CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
DOMAINE JACQUES-FREDERIC MUGNIER
“An expressive, cool style of vintage,” says Frédéric Mugnier. “More classic; more Burgundian.” Potential for aging? “It will age long enough. I have been making wine for 40 years and I don’t think there is any vintage I have made that cannot be enjoyed now. It’s like asking how powerful is a Rolls Royce? Powerful enough is the answer. Not that I’ve had a Rolls Royce.”
François Moramez, who describes himself as “Fred’s left-hand man,” says it was a struggle in all vineyard parcels with mildew. “The issue was when to enter the vineyard to organize the treatment. The first treatment at flowering was the most important, and one is usually sufficient, but this was not the case in 2024. We made 16–18 treatments.” The harvest started on September 17, with an average yield of 10hl/ha. Bonnes-Mares suffered least damage, with 40% of a usual crop. Bonnes-Mares includes some of the domaine’s youngest vines, ie 40 years old, and it seems they were more resilient. Sorting is done in the vineyard. “Not a big issue for sorting. Not like 2023.”
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No chaptalization. The highest alcohol level was Bonnes-Mares, at 12.8%. As usual, there was a pre-fermentation maceration, as the wines slowly warmed up. In 2024, they trialled the use of a grid in the tank of Bonnes Mares. “The idea was to get a more delicate cuvée, but finally, it was not the case.”
They used none of the wooden vats, because the quantities were too small. They had, fortuitously, bought another small tank after 2023, and needed it in 2024. All the fruit was destemmed, as usual, and the élevage will also have been as usual. Not much new oak, as ever: none for the village wine, 15% for the premiers crus, 25% for Bonnes Mares. The wine had just been racked in October when I tasted it, which is the norm. Only the white might have been bottled in December, rather than February or March.
White
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*Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru La Maréchale Blanc
Attractive and intense stone-fruit aroma. Strikes the palate with some concentration and punchiness. Greengage fruit notes, firm and quite full, with lively sapidity and freshness. I like this rather substantial Côte de Nuits white. 2027–34. 93
Red
Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru Clos La Maréchale
Spicy aroma. Sweet forest fruit on the attack; straight palate, slight burr and grip to the tannin. Decent depth mid-palate. Attractive sapidity to finish. 2028–34. 92
Chambolle-Musigny
Red-currant fruit, with zesty freshness. A light, piquant, and slim profile, with a herbal note on the finish. Delicate structure, with appealingly sweet fruit. 2027–32. 87–88
*Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Fuées
Floral aromas. Satiny, silky richness and sweet depth to the mid-palate, with a fluid finish. Laced with smooth-stone minerality. 2028–35. 94
Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru
A light, straight, but quite intense Bonnes-Mares, with a slight grip to the tannins. Bitter chocolate and black-currant fruit. Streamlined and quite well-sustained. 2028–35. 94–95
DOMAINE GEORGES & CHRISTOPHE ROUMIER
There were slightly fewer punch-downs than usual in 2024, and no new oak. The MLF was quite early and it’s likely the wines will have been racked around the end of the year, to be bottled a little earlier than usual. Overall, the estate’s yields were 17–18hl/ha. There is no Musigny. The Bonnes Mares has finally been grubbed up, after postponing this for some years. There seemed to be more mildew where the vines were plowed by horse—which was rather unfortunate, given all the work this entails. The levels of whole-bunch were not reduced, and I found the effect a little dominant on some of the wines, including the Ruchottes, where the herbal character accentuates the austerity, while on Charmes it seemed to add to the airiness. Go figure.
Morey-St-Denis Clos de la Bussière
Juicy, smooth, and generous, with a nicely rounded palate, sweet red-currant fruit, and a minty breath on the finish. 2028–32. 88
Chambolle-Musigny
Fresh and sprightly, with ripe pomegranate and lightly herbal notes from the 50% whole-bunch. Lightly crunchy tannin and a minty finish. Light-bodied and delicate. 88–89 2027–32
*Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Amoureuses
One second-fill barrel. Juicy intensity and concentration of ripe red-cherry fruit. Satin texture. The 80% whole-bunch sits neatly. Focus and lithe muscle. It has a lively, red-fruit and cherry-kernel sweetness and snap to the finish, which is rather persistent. 2028–35. 95+
Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Combottes
Expressive red-fruit aroma. On the palate, just-ripe raspberry fruit; straight and quite terse, with a snappy bite to the tannin. Somewhat austere. On the finish, it is sapid. 2027–32. 93
*Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Cras
Red-cherry brightness, with lightly leafy aromatics. 60% whole-bunch. Succulent attack, surprisingly seductive up-front, but snaps in and straightens, fairly fizzling across the palate in a straight line to a salty finish. Palpable tension and good length. 2028–34. 94
*Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
This has no new oak, but a silken feel, maybe from the one-year-old barrel. There is volume, but it is silky and airy, with a sweetness to the finish. The 80% whole-bunch sits neatly on the palate and adds just a light puff of oregano to stretch the finish. 2028–34. 95
DOMAINE COMTE GEORGES DE VOGÜE
Jean Lupatelli, chef de cave, remarks on the difference in rain on either side of Chambolle. “The south part of Chambolle had the highest pressure of mildew. We could have 40mm [1.6 inches] of rain in the south part and yet only 2mm [0.08 inch] in Bonnes Mares. We saw the difference in terms of yield. Most affected were Musigny and Amoureuses, at 8–10hl/ha. Some Chambolle vineyards were 12hl/ha.” They did 14 or 15 sprays. “We couldn’t do more. We had a caterpillar, and this really saved us.”
Harvest started on September 20. “The main sorting was for dried grapes. We did a first sorting in the vineyard and then another in the winery. Almost every bunch had to be cut and checked, and we destemmed everything. I didn’t want to impact the nice balance we had. The ripeness of the stems was not good enough for me.
“Working with old vines offers more security against excesses in very hot or cold vintages. We had quite high malic, late MLF, pHs around 3.4–3.5 at the end. We chaptalized with a soft touch—more to extend the fermentation. I waited until the very end of the fermentation, to keep it going, sometimes adding less than 1g/l of sugar, and it worked. I didn’t do less extraction in 2024, but it’s always soft. Very few pigeages, but not especially light this year. We had good concentration in the grapes.”
“I am always careful with pressing and I always spend time at the press, tasting and watching.” The fermentation finishes in tank. “Getting the right lees is important. About four weeks of settling. “We stayed at the same average of 30% new oak, from La Grange and Rousseau.” He racked after the MLF. “A first racking helps to have something purer.
“We come back in 2024 to a classic vintage. Fundamental Burgundy. A contrast with 2023, which was so approachable. When I started making wine in Burgundy 25 years ago, we had this kind of wine. Here the old vines and good selections give density and ripeness. There is some similarity with 2021 in terms of ripeness, and ’21 also had low yields, which gives great concentration. There is the same quality in 2024 as in 2021, but in 2021 the vineyards didn’t suffer in the same way—it was more stressful for the vineyards in 2024. Maybe it is also quite like 2013 and 2014.”
This is a standout domaine in 2024. It helped that there was more volume to work with, as de Vogüé’s parcels are substantial and they have old vines, but Jean Lupatelli has taken this domaine up another level. The wines have greater precision and purity. They are just more luminous. Some high scores here.
White
*Musigny Blanc Grand Cru
First bottled again as Grand Cru in the 2015 vintage. From a 0.55ha (1.36-acre) parcel, but Jean tells me they are considering extending the Chardonnay planting. When they pulled out a parcel of Pinot, which is adjacent to the Chardonnay, it revealed that the soil at the top of Les Musigny is actually a form of sandy marl, not Comblanchien limestone, because it is at the bottom, and maybe this is why the Chardonnay does so well here. Three barrels in 2024. Sorting across a table. Classic, quite straightforward approach. Whole-bunch press. Very soft pressing, on a long cycle, to 1.2 bar. “I like 250 NTUs, so I settle for one or two days before barreling down.” Fermented and aged in older barrels. Strong and sturdy. Powerful and savory. It has vigor and lithe muscle. There is richness with austerity and a punchy, persistent, sapid finish. It’s certainly the brother of the red wine. Really rather good, and age-worthy, to boot. Rather impressive. 2028–38. 97
Red
*Chambolle-Musigny
From Les Porlottes, a parcel behind Christophe Roumier’s house, where de Vogüé is the largest owner. The vines were planted in 1965 and ’66, on a steep slope and in hard, rocky soil. Jean remarks that the yields are always very small and it’s rather wild here; deer stealing fruit is a problem. This cuvée also incudes some declassified Baudes and Fuées, which are co-fermented. There are only 70 barrels this year, while there are usually 130. Floral aroma. Juicy splash on the attack. Exuberant. Lovey concentration of red-cherry fruit for 2024. Super-vibrant. Lightly crunchy tannins. What a cracker. Best village Chambolle I tasted in 2024. Yum! 2027–34. 91
Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru
From vines in Musigny planted in 2007, located just south of Amoureuses, and only 0.3ha (0.74 acre) of this younger material, as the other two thirds now join the Musigny cuvée. Just two barrels in 2024. Deep, cherry aromatics; intense and compact and steely. Punches with some serious concentration and power here. Very saline on the finish. These 17-year-old vines really show the terroir now, wheres a few years back the tasting notes were all about fruit. Maybe not quite as long as the Amoureuses, but there is very little between them and they are equally salty. Separated by 160ft (50m) from Amoureuses, where the subsoil is very similar Comblanchien limestone. 2029–35. 97
*Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Amoureuses
From a parcel of 0.5ha (1.25 acres), but half of the vines, which were old and virused, were pulled out. “We will have to wait longer to replant—maybe seven or eight years.” The part remaining is at the top of the climat, where there lies a fault, with pure Comblachien limestone above and Premeaux limestone below. “So, this is closer to a Musigny style, as the mother-rock is the same.” Three barrels in 2024. Fresh almond aromas to an intense an impressively powerful palate. Bounding energy, this has a straight and mineral, salty line. Forget Amoureuses charm—this is super-savory and sapid. 2029–36. 97
Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
From 2.6ha (6.4 acres) of vines on clay soil in the south corner. There was less rain here than in Musigny. In 2024 there are 15 barrels. Forest-fruit aroma and the spices carry on to the palate, which is quite full, with sufficient density. Dark chocolate and black-cherry fruit, cut with fresh acidity. Firm grip to the tannins. A light bitterness on the finish, which is attractive. 2028–35. 95
*Musigny Grand Cru
From 7.5ha (18.5 acres) of vines, which in 2024 yielded only 8hl/ha, for 24 barrels, whereas there is normally the potential for 100. It’s taut, compact, properly dense and reserved. A channeled palate, with great intensity and such austerity—it’s pretty severe. Cold and cutting, this wine has presence and impressive persistence. 2029–38. 98
2024 Burgundy: The summer of tough love
2024 Burgundy: A guide to the villages and vineyards
2024 Burgundy: Côte de Nuits tasting notes—Marsannay and Fixin
2024 Burgundy: Côte de Nuits tasting notes—Gevrey-Chambertin
2024 Burgundy: Côtes de Nuits tasting notes—Morey-St-Denis
