2012 Domaine Dominique Mugneret Vosne-Romanée Au Dessus des Malconsorts 1er Cru

The 2012 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Au Dessus de Malconsorts comes from the titular parcel just below Les Malconsorts. It has an unpretentious, well-defined, clean and fresh bouquet with sappy red berry fruit, raspberry coulis, hints of forest floor and a fine mineral content. The palate is medium-bodied with a candied entry – orange peel and marmalade infusing the dark berry fruit, with just a touch of reduction on the finish that will disappear by bottling. There is tangible meatiness to this barrel sample that I like. This is an unpretentious well-crafted Vosne-Romanee. Dominique Mugneret is the cousin of Patrice Mugneret of Domaine Gerard Mugneret (see separate entry.) Its roots like in Domaine Denis Mugneret that was established in 1979, his son Dominique officially starting three years later after studies at viticultural college and military service and bottling a majority of production themselves only really began in 1985 after the cuverie had been built. Dominique took over completely in 1999, introducing biodynamic principles towards his vineyard husbandry, cultivating grass between rows to regulate vigor, fully de-stemming fruit and only intermittently racking during elevage. This is a small winery located opposite the Clos des Reas vineyard in Vosne-Romanee, a fairly rudimentary winery that nevertheless creates commendable wines. Dominique told me that he started the harvest around 20 September after a growing season the diminished his crops. These are decent, commendable wines, even if I found his cousin’s wines showed more panache and complexity. Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70