Big Burgundy Rarity
Mugneret-Gibourg Large Format 1993-2001
Grand Crus Ruchottes, Echézeaux, Clos de Vougeot...
in Magnums and Double-Magnums
It's La Paulée weekend in New York. Time to pull out the big guns.
It's La Paulée Saturday and while Bobby, Stephen, Chris and I will all be at both the tasting and the dinner, we thought we'd bring to the table a handful of outrageously rare large-format, back-vintage Mugneret-Gibourg while we're at it.
Outside of the Mugneret sister's cellar, these basically do not exist.
As these bottles are pre-arrival, think of them as artillery for La Paulée San Francisco next year, or La Paulée New York in 2013... or just think of them as absolutely stunning Burgundy for the cellar.
If Mugneret-Gibourg had been the secret of seriously geeky Burg-fiends, these days are over: The blue-chip collectors have taken notice and Mugneret-Gibourg is beginning to garner serious attention in the states.
The style here is unapologetically sensual; few producers achieve such a textural elegance, a caressing nimbleness on the palate. They are plush wines, yet with no weight... when they are on form, they are downright mystical wines. Magic Burgundy.
Yet these are not easy wines - they are structural and mineral, fine threads of polished stone interwoven with the dark fruit and earth. In their youth the acidity can sometimes feel like a whip, snapping the wines across the palate with more haste than your taste buds would like. Time is needed.
And today, we give you both: The wines, with time.
All the bottles on offer today are listed below with their reviews - as you can imagine, quantities are very, very limited. Please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463 with your ideal order and we'll do the best we can. Note: We're out today drinking Burgundy, not just selling it, so you will likely not here from us until Monday.
Have a great weekend.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare Wine
Crush Wine & Spirits
1999 Ruchottes-Chambertin (1.5L)
Burghound: "Unfortunately, this was so badly reduced that it was impossible to evaluate fairly. There appears to be excellent material underneath the heavy reductive aromas but beyond that, and the fact that the Mugneret Ruchottes has an excellent historical track record, I can offer little in the way of guidance for the 99."
2001 Ruchottes-Chambertin (1.5L)
Burghound: "A completely different wine in almost every respect as this is terrifically refined and more of a middle weight than the more bruising style of the Clos de Vougeot. Truffle, ripe earth and even a hint of smoked meat aromas reveal tightly wound, sappy, exuberant and pure medium weight flavors. Tangy, intense and extremely impressive with length to burn. I very much like the style of this as it's impeccably well-balanced and displays great potential.."
1999 Echézeaux (1.5L)
Burghound: "Still quite deep ruby. A highly expressive nose of classic and highly spiced dark Vosne fruit amply laced through and through with earth, tar, leather and tea, all of which can also be found on the solidly rich, powerful and ever-so-mildly rustic flavors that still carry a hint of rusticity onto the otherwise velvety finish that lasts and lasts. I have upgraded my rating slightly as well as extended the initial drinking window as this is evolving glacially. Note that this bottle was sourced at the domaine and had not been moved.."
1999 Clos de Vougeot (1.5L)
Burghound: "What a beauty! Quite forward and vibrant showing gorgeous aromatics of leather, tea and flowers plus black pepper and hint of anise. Powerfully concentrated flavors of layered, complex, red and black Pinot Noir fruit with excellent grip and acidity, finely balanced tannins with just a hint of earth on the finish. A great young Clos de Vougeot."
1998 Clos de Vougeot (1.5L)
Burghound: "The nose has now turned to a primarily secondary fruit character that has added depth from the spice, earth and underbrush nuances that continue onto the rich and full-bodied flavors that possess excellent complexity on the long, delicious, precise and driving finish. There is a slight touch of leanness on the finish but the mid-palate mouth feel largely counteracts it. A terrific effort that is aging well and this could be enjoyed now or held for a few more years, which is what I would advise."
1996 Clos de Vougeot (1.5L)
Burghound: "Each time I have this, it always strikes me as though it was just bottled with its very primary but perfumed fruit and reasonably dense, quite sappy pinot flavors that display good concentration and the only change that I can discern since the last bottle I tried is that the finish is a bit longer. Overall, this is really lovely and impressively long and the classic austerity of young Clos de Vougeot appears only on the finish. A top flight '96 that will require continued patience. [Note: another recent bottle from good storage was distinctly thinning on the finish and thus there appears to be some bottle variation.]"
1993 Clos de Vougeot (1.5L)
Burghound: "An extremely earthy and distinctly animale nose where the secondary aromas dominate and there is even a hint of sous bois though a very subtle one. The dense medium weight plus flavors are rich, full and serious with excellent size and weight, indeed this is a powerful example relative to most vintages of this wine. Overall, while there is still some tannic structure remaining on the highly complex finish, the effect is a bit rustic and inelegant. In terms of maturity, I would be drinking this now and over the next 20 years."
2000 Clos de Vougeot (1.5L)
Burghound: "This has completely justified the vote of confidence I gave it when it was initially reviewed and now displays modest secondary development as well as excellent complexity on the distinctly earthy ripe red and blue fruit nose that leads to sophisticated, supple and mouth coating medium weight plus flavors that are now approachable but there is enough underlying tannin to continue to justify a few years of additional cellaring if desired. A really lovely '00."
2001 Clos de Vougeot (3L)
Burghound: "The initial hints of secondary development are now evident on the earthy dark berry fruit nose that merges into round, supple and admirably rich medium-bodied flavors that are now relatively approachable before culminating in a delicious, vibrant and mouth coating finish. This is not a particularly big example but it is even more elegant than usual and possesses impeccable balance. Lovely juice and while it could be approached now, I would personally cellar it for another 3 to 5 years first."
2001 Echézeaux (3L)
Burghound: "Strong impressions of crushed, very spicy black fruit is highlighted by subtle wood spice and the very ripe soil notes marry beautifully with fat, sweet, relatively round and elegant flavors that offer superb density and outstanding finishing complexity. This is really impressive and the powerful finish goes on and on."
NET | No further discount