Tasted in Chambolle-Musigny with Frédéric Mugnier, 19 May, 2014.
Freddy on 2012:
“2012 was one of a series of vintages where the temperature was often on the cool-side. There were already leaves on the vines in March but because of the cool Spring weather that followed, the flower had a normal timing. (Just like 2014 – Bill) We harvested from the 20th September. The wines have the freshness, precision and energy of a cold vintage, but with the texture of a warmer one – this is a very rare combination, and I have to say, a very attractive one!
“Our yields in Chambolle were only a little below the average, but unfortunately the Clos de Marechale was hit by hail, so we only achieved 13 hl/ha there.
“I’ll start to bottle the 2012s tomorrow! I actually don’t taste very often from tank because I find the experience a little dissociated and metallic…”
Freddy on 2013:
“We had much lower yields in 2013 – a late rather cold year – it simply wasn’t possible to have high yields AND quality together.”
2012 Chambolle-Musigny
The nose has fresh, attractive berries – there’s a slowly developing and very pretty red berry note. Round in the mouth, slowly adding just a little weight of texture. Stony and showing concentrated mid-palate flavour which lingers well in the finish. Very good.
2012 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées
A very modest nose to start with, but slowly it evolves a pretty and crystalline fruit note. More depth of texture and richness. Balanced with a bigger shape and more mid-palate density. The finish is a stony note, again. Modest energy today, yet rather super wine.
2012 Bonnes-Mares
The nose is wider and has an almost blue-shaded fruit – super freshness and depth too. In the mouth this seems very similar to the Fuées but with that missing extra energy. Fuées-plus! Very good wine.
Here there is density of aroma, an aroma of both fruit and flowers – it is supremely attractive! Round and surprisingly mineral given the charm of the nose. Growing intensity of fruit that also lingers well. As is often the case here – impossibly gorgeous aromatics and a slightly more modest palate – yet, gorgeous!
2012 Musigny
Here the nose is less wide than the Amoureuses, but with a gorgeous, very, very deep core of fruit. Rounder, with a little more density in the mouth – a super growth of mid-palate intensity that seems like a large block of ‘something’ in the mid-palate. A hint of salt and an added herbal complexity too. Certainly a harder wine to appreciate today than the Amoureuses, but a special wine too!
Wide, round, ‘available’, open, red-fruited – just so many ways to describe the aromatic here – including gorgeous! Of-course there’s a little rasp of tannin but there’s very little that’s astringent – this seems more Chambolle than Premeaux in style. The finish is stony and long. Brilliant.
2011 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Fuées
The nose is fresh, deep and cushioned. Beautiful flavour – high-toned, pretty and just a little floral. Slowly mouth-watering, widening as it goes from the mid-palate into the finish where there seems a little dry extract. Lovely 2011.
2011 Nuits St.Georges 1er Clos de la Marechale
Here is a darker nose, just a faint pyrazine too. In the mouth it’s round with a good depth of flavour and again a little rasp of tannin. It lingers very well on the palate. Eventually a little florality twists through the pyrazine, but that latter note gets stronger and stronger.