Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Musigny Grand Cru Pinot Noir

My continuing quest to taste as many 22’s as possible.

The nose shows, rich, candied and floral fruits that are: blackberries dark cherries, black raspberries, raspberries on the edges with just a touch of freshly picked rhubarb. Soft minerals & baking spices and bright candied dark, red and purple flowers.

The palate shows ripe, lush fruits of; blackberries, black raspberries, dark cherries, plum and poached strawberries. Dark chocolate, caramel notes, red cola & licorice, fresh & dry herbs, dark, smooth spices, dark, rich, forest floor w/ dry leaves, dry twigs, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg & vanillin, dry stone & top soil, barrel shavings, dry tobacco w/ ash, limestone, grey volcanics dark, red candied with some withering flowers with violets, excellent acidity with a round, lush, well made, balance, mid tension, elegant finish that last ninety seconds and lands squarely on spice, clove and dry minerals.

This should be cellared 8-10 and enjoyed over the next 15-20 years plus properly stored.

At $1,140 a bottle, a hard pass for many, but excellent wine with potential for another 2 points w/ age.

Soulful and enchanting. Beautiful presence on the midpalate. Cool and collected. Dark plum and tangy cherry. Good grip and a pretty long finish. Quite masculine still

Done bright document fruit. Cherry and rich plumpness. Still quite brooding and masculine believe that with salinity and underbrush. Good stuff.

The 2006 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a rambunctious nose with raspberry ripple and crushed strawberry scents, though it doesn't fully have the complexity of other vintages. The palate is chewy, slightly muscular and impressively dense. It's surly on the finish with markedly dry tannins that don't urge you back for more. It's the kind of Musigny that I feel would not be made under the present regime. (Neal Martin, Vinous, June 2024)

The 2014 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru is a vintage I have not tasted for some time. Quite rustic on the nose, it offers red fruit, juniper berries, leather and forest floor scents that take time to cohere. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, austere like so many of the Côte de Nuits reds, and a slightly dry finish. (Neal Martin, Vinous, June 2024)

The 2013 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has a pronounced, minty bouquet with plenty of fruit. However, it lacks the bandwidth of a truly great Musigny from de Vogüé. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, briny with black olives infusing the black fruits, linear and structured toward the finish. Fine, but very serious. Like an old schoolmate who you've never heard crack a joke. (Neal Martin, Vinous, October 2023)

The 1993 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru was a real surprise given that I have meted out criticism for the wines from this era. It has a mesmerizing nose with wild strawberry, raspberry and rose petal scents that feel youthful and exuberant. The palate is fleshy and beautifully balanced, supple and has delightful, seductive rondeur. It crescendos towards the finish that is armed with killer delineation, completing perhaps the best Musigny that de Vogüé oversaw that decade. Tasted blind at the Wallace brothers' Xmas dinner. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2023)

Dark fruit. Plum and garrigue with black cherry. A whiff of menthol and a long pure finish still pretty clenched and austere. There’s huge quality here but it’s tight

Tasted blind. Red purple in the glass. Looks young. Killer nose. Everyone smiles. Notes of red cherries, tan spice, rhubarb, some rosemary and a little candied fruit. Very refined in the mouth. Masculine. Very balanced, with ample fruit and matching structure. Has the precision of a great Rousseau. As good as burgundy gets. Guessed 71 Rousseau Chambertin. This goes on the list of all time greats for me. Thanks Stan!

Perhaps one of the most controversial wines there is, whereas on release it received “100pts” and was destined for greatness. But ever since, it seems to rarely live up to the hype. Here, in perfect condition, it shows intense aromatics of sous bois, saddle leather, dried roses and crème de cassis. It’s definitely not classic Burgundy, it’s almost new world in style with its brooding richness and liquored fruit, and perhaps even reminiscent of CDP, too. Interesting. The palate is coming together showing plenty of vibrancy, concentration and intensity, but it doesn’t have the depth on the midpalate you’d expect from this wine, and the finish is a bit short with drying tannins. Still, definitely enjoyable and special to have tried this legendary wine.