2013 Maxim's (Mugnier) - Musigny
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Tasting notes
A reticent, even shy but highly complex and still completely primary nose features intensely floral aromas of pure wild red berry fruit, wet stone, sandalwood and whiffs of exotic tea and crushed green leaves. There is evident power to the big-bodied flavors that possess a silky palate impression that continues onto the very long linear and austere finish that is underpinned by very ripe and well-integrated tannins. I particularly like the lovely sense of tension and this should age well for years to come, though once again, note well that this will require ample bottle age before it can deliver all of its considerable potential. I would further note that this is not a seductive Musigny but rather one that is presently compact and quite serious if not exactly grumpy.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru will be released with Mugnier’s forthcoming 2018s. “Twenty or thirty years ago, the 2013 would have been a total catastrophe,” he told me in his barrel cellar. “I am surprised by the presence and substance of the wine, which has high acidity yet is quite restrained. I think the five years of aging have softened the edges.” The 2013 has an attractive and very tertiary-inspired bouquet that evokes images of strolling through a woodland in autumn, red berry fruit tinged with decayed brown leaves, damp soil and morels, and also touches of bay leaf and jasmine tea. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly rustic bent for a Musigny, though as Mugnier mentioned, it is underpinned by an almost racy sense of acidity that might be off-putting to those who prefer a denser, fruitier style. The fruit is a little darker than suggested by the nose, presenting a soupçon of meat juices and plenty of undergrowth notes on the finish. This is not a Musigny with the utmost finesse and grace, yet it brims with character. While it does possess the substance to age in bottle, the 2013 supports Mugnier’s policy of allowing this particular cru to mature for five or six years before release. That said, I would afford it another five or six years’ maturation.
Released only late last year, Mugnier's 2013 Musigny Grand Cru is still far from true maturity, but it has at least begun a graceful evolution, unwinding in the glass with scents of exotic spices, red berries, orange rind, rose petals, potpourri and sweet soil tones. Full-bodied, ample and velvety, with powdery, melting tannins and lively acids, the cool, late harvest has imparted a cool, crystalline purity to its deep core of fruit. Long and sapid, ideally one would forget it for another decade to see it at the beginning of what will be a long plateau of maturity.