2006 Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees 1er Cru

Peat, black tea, game, mint, crushed stone, and dark berry aromas rise in at once sinister and enticing profusion from the glass of Mugnier's 2006 Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuees. Corresponding low-toned complexity characterizes the opulently-textured and caressing, bittersweet palate. Stony minerality proves the most tenaciously aspect of this dark beauty's long, soothing, yet almost brooding finish. It sent chills back up my spine just transcribing my tasting note and recreating this wine's uncanny, hard-to-describe character. I suspect it will be worth following for ten or a dozen years, probably longer. The track record at this address is more than merely convincing. When asked what he had done differently in 2006 when compared with 2005, Frederic Mugnier replied, "Nothing. I want the character of the vintage to be reflected in the wine as much as the terroir, so I try to hold everything else as constant as possible." While that statement might reflect a bit of hyperbole, it's hard to argue with a collection like Mugnier's 2006s, its wines reflective of their vintage, yet the best of them not really dramatically different from their 2005 counterparts. Certainly they are no less profoundly delicious, and will give more pleasure sooner. (For some details on Mugnier methodology, consult my report in issue 170.) Picking began here ahead of the ban de vendange, "at absolutely the same levels of sugar as in 2005" – meaning at 12.75-14% potential alcohol – although Mugnier hastens to note that it was only well along in the evolution of this collection – and to his surprise – that its ability to hold its own qualitatively with some of the great vintages at his estate became evident. "There wasn't much hail," he relates, "and only in a few sectors did we have to perform serious triage," which chez Mugnier – as at Rousseau – means in the vineyard, not on sorting tables. A Becky Wasserman Selection, Le Serbet; fax 011-333-80-24-29-70