle I was lucky enough to taste last year. Unanimous WOTN.
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Decanted for an hour. It started more like a fruit punch (but a REAL nice fruit punch). Then after another hour, it really opened up and had all of the musigny power and finesse. At the end of the night, probably opened for 6 hours, the last little glass was still going strong. A real WOW wine. I would say 5-10 years I would wait IF I had another one.
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Dark garnet color, with a brooding and virtually impenetrable nose upon pouring. After about 15 minutes, it began to give up very ripe, dark cherries, more black than red, with some almost gamey, very earthy and mushroom-y notes. After a half hour, additional notes of other dark, red fruits and very dark rose petals became apparent. Over the course of the ensuing hours, the nose just kept on expanding, adding more and more fruit and floral nuances, with just a touch of vanilla oak. In the mouth, more dense and rich than I expected and, while it was well balanced with fine acidity, it was not as smooth and elegant as I believe it will become with years’ more age. Good, slightly mineral-y finish. A complex and fascinating wine, and it was great fun to see everyone at the table inhaling deeply and sighing with satisfaction. I do not think I’ll open another for at least two or three years.
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Mugnier Dinner (Howard Ripley) (The Ledbury, London): this was lighter purple/ruby in color. med acidity med weight in the mouth. very elegant with nice mix of red fruits and floral smell and nose. quite vibrant stillalthough there were a few at table who thought it had a slight camambert nose....this was one of the best 96's i have had recently and should get better over next few years
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Burgs and Bordeaux at Brad's: Another show-stopper. The concentrated orange/red color lightens slightly at the rim. The nose is very intense nose, and is every bit the equal of the 85 Prieure Musigny served earlier. Showing mostly sour cherry, smoke, and mushroom -- but very complex and expressive. This is another wine I could have smelled all night. On the palate this has great weight, concentrated cherry fruit, and great balance. Still a bit on the primary side, ut with plenty of tannin still present promising a long life. I hope to try this again in say 10 years or so. My WOTN.
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Tasting Group Dinner - Burgs & Bords (Brad's House, Minneapolis): A fragrant, complex nose of raspberries, cherries, and a touch of smoke. The palate shows an intense melange of red fruits, minerals, and tobacco/leather secondary flavors that are already quite subtle and interesting. Beautiful finesse and balance. Very long finish. Amazing stuff! Co-WOTN for me.
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1995 vs 1996 Burgs (NYC): Medium red in color. Cherries and minerals. Fruit and terroir. A bit of a nice twiggy character as well. Beautiful! 1995? WRONG!
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10/14/2023 - vinhslee Likes this wine: 94 Points
When PnP, the wine has a fairly floral bouquet of strawberries and red fruits. With air, the bouquet reveals pollen-like rose petal notes - gentle, ethereal but not perfumy.
On the palate, it has refreshing acidity and rose petal notes. Not awfully complex, but pleasant and persistent enough for grand cru burgundy. After a few hours or airing, the palate becomes plummy and tertiary.
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10/14/2023 - yangtoa Likes this wine: 95 Points
When PnP you just would have been welcomed into a beautifully looked after garden… the flower wonderfully welcoming almost fresh spring like.
As the night went on the intensity of the bouquet grew and ditto the palate. Sheer elegance with lots of primary on dancing.
Into the latter stages, the pollen nose was out of this world good.
Bravo!
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10/6/2023 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
The 96 Mugnier Musigny is fully mature with rose petals, potpourri, perfume and red currants. On the palate, it was ethereal with red tart fruit that kept singing throughout the evening. At this stage of the evolution, it was more ready and enjoyable than its 99 sibling, and arguable a lot more “Mugnier”.
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8/1/2023 - cfk49 wrote: 95 Points
Roses, red fruits, light, airy, sensuous texture, this wine is in a beautiful place right now. Cellared since original release.
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6/30/2023 - Alex G. Likes this wine:
Glorious spice and a touch of burnt quality - in a good way a la Vosne Brulees. This was a terrific pair with 13 which also had a similar spice note but of course more youthful fruit.
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4/21/2023 - shifter Likes this wine: 95 Points
Atlanta Musigny & Chevy Dinner: PnP. Loads of power and depth. Shows the vintage well, but surprisingly open and enjoyable. WOTF.
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6/24/2022 - WIBA Likes this wine: 90 Points
A bit thin. Juicy. Red fruit. In context 90
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1/19/2022 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 96 Points
My first reaction to this was that it tasted like a great bottle of 90's Chave Hermitage. More northern rhone than Burgundy in style, this was spicy, ripe and meaty. A bold and powerful wine, not a particularly floral and elegant one. Still very classy and delicious, but lacked a bit of the 'pretty' factor that generally comes with younger Mugnier.
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12/25/2021 - jc01 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for a couple of hours. Beautiful aroma, really exceptional nose. Balanced wine; it doesn’t have the 1996 angular acidity that mars most 1996 red burgundies. It’s so well balanced that I can see it lasting many more years. It’s in its drinking plateau. My last bottle (of two bought in 1997).
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6/5/2021 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
PnP, right from the start there is a beautiful nose here with sour cherry, dried meat, some sous bois and sweet spices. Great complexity. Enters the palate fresh, alive with good structure and fruit, all balanced and polished. Wonderful! This is much better than the 1998 I recently had. 96-97pt
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11/14/2020 - joe d Likes this wine:
I thought this was very good, probably the best '96 I've had to date. Not sexy, not austere, not too acidic, just right. Fruit was to the dark red end of the spectrum.
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8/21/2020 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine:
Slightly hazy, looked unfiltered. Spicy nose, spy sauce, earth, green pepper and lean. The biggest of 3x 1996s including a Roumier Bonnes Mares. Medium plus acidity, slightly mouth puckering tannins. A real luxury to try. At BVs
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3/5/2020 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Zachy's La Paulee 2020; 3/5/2020-3/6/2020 (Le Bernardin Prive): Different style, but nice old school balance. Prefer this slightly to the 1999. 94
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12/10/2019 - rnellans wrote: 95 Points
For my 77th BD in Vegas. Very good. Dark fruits, concentrated with good acidity of the vintage. Solid wine but not quite the balance of fruit/structure I would like to see.
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12/8/2019 - BradE wrote:
A very good bottle of a wine that’s not near it’s apogee. I suspect this will always be in “95” point range rather than “100” but it was a great drink.
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4/28/2019 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
1996 Burgundy Retrospective - The Second Session (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): En magnum. The darkest wine of the night. The first note is ash and smoke. Medium expressive nose displaying pure black fruit, blackberry, black cherry, rose, a hint of asparagus, stem, ash, smoke and crushed rocks. Excellent concentration, very finely layered black fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity and mineral, and a long pure black fruit driven finish with ash and asparagus at the end. This remains very youthful especially en magnum. I wish the nose is a bit more expressive.
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12/4/2018 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Riper and sweeter than the '93 alongside, but a smooth texture for a '96. Good depth of fruit. More energy than other recent bottles.
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11/24/2018 - fcxj wrote: 96 Points
Really impressive, mistaken for Rousseau. Surprisingly stemmy. Clean, pure, intense and long with nail polish finish.
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7/15/2018 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
From magnum. Great bottle with and elegant nose of dark red and blackberries, soft spice and rocky notes.
Smooth and balanced palate lacking perhaps the last degree of focus. 94-95
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4/26/2018 - sfilene wrote: 95 Points
This was one of the guest’s wines of the night and was really a knockout. Green notes first and foremost upon opening the bottle, but as the dinner went on this wine became prettier and opened beautifully. I saved a teeny bit in my glass until the end of the night to see this wine’s evolution and the floral notes and balance this wine displayed at the end of the night was fairly breathtaking.
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4/26/2018 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 96 Points
Mugnier Musigny Dinner (Blue Hill (NYC)): Initially comparable to the ‘98 but surprisingly quieter with less energy to the red cherry and more in the way of roses and teas. Scratch that - a few more swirls and this quickly surpasses the comparatively dark ‘98 with pretty and elegant red berry aromatics. Stemmy florals (although this is stemless) with huge perfume. Gorgeous. On the palate there is youthful and lush red cherry, juicy and long. Big acid but with so much fruit that it’s balanced and hedonistic. Tied with the 2001 for my favourite wine of the program.
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6/24/2017 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Musique & Vin Festival BYO Dinner with Musicians (1243 Bourgogne Society - Beaune): Small glass, brief note. Floral with spice and an broad array of fresh red fruit aromas. .Similar flavors. Expanding finish with great textures. Seems better each time I get to taste this wine.
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6/12/2017 - dongagne Likes this wine:
Drunk with my Great Wine Buys colleagues (who brought '85 Krug and Andre Clouet 1911) prior to starting my chemo, purely to have had the experience before my palate gets whacked. In company with '88 Rousseau Chambertin, no slouch. Both wonderful, both in decanter 2+ hours, Musigny has such brilliant power and aromatics, purity, understated generosity, years to grow. Pretty thrilling. I'm a lucky guy.
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1/12/2017 - etyc Likes this wine:
M&M dinner at Nicolas with pals.
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1/12/2017 - justburg wrote: 90 Points
M&M (Montrachet & Musigny) at Nicolas. First red in a flight of 3 Musigny. I actually though this was a Vogue 1998. Deep red, touch of bricking right at the rim. This was the most closed and backward wine of the flight. There was a really intense nose of violets, cassis, blueberries, cocoa powder and earth. Good structure on the palate, with some Arabic spice, blueberries and cherry cola, dried figs, pomegranate and lavender. There seemed to be a lack of complexity and length on the finish, and while this was good, it seemed to lack the sensuality and seductiveness of a good Musigny. Maybe an additional 10 years would do it a world of good.
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1/12/2017 - Paul S wrote: 95 Points
M&M (Montrachet and Musigny) Dinner (Nicolas Restaurant, Teck Lim Street, Singapore): Second time I have had this in a few weeks, and while this was again superb, one could really tell how much the earlier bottle benefitted from having been opened for a longer period before service. This was probably the most complete wine amongst the trio of Musigny tonight, but it was also the most backward. The nose was really attractive, but it was rather tighter than its brethren's, with deeper-set wafts of fragrant spice swirling around stoned notes of dried earth, blue fruit and violet petals. It was on the palate that the wine really showed it chops though. Full, juicy, deep, yet absolutely pure and true, this filled the mouth with beautiful flavours of gummy blue fruit seasoned with dashes of spice and drifts of violets. Great depth, understated power, but above all, a beautiful transparent feel, all this leading into a long, deep, juicy finish, with blueberry fruit lined with a lovely touch of minerality. It probably still needs a good 5-6 more years, but this was a truly lovely wine.
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12/21/2016 - Paul S wrote: 95 Points
1996 Burgundy Grand Cru Dinner (Forlino's, One Fullerton, Singapore): On a night of great wines, this was one of my favourites. It had an absolutely wonderful nose that floated out of the glass in perfumed wafts violets and high-toned berry fruit, dried minerally earth, and then fragrant spices: a mix of cardamom and clove with all sorts of other exotic shades. Beautiful. On the palate, this was by far the finest wine on the night in of texture and elegance, with a wonderful silkiness to its flavours of dark cherries and blueberries infused with gentle tones of earth and spice. Past the midpalate, the wine was carried along on deeply floral undercurrant, with the finest of tannins and fresh acidity pulling away into an effortlessly long finish. This was a Musigny of wonderful finesse, but while all was fine and transparent and pure, there was also true sense of iron grip underlying all the silk. A truly lovely wine, but I think it will be even better in 5 years' time.
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11/14/2016 - reichken wrote: 93 Points
light purple color with some sweet red fruit, not as mean as many 96's. this wine put on weight through dinner but i think it still needs time to strut its antlers. we will see
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9/21/2016 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still ridiculously young. It grew in the glass with red fruit, stems and some iron. The depth is really impressive. It will need at least 8-10 years for it to be accessible. Great potential.
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3/16/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fresh and cool with a red fruit nose, slightly tart. Tart raspberry and cranberry on the palate with hints of bitter orange on the finish. Bright acidity. Dark earth emerges with air time. Probably better in a few years. 94-95
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3/4/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Pre-Paulee Warm-up Dinner (Piperade - San Francisco CA): Maturing red cherry with spice and earth hints. Slightly austere, but so nicely balanced and textured. Very glad Ken opened this tonight when we could give it some attention, because it wouldn't be as easy to enjoy in the Paulee gala setting.
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9/26/2015 - bill00 wrote: 98 Points
Absolutely gorgeous - this is in a terrific spot right now. Beautiful airy aromatics with red berry, stone and herbs. Could just smell this all night. So pure, so silky and so easy to drink. Weightless intensity. Finishes with plenty of acidity and super smooth tannins suggesting a long life ahead but I just love this right now. This was fantastic right out of the bottle but even better after it was open for a couple of hours. Awesome wine.
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9/16/2015 - The Vines That Bind Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dark ruby in the glass. Beautiful, complex, if somewhat subdued nose of drying cranberry and spent coffee grounds. Super pure, but not as clean as other Mugniers, probably attributable to the '96 vintage. Evolved wonderfully over two hours showing off a great balance of soft red fruit and underbrush and thin wet top soil. Leathers and tobaccos intertwined with red berries. Lovely.
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10/12/2014 - joshbryer Likes this wine:
My notes indicate a colorful description that I'll self-censor here, but needless to say....
Absolutely unbelievable wine, brilliant. Sheer purity in the mouth with insane depth. Deeply fruited nose. Class to the Nth degree. Tied #1 for wine of the evening and tied as the best wine I've had all year (with the '90 Roumier Bonnes also served this evening)
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3/29/2014 - ricknat1 wrote: 95 Points
Very, very nice but not typical Mugnier in elegance and style. I like this but not as much as the 02 or 98 vintages
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9/19/2013 - cfk49 wrote: 96 Points
This wine needs another decade in the cellar, and if you serve it now, think about two hours in the decanter, but eventually the magic of Musigny comes out -- velvet texture with the firmness of the limestone, i.e., the classic iron fist in the velvet glove, with voluptuous dark fruits.
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5/1/2013 - Lord Rayas wrote: 90 Points
very cloudy and light in colour. some pleasant floral notes but lacks mid palate intensity. somewhat disappointing.
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11/23/2012 - dougie wrote: 96 Points
Wine of the year (so far). Decanted for a 1/2 hr. a bit of Tannin, but smoothed out over a couple of hours. Extraordinary flavor that just stretched on forever. Musigny has always been my favorite- to bad the price is so high. But,I really remember the half dozen times with great fondness and special memories. If I had some, I'd wait 5 more years.
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5/11/2011 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 95 Points
Musigny (Marea): One of my favorites of the evening. The aroma has everything, including a pleasantly old-fashioned barnyardy thing, although it does close up some as it sits in the glass. It's light and airy on the palate -- not sure I would even call this medium-bodied in concentration -- and still has a lot of tannin to it, but the tannin is so finely grained and cashmere-textured that it enhances the wine instead of obscuring it. There is a very slight cola/burnt-sugar note from the barrels but it's practically a whisper at this point.
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4/30/2011 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
Burgundy Retrospective - 1996 (Version KS) (Washington DC): Delicate but strong core energy I often notice in a great Musigny, fresh cherry and, raspberry but the nose is shy. Excellent balance, polished palate, nice length but wishing for more nose.
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4/30/2011 - AndrewSGHall wrote:
Burgundy Retrospective - 1996: Nose that drops down a full register in one sniff. Potting bark and dried flowers. Nice beats and harmonies make this a soulful wine. Not as powerful as I expected and a hollowness to the middle doesn't carry those broad shoulders. That is too harsh really - a really good and enjoyable wine and complimented by a lovely dry-down. A treat.
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12/26/2010 - BradE wrote:
This was a bit reserved, and didn't finish with much impact. Bottle? Phase? My last two bottles have been like this, so suggest burying this in the cellar for a while.
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11/18/2009 - Siggy wrote: 94 Points
1996 Burgundy Horizontal w/ Bob Macdonald (Minneapolis): Third time tasted. This was a touch shut down, and not nearly as expressive as previous bottles. Aromatically complex and intense after some extended aeration: blackberries, flowers, spice, and earth. The palate was a touch more reserved than usual, but really began to emerge after a few hours. Hold off on opening these for several years.
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5/17/2009 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Gorgeous, hi-toned nose. Delicious now but will be even better in 5 years.
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10/16/2008 - Siggy wrote: 97 Points
Burgs w/ Burgundy Bob & The Boys (Bob Macdonald's House, Minneapolis): Gloriously perfumed nose. Incredibly rich layers of black cherries, herbs, and spice that culminate in a long, savory finish. A complete wine with near-perfect balance. Lacy, silky texture. A glorious, classic Musigny, and a notch better than the bottle I was lucky enough to taste last year. Unanimous WOTN.
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9/2/2008 - BradE wrote:
More subdued than the last bottle, a bit muted, but nothing off. Looking forward to another.
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9/1/2008 - dougie wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for an hour. It started more like a fruit punch (but a REAL nice fruit punch). Then after another hour, it really opened up and had all of the musigny power and finesse. At the end of the night, probably opened for 6 hours, the last little glass was still going strong. A real WOW wine. I would say 5-10 years I would wait IF I had another one.
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1/13/2008 - ASG24 wrote:
Dark garnet color, with a brooding and virtually impenetrable nose upon pouring. After about 15 minutes, it began to give up very ripe, dark cherries, more black than red, with some almost gamey, very earthy and mushroom-y notes. After a half hour, additional notes of other dark, red fruits and very dark rose petals became apparent. Over the course of the ensuing hours, the nose just kept on expanding, adding more and more fruit and floral nuances, with just a touch of vanilla oak. In the mouth, more dense and rich than I expected and, while it was well balanced with fine acidity, it was not as smooth and elegant as I believe it will become with years’ more age. Good, slightly mineral-y finish. A complex and fascinating wine, and it was great fun to see everyone at the table inhaling deeply and sighing with satisfaction. I do not think I’ll open another for at least two or three years.
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3/26/2007 - Rupert wrote: 88 Points
Mugnier Dinner (The Ledbury, London): Raw celery nose, confirmed on the palate, though it became lusher in the glass
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3/26/2007 - reichken wrote: 91 Points
Mugnier Dinner (Howard Ripley) (The Ledbury, London): this was lighter purple/ruby in color. med acidity med weight in the mouth. very elegant with nice mix of red fruits and floral smell and nose. quite vibrant stillalthough there were a few at table who thought it had a slight camambert nose....this was one of the best 96's i have had recently and should get better over next few years
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3/21/2007 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 97 Points
Burgs and Bordeaux at Brad's: Another show-stopper. The concentrated orange/red color lightens slightly at the rim. The nose is very intense nose, and is every bit the equal of the 85 Prieure Musigny served earlier. Showing mostly sour cherry, smoke, and mushroom -- but very complex and expressive. This is another wine I could have smelled all night. On the palate this has great weight, concentrated cherry fruit, and great balance. Still a bit on the primary side, ut with plenty of tannin still present promising a long life. I hope to try this again in say 10 years or so. My WOTN.
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3/21/2007 - Siggy wrote: 96 Points
Tasting Group Dinner - Burgs & Bords (Brad's House, Minneapolis): A fragrant, complex nose of raspberries, cherries, and a touch of smoke. The palate shows an intense melange of red fruits, minerals, and tobacco/leather secondary flavors that are already quite subtle and interesting. Beautiful finesse and balance. Very long finish. Amazing stuff! Co-WOTN for me.
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3/21/2007 - BradE wrote:
Absolutely freaking awesome. WOTN for most of us. Loved it.
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12/5/1998 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
1995 vs 1996 Burgs (NYC): Medium red in color. Cherries and minerals. Fruit and terroir. A bit of a nice twiggy character as well. Beautiful! 1995? WRONG!
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