At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Burgundy
- Village
- Chambolle-Musigny
- Wines
- Red Chambolle-Musigny, Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, plus white Musigny
- Signature wine
- Musigny Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes
- Defining feature
- Monopoly of the Les Petits-Musigny climat
The Producer
One domaine controls the entire Les Petits-Musigny climat in Chambolle-Musigny. In Burgundy, a climat is a defined vineyard site, and this one belongs entirely to Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé. The range includes red Chambolle-Musigny, Musigny and Bonnes-Mares wines, alongside white Musigny.
The domaine has remained in the same family for over 20 generations. Claire de Causans and Marie de Ladoucette, granddaughters of Comte Georges, currently manage it. François Millet is winemaker and technical director. The house style centres on delicate aromas, refined flavours, and a silky finish.
Place
Chambolle-Musigny is the home village for a range that moves through Burgundy's vineyard hierarchy. The domaine makes Chambolle-Musigny village and Premier Cru wines, including Les Amoureuses, alongside Musigny and Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru wines. Grand Cru is the highest vineyard classification in Burgundy, while Premier Cru names the level below it.
The same village name therefore appears at different levels on the label. A Chambolle-Musigny village wine carries the commune name, a Premier Cru adds a classified vineyard, and Musigny or Bonnes-Mares names a Grand Cru climat.
Soil And Site
The domaine owns 7.2 hectares of Musigny and 2.7 hectares in Bonnes-Mares. Les Petits-Musigny is held as a monopoly climat, meaning the entire named site is controlled by one domaine.
These holdings place partial ownership in Musigny beside a separate Bonnes-Mares block and complete control of Les Petits-Musigny. Each name enters the range through a different vineyard holding.
Story
In 1993, François Millet deliberately declassified the white Musigny to regional appellation. He did not want to make Grand Cru wine from vines less than 25 years old, so the wine remained outside the Grand Cru category while the vines matured. After 25 years, it returned to Grand Cru status in 2018. The decision changed the label until the vines reached the age Millet required.
Vineyards And Cellar
The domaine practices lutte raisonnée, using treatments only as required. Horses plough the vineyards, weeds are allowed to grow between the rows in autumn and winter, and the domaine applies its own compost to two hectares each year.
For Musigny, the grapes are fully destemmed and undergo cold maceration before alcoholic fermentation, which stays below 32°C. The wine ages in barrel with 35 to 45 percent new oak. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, leaving the finished wine without those cellar treatments.
Wines
The range follows vineyard level, named site and colour. Chambolle-Musigny appears as a village wine and as Premier Cru, including Les Amoureuses. Musigny Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes and Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru are red wines from classified Grand Cru vineyards.
White Musigny occupies a separate place in the range. The bottles therefore cover commune level, named Premier Cru sites, Grand Cru vineyards and a white Musigny whose classification changed during its history.
In The Glass
The 2015 Musigny Vieilles Vignes opens with ripe cherries, rose petal, dark chocolate, licorice and incense, with new oak framing the aromas. It is full-bodied and ample, with firm but fine tannins, a deep core of fruit and a long, lingering finish.
Bonnes-Mares brings violets and wildflowers, followed by a rounder, more velvety mouthfeel. Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru shows tangy red berries and baking spices, with depth and complexity. The Chambolle-Musigny style carries delicate aromas into refined flavours and a silky finish.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Musigny Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes. It is the domaine's red Musigny wine from the old-vine cuvée, with the Grand Cru climat named directly on the label. Its ageing potential extends to 30 years or more.
The bottle sits above the Chambolle-Musigny village and Premier Cru wines in the vineyard hierarchy, while keeping the domaine's central Musigny address in view.
Anecdote
In the 1400s, Jean Moisson built the houses that have always been the home of the domaine. He was also the man who began assembling vineyards in the Musigny climat. The buildings and the first recorded vineyard work belong to the same figure, at the beginning of the family line that continues through Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé. The houses remain tied to the estate's earliest work in Chambolle-Musigny.
Final Word
Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé brings a monopoly climat, substantial Musigny holdings, Grand Cru Bonnes-Mares and a deliberately delayed white Musigny into one family domaine.
Sources
- www.northberkeleyimports.com/wordpress/project/domaine-comte-georges-de-vogue
- bestofwines.com/blog/the-aristocratic-splendor-of-domaine-comte-georges-de-vogue
- www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/03-2005/profile-domaine-comte-georges-de-vogue-chambolle
- www.beckywasserman.com/domaines/comte-georges-de-vogue/musigny-grand-cru-vieilles-vignes
- worldoffinewine.com/wines/12115/musigny-grand-cru-vieilles-vignes