1999 Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, Musigny Grand Cru

A spellbinding bottle of Mugnier’s 1999 Musigny Grand Cru rounds out the evening. So complex and beguiling, the 1999 is at once light on its feet and quite deep, with terrific freshness and breathtaking balance. Aeration brings out further layers of dimension. The 1999 is at times quite cerebral, while in other moments it is more overtly virile. Like all truly great wines, every taste reveal a different facet of its personality. What a thrill it is to drink this with a group of my closest friends.

Moderately saturated medium red; the color seemed to deepen with aeration. Deep, slightly roasted aromas of raspberry, coffee, dark chocolate and underbrush. Very dry and powerful, conveying a subtle balsamic quality but at the same time more vibrant in the mouth than on the nose. Wonderfully tactile, mouthcoating Musigny with penetrating soil and mineral qualities. Finishes with outstanding length and grip and a serious spine of fine-grained tannins that saturate the entire palate. "My wines always age more slowly than I expect," said Frédéric Mugnier, who has told me through the years that the rule of thumb for his top bottlings is to wait ten years. In fact, I'd still give this wonderfully savory, deep, soil-driven wine another year or two in the cellar before pulling the cork.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 31/08/2001 The medium to dark ruby-colored 1999 Musigny has a demure, raspberry, cherry, and gravel-scented nose. It offers layers of black cherry, sweet blackberry, stone, and violet-imbued fruits. Its concentrated personality reveals loads of beautifully ripened tannin as well as an impressively long, delineated finish. Projected maturity: 2004-2011. A Becky Wasserman Selection / Le Serbet; French Fax: 011-33-3-80-24-29-70, various American importers.

Mid-ruby. Thick but this bottle lacked definition with a nose verging on smudgy. Rather under-powered considering this is a Grand Cru. Fruity but without as much obvious structure as I would have expected. (JR)