Chambolle-Musigny: July 2023
On our recent trip to Burgundy we paid a visit to the Château of Chambolle-Musigny, home to Domaine Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier. Burgundy might be the best place to understand both terroir and soils, thanks to its myriad of well defined clos and lieux-dits delineated over centuries. The uniqueness of these plots can be blurred with the wrong type of winemaking, but fortunately, some vignerons can showcase this variation of climats with transparency. Our guide, head winemaker François Moriamez, gave us a masterclass on perseverance and consistency in the cellar and the results that it yields in their wines.
While there’s much one could say about Frédéric Mugnier’s estate, there’s a wealth of information already online, so we won’t retread old ground. Distributor Becky Wasserman provides an excellent overview of the domaine’s history, while Mei’s 2015 interview delves into Frédéric’s approach both in the vineyard and the cellar. We encourage you to read them, if you are keen to know more.
We will focus instead on the limestones of Chambolle and Nuits-Saint-Georges and the effect of these on Pinot Noir, a varietal specially sensitive to terroir. You can also jump directly to our tasting notes by clicking here.
The magic of limestone
Limestone bedrocks have a strong influence on wine. This sedimentary rock appears in many of the most respected wine regions. Some examples are Barolo (Serralunga y Monforte), Burgundy, Barbaresco, Saumur, Burgundy, Champagne, La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Gualtallary or Barossa. It seems to impart a distinctive character to the wines, especially reds, which express more minerality, softer and finer tannins and a lively tension. Whites also benefit from limestone, showing salinity and a racy acidity. Although a scientific explanation is still to be found, the empirical evidence among wine tasters is undeniable.
In Burgundy, limestone dates back to the Jurassic period1. This was between 200 and 150 million years ago, when the region was covered by the sea and calcium sediments accumulated on its surface. As the Alps rose, they exposed these layers of limestone and marl along a series of faults that shaped the escarpment of the Côte d’Or.
The Côte d’Or has a diversity of limestone types, which originated in different stages of the Jurassic period: Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian, Bathonian, Callovian… Each has its own characteristics. With many of us wondering where the famous perfumed aspect of Chambolle-Musigny comes from, Mugnier was the perfect place to illustrate the difference between the two important Bathonian limestones responsible: Prémaux and Comblanchien.
The spiced Prémaux and the perfumed Comblanchien
Heading out of Chambolle towards Morey-Saint-Denis, you’ll find vineyards like Les Fueés and Bonnes Mares rooted in the tough Prémaux limestone. This type of rock isn’t the easiest for vines, being hard and tough for the vines’ roots to penetrate and find water. But the wine that it yields has structure and a certain tension. François likens wines from this terrain, especially Bonnes Mares, to a energetic teenager – vibrant and full of energy, but needing time to settle and find its harmony. Wines from these soils often carry a spicy note, hinting at cloves or allspice.
Prémaux limestone is predominant in Nuits-Saint-Georges, where Mugnier grows 10 hectares of Premier Cru Clos de la Marèchale. Close to the village of Prémeaux, the tannins edges closer to the gentler and more elegant profiles more commonly associated with Côte de Beaune. In Gevrey, other Grand Crus like Clos de Bèze and Chambertin lie on a bedrock rich in Prémaux limestone too.
On the other hand, the other side of Chambolle, towards Vougeot, showcases vineyards such as Les Amoureuses and Musigny which lie on Comblanchien limestone. This limestone is softer and friendlier to the roots, allowing them easier access to water. This translates to wines that are notably more perfumed and aromatic.
Tasting the 2022 cuvées from barrel samples
We started right away tasting directly from the barrel all the reds from 2022.
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Chambolle-Musigny 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel sample. Blend of a Premier Cru, Les Plantes, and La Combe d’Orveau, a village plot. | |
| Nose: | Medium intensity. Nose of cool climate cranberries and clove. |
| Palate: | Confirms the nose, with more delicate spices. Well integrated oak for a barrel sample. Long-lasting taste especially for a village wine. |
| Structure: | High acidity, low high quality polished tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
We continued with Les Fuées and Bonnes Mares. Interestingly, with La Combe bisecting Chambolle-Musigny, the northern side (closer to Morey-Saint-Denis) tends to be about 4 degrees Celsius warmer than Musigny, located south of La Combe, towards Vougeot, in both winter and summer.
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Fuées 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel sample. Premier Cru just south of Bonnes Mares. Prémaux limestone soils. | |
| Nose: | Medium intensity. Cranberries and more floral notes than the village over the spices from the oak. |
| Palate: | More complex and concentrated. The midpalate presents a minerality similar to Bonnes Mares, but milder. Long finish. |
| Structure: | High acidity, low silky tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Grand Cru Bonnes Mares 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel sample. Prémaux limestone soils. François says they tend to be more reductive and need time. | |
| Nose: | Intensely aromatic. Notes of cherries, dark raspberries and violets. Upon swirling it shows a touch of crushed rocks and the spicy oak. More perfumed than Les Fuées. |
| Palate: | More concentration and tension than Les Fuées, with a similar flavour profile. It’s more structured, with bolder tannins. Very long finish. |
| Structure: | High racy acidity, medium velvety tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
From the Prémaux limestone we passed to the Comblanchien. Les Amoureuses and Musigny are simply other wordly, among the best wines we have ever tasted.
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Amoureuses 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel sample. Comblanchien limestone soils. François says that even if it shows well now, it will be better in 7-10 years. | |
| Nose: | Very intensely aromatic right away, even from a barrel sample. Apparently this is characteristic of Les Amoureuses. Very perfumed nose, with cooler fruit: cranberries, strawberries; and roses. A background of minerality that is very intriguing. It makes it savoury and sweet at the same time. |
| Palate: | What a complex wine, truly intellectual. It starts with precision of flavours and concentration. Cranberries and roses are perfect descriptors for the attack. Still, it’s the midpalate that surprises with its distinct crushed rocks, flint and smoke notes. A harmonious balance between fruit and minerality. The savoriness is salty, almost like an umami quality. More structured than Les Fuées but less than Bonnes Mares. Incredibly long finish, from roses to flint and smoke. No traces of the spice that we tasted in the wines from the Prémaux limestone soils. |
| Structure: | High racy acidity, low velvety tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Grand Cru Musigny 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel sample. Comblanchien limestone soils, all within the Grand-Musigny. François says Musigny is shier, it takes time to open up. | |
| Nose: | Intensely aromatic nose. The fruit character is slightly riper and darker than the other wines tasted so far. Very layered, with fresh strawberries, cherries and dark raspberries providing a backbone to floral notes. I’m tempted to say violets. Very attractive. |
| Palate: | Incredibly concentration, power and tension. An explosion of floral notes and red fruit. Here, the midpalate does not show those crushed rocks notes from Les Amoureuses, but more of a salty touch that complements the fruit notes. It feels sweeter and more full bodied than Les Amoureuses too. Extremely long fruity and floral finish. |
| Structure: | High racy acidity, low velvety tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
The intensity of the mineral character of Les Amoureuses is disconcerting. It’s even more surprising since Musigny, across a small road does not show this character. When we asked François about the soils of Les Amoureuses, he shared a curious story. Needing to replant some vines, Fréderic took advantage and dug a pit to understand the site better. What he found was unexpected.
Parts of the vineyard had briefly been a quarry after the French Revolution, for about 30 years. The quarrying stopped when the workers encountered the hard Comblanchien rocks. The pit was then filled with various materials, such as rocks, trash and old roofing tiles. Over the years, nature did its job, concealing these remnants.
We finished the tasting with samples of Clos de la Marèchale. François then served us a bottle blind, for us to guess the cuvée and vintage. Of course, we got it right.
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marèchale 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Barrel samples from different plots within Clos de la Marèchale. Prémaux limestone soils. | |
| Nose: | Medium intensity. Darker and warmer fruit than in Chambolle. Black cherries and that same Prémaux limestone spicy character, like clove or all spice. |
| Palate: | Attack of dark cherries and raspberry. Good concentration. More body and alcohol than Chambolle. The midpalate shows the clove and even some black pepper notes in some samples. A particular sample had a touch of salty crushed rocks. Long finish of black pepper, clove and cherries. |
| Structure: | High tangy acidity, medium fine powdery tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |
| Jacques-Fréderic Mugnier – Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Clos de la Marèchale 2010 | |
|---|---|
| Served blind. | |
| Nose: | Intensely aromatic. An ethereal bouquet full of tertiary notes. It’s a mix of potpurri, dried citrus zest, and black tea. That Prémaux limestone is still there, showing like a fennel seed spice. |
| Palate: | Notes of black cherries, clearly from a warmer vintage. More tannic and fleshier too, but there is a really good tension that keeps it fresh. The midpalate is very spiced and savoury. Long finish with black cherries, black tea and spice. We guess a Clos de la Marèchale 2010 and got it right. |
| Structure: | High racy acidity, medium powdery tannins, medium alcohol, medium body. |