Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny 2017 2014 2011 2010 2005 & Musigny Blanc 2017

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé will, surely, be familiar to all lovers of burgundy as it owns the lion’s share of Musigny Grand Cru (7.2 ha), which already accounts for 57% of the domaine’s total holdings. Still, there is not enough wine to go around, partly because half of the Musigny vines are cordon-trained which results in lower yields of about 25 hectolitres per hectare. Whilst the history of this domaine may be traced as far back as 1450, it officially came under Comte Georges de Vogüé in 1920. Its modern history, though, only took off in 1986 when Francois Millet joined as cellar master (until 2019) while the aptly named Eric Bourgogne came on board a decade later in 1996 to manage the vineyard. Quality has been tremendous during this outstanding period of more than thirty years, and it is certainly a distinct privilege to be able to taste through a vertical of Comte de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru, all made by the legendary Francois Millet, on 30 March 2023 at Sonder, Singapore, kindly organised by Domaine Wines in the presence of Comte de Vogüé’s long-serving Sales Director Jean-Luc Pepin. The Musigny of Vogüé is consistently graceful and elegant even in riper vintages where the wine may be more generously proportioned, never calling attention to itself though it demands absolute patience in the Old World manner. Its vieilles vignes designation implies the wines are made from mature vines, as plantings less than twenty-five years of age are declassified and bottled as Chambolle-Musigny 1er. While approachable, the wines that evening would most certainly show better another decade or two down the road and with plenty of aeration in bottle. It remains to be seen how the wines from 2020 onwards, made by new cellar master Jean Lupatelli, would fare but I suspect it will always be the ever-diminishing supply of pre-2020 vintages of Comte de Vogüé that wine lovers will seek and cherish. Merci beaucoup, Jean-Luc and Alvin, for your friendship.

Champagne Ruinart Brut NV, courtesy of Sir Bob. A bottle from 1985 but only popped now. Luminous golden hue, proffering a generous bouquet of walnuts, almonds and yeasty overtones. Still very fresh, full and vibrant, coating the palate with luxurious soft bubbles underpinned by a deeper sweet gentle intensity. Excellent.

2017 Bachelet-Monnot Chassagne-Montrachet, courtesy of LF. Beautiful clear luminosity, exuding highly elegant tones of distant chalk and yellow citrus where its subtle powdery white tones and restraint sing unmistakably of Chassagne, particularly as it rounds off the palate with a lovely teasing intensity already imbued with some early complexity. Wonderfully precise. Very classy.

2017 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Coming after the frosty vintage of 2016 where the generous bud burst had necessitated active green pruning. Translucent deep purplish hue, proffering mulberries and cranberries on the nose. The medium-full palate features ferrous elements and dark cherries in equal measure, its highly refined acidity imparting a degree of freshness to the measured intensity of red fruits. Very finely balanced, finishing with subtle glowing length though, somehow, it comes across as being somewhat underwhelming, missing in layering. 13% abv.

2011 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Purplish core with some bricking. Highly reticent on the nose, just hinting at warm pebbles against a backdrop of distant red fruits. Rather full and bright, the fruit appreciably lighter and more delicate, imbued with undertones of dried mushrooms. Seamlessly integrated though without much weight, tapering to a moderate finish marked by a dash of spice. Distinctly feminine. Only 12% abv.

2010 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Deep ruby. Gentle fragrance of rose petals and raspberries. Quite full and fleshy, displaying good purity of fruit with refined intensity and controlled verve, underscored by a subtle minerally vein. Very elegant and unassuming. Moderate finish. Rather understated on the whole. 13% abv.

2014 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Fairly deep garnet red. Quite effusive in raspberries and mulberries, tinged with an elusive herbal character amid a certain earthiness from what seems to be early secondary characters. Bright and cheerful, lit by vivacious red fruits and ripe cherries that impart great energy and controlled exuberance whilst maintaining its refined balance and purity, turning a little more minerally over time. Highly successful from a vintage of weather extremes.

2005 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Grand Cru Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. Clear deep ruby. Gentle aromas red fruits and currants amid some haw. More masculine and fleshy, cleanly structured with excellent presence of cool ripe fruit that exert lovely svelte intensity. Highly harmonious and impeccably balanced, underpinned by a deeper vein of fruit though less minerally than expected. Moderate finish. 13% abv

2017 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Blanc Grand Cru. Pale. Generous allure of floral aromas in full bloom along with attractive white tones, bananas and cinnamon, all very beautifully matched with indescribable complexity in spite of its youth. Only medium-bodied but all the better, allowing its layers of fresh elegant fruit to shine with relaxed charm and utter refinement, immaculately proportioned all the way to its confident but restraint finish. Already fabulous in its infancy, this will turn out to be truly legendary, worthy of a place amongst the pantheon of the greatest whites. Whereas only previously bottled as Bourgogne Blanc (from 1994 to 2014) even though the chardonnay comes from a 0.66 ha plot in Musigny, the vines have come of age since the 2015 vintage, hence its rightful classification now as Musigny Blanc Grand Cru.