MONGEARD MUGNERET RICHEBOURG GRAND CRU 2016

Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret
Richebourg Grand Cru 2016

“This too evidences very strong wood influence on the notably ripe nose that combines notes of spice and floral elements with those of dark berries and mocha. There is excellent richness to the full-bodied, concentrated and mineral-inflected flavors that coat the palate with sappy dry extract while delivering excellent depth and persistence on the better balanced finale. Note that my projected range assumes that the wood will be successfully absorbed as it’s not subtle today. (1/2018)” – 91-94/100, Burghound

VARIETIES: 100% Pinot Noir (According to the quality of the vintage), Average age of vines 40 to 60 years
REGION: Richebourg Grand Cru, Côte de Nuits, Côte-d’Or, Burgundy, France
AGEING: Aging is carried out in oak barrels, 100% of which are new oak barrels
GUARDING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now or will cellar well up to 30 years
SERVE: Serve at 14 – 16ºC
FITS TO: Wagyu Prime Rib Roast / Coq au Vin / French cheeses like Comté, Reblochon, Abbaye de Cîteaux are also excellent companions
CRITICS SCORES: 91-94/BH, 96/JG
VIVINO: Average 4.5 ★★★★✰

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Overview | Of | Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret

The Mongeard family origins date back to 1620 in the commune of VosneRomanée in Burgundy. Situated in between Dijon and Beaune, the Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret was renamed in 1945 after the marriage of Eugène Mongeard and Edmée Mugneret which allowed both families vineyards to combine, thus increasing the size of their joint domaine. Their son Jean began bottling wine for the first time and released it commercially under the new name. Jean also began selling estate fruit to high-end producers such as Marquis d’Angerville and Henri Gouges.

Today the estate has about 75 acres of land in around 35 different vineyards including four grand cru parcels: Échezeaux, Grands Échezeaux, Clos de Vougeot and Richebourg. With a specialty in producing high-end examples of the Pinot Noir grape vartiety, the domaine also releases some Chardonnay and Aligoté white wines. Vineyards are 45-50 years old on average and are grafted with superior Pinot Noir clones. Yields have been a mere 2.9 tons per acre. In the vineyards, the domaine has employed the philosophy of lutte raisonée since the early 2000s. Vines are pruned Guyot, and a green harvest takes place. Harvest is completely by hand. Grapes are destemmed, except for Richebourg for which about onethird of the stems are retained. The crop is then placed in the vats for alcoholic fermentation. Equiped with a very sensitive sulphate measuring pump, Vincent practices a traditional and moderate sulphating. Cool maceration of between 4-5 days. Generally speaking, the Premiers Crus receive about 40-50% new oak and the Grands Crus receive about 60-70% new oak. The oak barrels are from L’Allier, La Nièvre, and Les Vosges, and the domaine requests woods that are dried in open air and barriques that are slightly burnt. After a couple of months in the barrels, the wine goes through malolactic fermentation. In the spring, racking allows for the removal of the fine sediments. A second racking during the following winter. After a total of 18-22 months of aging, the wines are bottled without any filtration, only one fining could be necessary. The bottles further aged in the cellars before being released.

The “Robe”, or colour, is feminine, the nose masculine. The mouth is full of life with an incomparable richness, a generosity which is sometimes overwhelming.

To the Eye: Everything depends on the vintage and the age of the bottle. A Richebourg can be a velvety ruby colour or a dark nocturnal red, shading towards blackish purple. The colour is always intense and dense, luminous and shot through with gleams of carmine. To the Nose: When young, this wine reveals aromas of musk and Russian leather, with touches of sandalwood. With age it acquires scents of hawthorn and peachblossom. Two aromatic families can be distinguished: hints of lichen, woodland undergrowth and mushrooms on the one hand, on the other the scent of cherries, blackcurrants, cooked or preserved fruits. In the Mouth: When young this wine positively explodes, intense and violent. It needs to be allowed to age for several years, in the course of which will become expansive and warm. Elegant and racy, it is capable of a long life, and wines from the great vintages are superb, the very image of sensuous pleasure. They occasionally have more finesse than structure, but may conversely be massively fruity and enthusiastic, compact and muscular in temperament.