2014 Maison Joseph Drouhin Musigny Grand Cru

(bottled in August): Good medium red. Knockout, exotic, high-pitched perfume of raspberry, blood orange, peach and spices; smells delicious already! Pure silky elegance in the mouth; wonderfully intense, fine-grained and aromatic, with an impression of weightlessness. For such a seamless wine, this Musigny boasts terrific energy and lift. This very suave, supple wine from a fairly full crop really vibrates on the finish. Véronique Drouhin predicts that this wine will never really shut down in bottle.

The 2014 Musigny Grand Cru was picked on September 19 and contains 15% whole cluster fruit this year. Interestingly, this Musigny was bottled on August 14 (as far as I know, the earlier bottled Musigny this vintage, though I could be wrong!). It has a well defined bouquet, red rather than black fruit today: raspberry preserve, tobacco, wild strawberry and a touch of peppermint. It seems to gain complexity in the glass. The palate is smooth in the mouth, very supple with quite firm tannin. This is a more masculine Musigny than others, like the Bonnes-Mares quite strict with a touch of Hoisin on the finish. This is a cerebral Musigny, but personally I have fonder memories of the 2013 last year.