| Region of production: | Côte de Nuits |
| Winery Location: | Chambolle-Musigny |
| Year Established: | 1863 |
Vineyard Holdings
14 ha
- Musigny Grand Cru: 1.14 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1947, 1962 and 1997
- Bonnes Mares Grand Cru: 0.36 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1961, 1980 and 1988
- Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses Premier Cru: 0.53 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1954, 1956 and 1966
- Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées Premier Cru: 0.71 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1960
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Maréchale Premier Cru (monopole): 9.16 ha Pinot Noir, planted in 1964; 0.6 ha Chardonnay, grafted from Pinot Noir in 2004
Top Wines Produced
- Musigny Grand Cru: until the 1989 vintage the 1947 vines were bottled separately as a “Vieilles Vignes” bottling; currently there is just a single Musigny bottling
- Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
- Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses Premier Cru
- Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées Premier Cru
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Maréchale Premier Cru (white and red)
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Fourches red: produced from young vines in the Clos de la Maréchale
Inaugural Vintages
- Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Maréchale Premier Cru white in 2005
Average Total Production
- 60,000 bottles
Summary
Frédéric (Frédy) Mugnier is currently in charge of this outstanding domaine founded by his great-great-grandfather Frédéric Mugnier in 1863. Along with the vineyard holdings, the family business initially included a négociant business focused on liqueurs, but over time that was sold and the vineyards were leased out in fermage arrangements. In 1977 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier decided to take back the family’s Chambolle-Musigny vineyards and bottle the wines himself, and in 1985 Frédy joined his father after a career as a petroleum engineer. In 2004 the fermage arrangement with Faiveley for the Clos de la Maréchale came to an end, resulting in the domaine more than tripling in size – from four to 14 hectares – thanks to the addition of this largest monopole in the Côte d’Or.
Today, the vineyards are plowed, and no chemical herbicides, fertilizers or insecticides are used – though Frédy prefers to use systemic fungicides rather than copper to fight mildew, feeling that copper harms the vines and soils more than fungicides. The older vines are trained to the guyot system with a slightly longer fruiting cane than is normal, as Frédy removes every other shoot early in the growing season so as to space the shoots and clusters well. A green harvest is performed if necessary to keep the crop load small. Frédy Mugnier is a very meticulous and precise winegrower, and the quality of his wines reflect his great attention to detail.
Style & Vinification Techniques
The Mugnier wines are usually reserved in youth but capable of long aging, particularly the Musigny. Elegant and powerful, they never show over-ripeness or excessive oak. Grapes are 100% de-stemmed and vinified with native yeasts. The wines ferment on the skins for up to three weeks, but the frequency of pigeage has been reduced in recent years. The press wine is kept separate until bottling so as to more finely tune the final blend. Aging occurs in a maximum of 20% new oak (less than previously used), and the wines age for 18 months prior to bottling without fining or filtration.
Producer Website: Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier