2022 Comte Georges de Vogüé
Today's offer includes two grand crus; Musigny and Bonnes Mare.s The Bonnes Mares was bottled in November while the Musigny… I’m not yet sure.
The excitement from the press indicates we could be in for a spectacular new chapter from this reference point wine!
When we say the word Musigny, one must think of Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé . Fair enough. As the largest landholder with an astounding 7.2 hectares it has come to define this great Burgundy terroir. It was also one of my earliest “great Burgundy” experiences - a bottle of 1962 Vogüé, firmly planted in my mind as best-ever bottles tasted.
The Domaine, with a history of over 500 years in the hands of the same family, is truly astonishing. Francois Millet took over in 1986 and played a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing their reputation until Jean Lupatelli took the reins with the 2021 vintage.
Lupatelli is a vigneron who is making some changes to the way things have been done over the last 3 decades. I look forward to meeting him in person and hearing first hand the changes he is making. From what I understand, there has been a shift to making the wines more elegant and seamless - less powerful.
In the past, the knock has been the wines appear from cask to be opulent, perfumed, absolutely delicious, and then go into bottles but close up and shut down. I’m still waiting for some of the wines from the 90’s to eventually re-emerge. I remember tasting 2009 from cask - one of the best wines we tasted on the trip and having just come from Romanee Conti that morning, it showed great potential. Obviously, I'm still waiting on Romanee Conti.
Today's offer includes the 2 grand crus: Musigny and Bonnes Mares. The Bonnes Mares was bottled in November while the Musigny… I’m not yet sure.
2022 Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares
Another cuvée that was also in bottle when I visited, the 2022 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru unfurls in the glass with aromas of cherries and raspberries mingled with exotic notes and sweet forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, it's concentrated and textural, with nicely integrated tannins, lively acids and a long, saline, rose-inflected finish. Its more sensual style is a welcome evolution.
- William Kelley, 95
In bottle. Made as three cuvees, then assembled. A rich mid purple with a deliciously heady bouquet, the sumptuous side of dark raspberry, perfumed yet precise, purple fruit with some redder layers beneath, a little white pepper spice, multiple layers of fruit, very engaging with just a very slight youthful bitterness. Irreproachable. Drink from 2032-2045. Tasted: November 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 97
2022 Comte George de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes
The 2022 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru is very attractive, bursting with aromas of cherries, raspberries, blood orange, rose petals and vine smoke. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, it's layered and fleshy, with a deep and seamless core of fruit that conceals powdery structuring tannins, concluding with a broad, perfumed finish. If this fulfills all its promise in bottle, it may make my score look conservative.
- William Kelley, 94-96
As mentioned in the introduction, there are seven separate parcellaire cuvées of Musigny which will be blended. We tried four of them, representing different sectors. Les Petits Musigny (north): An even purple, succulent red fruit. Fresh raspberry and strawberry, touch of liquorice, very even, fair acidity, soft tannins. Les 13 ouvrees: Stonier than north Musigny. A touch darker in colour and definitely a richer bouquet, more headily floral. More clearly the weight of Musigny, but also shows as quite a bit riper. Grand Musigny Haut: A glowing mid purple. A lovely tensile strength, not so evidently ripe, but correctly so, red to dark red in fruit. Good acidity, and fairly complete. Grand Musigny Bas: Glowing purple perhaps fractionally deeper than the upper part. The nose is less extrovert but clearly has superb class and a poised density. The sense of completeness of GM Haut but noticeably more intense through the mid palate. The fruit is a fraction riper, perfectly so, with a few suggestions of dark raspberry in the fruit. Very persistent indeed and a freshness to the finish, enough to make a major wine. I don’t feel it correct to award five stars until I have seen the full blended wine, preferably in bottle, but I certainly don’t rule that out. Drink from 2035-2050. Tasted: November 2023.
- Jasper Morris, 95-100
