2001 Maxim's (Mugnier) - Musigny

Full bottle 1,393 g. Pale ruby. Light, fresh, almost green, restrained nose followed by beautiful precision on the palate. Ethereal leading to a bit more weight than initially suggested. Hint of orange peel on the end. So complete! (JR)

A remarkably complex nose offers up a panoply of black fruits, earth, spice, crushed herbs and notes of red and black cherries. The understated, powerful, nicely concentrated and sleek middle weight flavors are quite rich yet finely detailed before culminating in a stupendously long and still moderately firm finish that offers intense minerality. This possesses superb elegance and stunning transparency - moreover, it possesses that rare extra dimension that I call the "wow" factor! Note that while this is still on the way up, it can be approached now with pleasure and once it arrives at its peak in 5 to 8 years, it should be capable of holding there for at least another decade.

Full medium red. Compellingly fresh, complex nose combines wild raspberry, minerals, smoked meat and mint. Wonderfully fine-grained and sappy, with its red berry, coffee and leather flavors conveying a distinctly youthful character. Boasts a terric spine of firm, integrated acidity and suave tannins and builds slowly and steadily on the rising finish. Great class here. Frédéric Mugnier recalled that he was quite happy with the quality of the 2001 tannins at the beginning and that he loves this vintage. 'The wines were always very pretty but now they show more structure,' he told me. He added that he would still wait longer to drink this wine 'for more complexity and polish.' (ST)