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Tasting notes
The 1996 Musigny Grand Cru, like many other 1996s, has not aged particularly gracefully over the last 20-odd years. Quite deep in color, it begins well with attractive blackberry, sage, sous-bois and pressed iris petal aromas. The palate is refreshingly sappy, although there is a distinct absence of depth; it certainly seems shortchanged in terms of harmony and finesse in its second half. Compared to the 1998, it lacks the natural flow you expect from this Grand Cru. I cannot see any improvement with bottle age, so feel free to broach the 1996 now, if you happen to have one of the few bottles. Tasted in November 2018 at the Roumier Musigny dinner at Épure in Hong Kong.
Critic scores
Average Score
The Wine Advocate
Pierre Rovani
More reviews and scores
This dark-colored wine's aromas burst from the glass, inundating the nasal passages with loads of candied black currants, cherries, rose blossoms, lilies, and rosemary. This huge, velvety-textured, mouth-coating, and full-bodied wine is another in a long string of spectacular Musignys crafted by Christophe Roumier. Its palate is not as expressive as the previous wine's but it is potentially more complex, revealing black cherries, stones, cassis liqueur, sauteed morels, porcini mushrooms, and violets. Its awesomely long finish presents a new spectrum of flavors including black raspberries and roses. I have not had the opportunity to re-taste Roumier's 1995 Musigny but my memory suggests it was even more concentrated and profound. Readers lucky enough to acquire this 1996 should cellar it through 2006 and drink it through 2018. Bravo! Roumier informed me he was planning to bottle his 1996s earlier than usual to "trap the fruit." He is of the opinion that they will not be exuberant, charming, and seductive following bottling. Virtually every vigneron agreed that the 1996s have been a delight to drink from the moment the grapes were pressed. Yet Roumier thinks they will need years to be expressive. Those 1996s that I have tasted stateside have maintained their forward, fruity character, but time will tell. Importer: Chateaux and Estates Wine Co., New York, NY; Tel; (212) 572-7725.
This dark-colored wine's aromas burst from the glass, inundating the nasal passages with loads of candied black currants, cherries, rose blossoms, lilies, and rosemary. This huge, velvety-textured, mouth-coating, and full-bodied wine is another in a long string of spectacular Musignys crafted by Christophe Roumier. Its palate is not as expressive as the previous wine's but it is potentially more complex, revealing black cherries, stones, cassis liqueur, sauteed morels, porcini mushrooms, and violets. Its awesomely long finish presents a new spectrum of flavors including black raspberries and roses. I have not had the opportunity to re-taste Roumier's 1995 Musigny but my memory suggests it was even more concentrated and profound. Readers lucky enough to acquire this 1996 should cellar it through 2006 and drink it through 2018. Bravo! Roumier informed me he was planning to bottle his 1996s earlier than usual to trap the fruit. He is of the opinion that they will not be exuberant, charming, and seductive following bottling. Virtually every vigneron agreed that the 1996s have been a delight to drink from the moment the grapes were pressed. Yet Roumier thinks they will need years to be expressive. Those 1996s that I have tasted stateside have maintained their forward, fruity character, but time will tell. Wine Advocate # 118. Pierre Rovani
About the producer
Based in Chambolle-Musigny, the domaine was established by Georges Roumier in 1924. The domaine started to bottle their own wines in 1945.