1999 Musigny

The 1999 Musigny Grand Cru, which is 50% destemmed, is a divisive wine among the group of tasters. From my perspective, it does not scale the heights of, say, the 1999 La Tâche that was tasted in the same room just 12 months earlier. Very deep in color, the Musigny does have quite a complex bouquet with more black fruit than other vintages, intermixed with incense and pressed iris flowers. The palate is medium-bodied, displaying more sinew than the 1998 and impressive depth, though it misses the expected finesse and detail of such a Grand Cru. It does deliver the density, and it intimates that in 10 years’ time, it might blossom, phoenix-like, into an extraordinary wine. Perhaps it is enduring an awkward period. On this showing, the 1999 Bonnes-Mares is better. Tasted in November 2018 at the Roumier Musigny dinner at Épure in Hong Kong.