A wine that transcends the vintage, Mugnier's 2017 Musigny Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes wafts from the glass with aromas of wild strawberries, cherry, rose petal, wild blueberries, blood orange and warm spices. On the palate, it's full-bodied, multidimensional and stunningly pure, caressing the palate with its silky tannins and generous core of crystalline fruit, concluding with a resonant, fragrant finish. It's a magical Musigny that left me stammering. Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier and his team have produced some of the wines of the 2017 vintage in the Côte de Nuits, and this was among the most thrilling of some two hundred domaine visits. Mugnier's pure, ethereal style has captured all the succulence and potential elegance of the year, but the wines also possess uncommon depth and intensity. The Musigny is predictably brilliant, a yardstick against which to measure others, but it is also worth singling out the Bonnes-Mares to readers that may not be paying attention, since the last few vintages of this cuvée rank as the best Mugnier has so far produced: as the vines mature, he says, it's becoming "more Chambolle" in character, and evidently that is no bad thing. Note that the Musigny itself will not be released for several years, as Mugnier continues to hold back the wine to prevent its premature consumption.(WK)

Masterful purple in colour, but otherwise a wine which does not want to open up straight away, magisterial compared to the effervescent Amoureuses. An absolutely complete mouthful, on the cusp of red and black fruit, all the depth you could possibly want. Tasted Nov 2019.

The fragrance of this Musigny is a tapestry of red fruit and flowers, and it could easily absorb your attention to the point of distracting you from the equally compelling palate. Very concentrated, with a firm core of interlocking fine tannins and chalky minerality, it takes a moment for you to get the great finesse. A delicate note of licorice appears in the very long, structured finish. Mugnier is the second-largest owner of this Grand Cru, with 1.13 hectares. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.