Domaine Bernard Munier Chambolle-Musigny 2012
Here, from Bernard Munier, is a Chambolle-Musigny village from a great vintage that is open and fresh and grabs your attention. It’s not often in the world of Burgundy, and especially Cotes de Nuit, that you can drink a wine of such provenance young with gusto and without guilt. Chiseled black fruit with distinctive Morey minerality. A real find, we thought! Bernard also makes a 'cuvee' of the very same wine in 100% new oak called the 'Clos de l'Orme'. The two wines merit a side-by-side tasting.
DOMAINE BERNARD MUNIER
We first met Bernard Munier a few years back at a tasting that is part of the Trilogie en Cotes de Nuits which takes place every year in Vosne-Romanee, Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint Denis. So it was quite an event. Bernard does not try to play in the same league as some of the world-stage players from these stellar Cotes de Nuits villages. He has never before exported to the United States. He’s a small producer with a handful of appellations, and he makes his wine with the help of a his son out in a hangar behind his house that he built over some very old cellars. Simple. Rustic, you might think at first glance.
The Domaine Bernard Munier is located in Gilly-les-Chateaux, just across the N74 from Chambolle and the Clos Vougeot. So Bernard Munier has some well-situated and well-tended vines. And he has touch. The wines we have tasted since we have known him have convinced us that he deserves a wider audience. Elden Wines started life by working with small producers who would never otherwise have dared to export their wines. And we are here now with Bernard Munier to help him with the part he does not care to address. We just leave him to make his wine!
BURGUNDY 2012
>What a surprise! To say today that the 2012 harvest produced, not just a good Burgundy vintage but an exceptional one, beggars belief.Here in Burgundy it is often said that June makes the quantity and September makes the quality. And 2012 was a classic example. But because 2012 was such a lousy growing season, and because the wine is just so good, folks are trying to understand why and how that can be.
Here’s how we saw it. It all started well before the sap started to rise in the vines. February was frigid. We had two consecutive weeks where the temperature did not rise above freezing. Our producers tell us that this polar period may have had an important effect on what was to come, notably the poor flowering later in June.
Then March was just about all the springtime we had. In fact it was more like summer than summer was. And with those warm dry sunny days, the vines leapt into action. The sap rose and the buds burst well before the end of the month. Everyone was talking about an August harvest! It was, considering what was to come, a glorious time.Then April brought radical change. A four month period of gloomy cold and wet set in. It rained one day in three until July. And during this time a series of hailstorms shattered the vineyards, especially in the south. The vines flowered in early June, but this was slow and drawn out over the course of the month. Because of this, a lot of the flowering failed. Every incident, it seemed, reduced the potential yield of the crop. Many producers reported as much as 50% crop loss. Some, in the areas worst hit by hail, were almost wiped out.
Then it got warm and the threat of rot turned to reality. Mildew and oidium were rampant. Producers later said that if you were late with copper sulfate treatments in 2012 it was fatal. Then it got hot. And grapes literally grilled on the vine in August, scorched by the heat.
The locals are saying that every month claimed its part of the crop. So the first thing to remember about 2012 is that it is a small harvest, and a very small harvest in certain zones. But what happened next saved the day for what remained on the vine.
Mid-August was hot and sunny, and this continued until well in to of September. The well-watered vines fed what grapes remained, and sugar levels shot up dramatically. It felt like a time of healing. The crop was made up of small clusters of grapes with very thick skins, with lots of space between the berries to allow them to expand and to let air circulate.
So with a healthy albeit small crop on the vines, and what appeared to be stable weather conditions, the producers felt safe that they could wait for ideal maturity. And when harvest began in the latter half of September, the grapes were in good condition. Which is just as well, because halfway through it started to rain and got cold. The worry again was rot. But the thick-skinned grapes were resistant, and the cool temperature kept botrytis at bay.
Those cool final days had another advantage. The fruit was brought to the winery at an ideal temperature to allow a few days of cool maceration before fermentations started, slowly and gently. So from the very start, these wines have shown brilliant color and delicate aromas.
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
COTES DE NUITS
Chambolle-Musigny is a tiny village, and is likely to remain so. Expansion would mean encroaching on some of the best vineyard land in the world. With two superb Grands Crus, Bonnes Mares (which links Chambolle to Morey-Saint-Denis), and Musigny, which overlooks the Clos de Vougeot, the village also has several prestigious premier cru, notably among them Les Amoureuses. Its AOC dates from September 1936, making it one of the first French vineyards to be designated.
Produced in the commune of Chambolle-Musigny, the appellation Chambolle-Musigny includes 24 premiers crus as well as two Grands Crus: Musigny and Bonnes Mares.
Wine
Chambolle-Musigny is Pinot Noir par excellence, and is often regarded as the most elegant wine of the Côte de Nuits. Its intensity is subtle. It tends to be bright ruby and may darken a little over time. Its violet bouquet is one of the most easily recognizable in Burgundy. With aging it tends towards spiced ripe fruits and truffle, underbrush and animal notes. Rich and complex, it is silky and lacy on the one hand, and solid and structured on the other.
Terroirs
The slope faces east at altitudes of 250-300 meters with only a shallow covering of soil overlying the parent rock, but fissures in the hard Jurassic limestone allow the roots to seek dig deep into the complex sub-soil. Gravel in the valley bottom ensures good drainage.
Color
Red wines exclusively - Pinot Noir
Production surface area
1 hectare (ha) = 2.4 acres
152.23 ha (including 56.23 ha premier cru)
Food
With a personality that is both powerful and delicate, the wines of Chambolle call for sophisticated cuisine. Feathered game in sauce, roasted lamb or a free-range capon. Roast veal's subtle texture would work too. Cheeses should be mild : Brillat-Savarin, Reblochon, Cîteaux, Vacherin, Brie de Meaux or Chaource.
Appellations
The following climats are classified as premier cru:
Aux Beaux Bruns
Aux Combottes
Aux Echanges
Derrière la Grange
La Combe d'Orveau
Les Amoureuses
Les Baudes
Les Borniques
Les Carrières
Les Chabiots
Les Charmes
Les Chatelots
Les Combottes
Les Cras
Les Feusselottes (ou « Les Feusselotes »)
Les Fuées
Les Groseilles
Les Gruenchers
Les Hauts Doix
Les Lavrottes
Les Noirots
Les Plantes
Les Sentiers
Les Véroilles
The following climats are village wines from a single vineyard known as a lieu-dit:
Aux Croix
Derrière le Four
La Combe d'Orveau
La Taupev
Le Village
Les Argillières
Les Athets
Les Babillères
Les Barottes
Les Bas Doix
Les Bussières
Les Chardannes
Les clos
Les Clos de l'Orme
Les Condemennes
Les Cras
Les Creux Baissants
Les Danguerrins
Les Drazey
Les Echezeaux
Les Fouchères
Les Fremières
Les Gamaires
Les Guérippes
Les Herbues
Les Jutruots
Les Mal Carrées
Les Maladières
Les Mombies
Les Nazoires
Les Pas de Chat
Les Porlottes
Les Sordes