Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Grand Cru ‘Musigny’ Vielles Vignes 2017

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

About Comte Georges de Vogüé

The de Vogüé family can lay claim to being the oldest winemaking family in Burgundy, with roots going back more than 500 years and with more than 20 generations having worked on the Domaine. The 20th century part of their tenure began with Georges de Vogüé who was in the driving seat from 1925, until his death in 1987. For the most part, these were good years for the Domaine, although in the latter part of his life aggressive chemical treatments applied to his vineyards drew criticism and led to weaker vintages overall through the 1970s and 1980s, which though criticised as too diluted, still had hefty price tags.

Upon Georges’ death he was succeeded by his only daughter, Elisabeth, who grabbed the bull by the horns and succeeded in turning things around through the hiring of a new winemaker, as well as sales and marketing team. In doing so, a new, gentler nature-led philosophy came to hold sway over the Domaine and this is continued today by the current owners – the granddaughters of Georges de Vogüé. They have continued their mother’s work in bringing the wines of this relatively small estate to global prominence.

The fascinating history and links with the Roumier family have been explored by Bill Nanson in his profile of the Domain.

Current winemaker François Millet has been responsible for work in the winery since 1988. He’s raised the bar to new levels. It is said that he had a crew of 60 using tweezers to remove damaged berries for the hail effected 1991 vintage. The end results proving the merit of the effort in the glass. Not content with making only Comte Georges de Vogüé, makes a suite of wines under François Millet & Fils covering Chambolle, Gevrey, Volnay and Beaune. Making his way to the southern hemisphere where he makes wine with Paul Pujol of Prophet’s Rock in Bendigo, Central Otago. I can help but think that this diversity of exposure can only help add to François’ wisdom as a vigneron, further cross-pollenation coming via his two sons working at Domaine Antonin Guyon and in the vineyard and Roumier.

In the Vineyard

The estate owns some 80 percent of grand cru Le Musigny, and a significant portion of grand cru Bonnes-Mares. Its premier cru Chambolle-Musigny is crafted exclusively from younger-vine fruit in Musigny; its Bourgogne Blanc is crafted from younger-vine Chardonnay grown also in Musigny (which may soon be born again as a Musigny Blanc).

Vineyards are cared for essentially according to organic principles, although the estate is not certified. Beneficial herbs are planted between vineyard rows to control pests; vineyards are plowed by horse; the estate makes its own organic compost.

In the Winery

Winemaker François Millet does not follow a set formula in making his wines, preferring vintage conditions and the fruit of the vine to dictate what’s needed. Grapes more often than not are destemmed and then fermented on indigenous yeasts in large wooden vats. Very little sulfur is added during fermentation or at bottling.

In general, village wines are aged in 15 percent new French oak barrels, while grand cru wines see no more than 35 percent new oak. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The 2017 Vintage

From François Millet , Winemaker:

(on 2018 first) “We had some good rain in spring and then after, the rain was below normal. It was dry, but there was not much stress in the vines because of the prior rain. We picked on 30 August [the same day as Clos de Tart, although not the earliest on record as the 2003 was picked from 23 August]. Climatically speaking, 2003 was a violet heatwave, whereas 2018 was warm but mostly dry and so it had a different effect on the vines. It was the same type of heat as in 1976 however that arrived much earlier, in the springtime. There was good sanitary conditions in the vineyard with nice bunches and good average yields around 30hL/ha, a bit less than in 2017, but comfortable for the domaine. It was not easy for those that had several places to pick in different areas: our advantage is that we are focused on just one area. We could pick everything at the same time and anyway, there was nothing to wait for. Picking was over in one week. There was intentionally no punch downs except for Bonnes-Mares, which needed it. We [already] had concentration because of the drought and the high ripeness of skins, not overripe, but I speak in terms of phenolic levels. The colour comes from infusion and pumpovers. It was important to be even more cautious this year because you could easily make “monsters” and then everything would look identical in the cellar. All the wines in 2018 are aged with 30% new oak. We used the cellar’s air-conditioning to postpone the malolactic in spring because the barrels at the end of September were still at 18°C, so the malo risked beginning right after the alcoholic fermentation. The malo helps preserve the freshness and clarity in the wines, which was important in 2018 as it is not a mineral-driven vintage. The wines needed childhood. Malo is like puberty.”

Where in the World are They?

Comte Georges de Vogüé is one of the icons of Chambolle-Musigny with all of it’s vineyards in the Village. The Domaine holds 70% of the fabled Musigny vineyard!

The domaine today owns 12.6 ha of vineyards where the main part is located in the two Grand Cru vineyards Musigny and Bonnes Mares.

The vineyard holdings are as follows:

• Musigny – 7.20ha
• Bonnes Mares – 2.70 ha
• Les Amoureuses – 0.56 ha
• Chambolle-Musigny village and 1er cru
  • Les Baudes – 0.1328 ha
  • Les Fuees – 0.1461 ha
  • Les Porlottes
  • Les Jutruots
  • La Taupe