2001 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru

Good full red. Roasted red fruits, dark cherry and truffle on the nose. Boasts a rather wild, concentrated core of red fruits, spices and truffle, along with a faint vegetal element. Finishes with a serious dusting of tannins and building length. Winemaker François Millet described 2001 as 'a rebel vintage, but a rebel for a good cause. It wasn't well considered at the beginning but is better now.' It was a cool, red-fruit style of year, he added. (ST)

Deep red. Deep, reserved but thoroughly ripe nose hints at blueberry, cherry, blood orange, spices and minerals. Wonderfully sweet and silky but with a firm mineral spine giving shape and grip to the flavors. Extremely precise, classy, young Musigny, finishing with strong, broad, thoroughly ripe tannins and superb sweetness. Millet then told me this wine had been aerated for an hour before we tasted it from a decanter; he opened a new bottle and the second sample was even sweeter, more pliant and longer. The decanted bottle was distinctly closed by comparison.

Sumptuous aromas of violets, blackberries, and bilberries explode from the medium to dark ruby-colored 2001 Musigny. A wine of amazing purity and elegance, it reverberates on the palate revealing broad layers of floral dark fruit flavors. Lush yet superbly delineated, this medium-bodied effort is expressive, complex, and dignified. Its prolonged, succulent finish exhibits waves of raspberry fruit and loads of ripe, supple tannin. One of the stars of the vintage, it will be at its peak of maturity between 2006 and 2015.