Winemaker Notes
Fine lace and silk are the words most often associated with this wine. Bright, intense color and complex aromas evoking violet, black cherry and damp earth. According to the vintages, there are also notes of truffle and game. Refined tannins coat the palate. Good balance between texture and acidity. Long aftertaste, with notes of cherry and candied fruit.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fascinating aromas of green coffee beans with ripe strawberries and berries. Medium to full body, round yet firm tannins and a flavorful and juicy finish. Lots of character already. Drink after 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru soars from the glass with an exquisite bouquet of raspberries, cassis, dried rose petals, cinnamon and cloves. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and supple, with an expansive attack that segues into a fleshy core of sweet and succulent fruit, framed by lively acids and melting tannins. Generous, open and expressive, this will offer a broad drinking window and is well worth seeking out.
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Wine Spectator
Packed with cherry, black currant, violet and mineral aromas and flavors, this is supple and elegant. A tight combination of acidity and tannins lends the backdrop the flavors to develop. Shows fine balance and length. Best from 2022 through 2040.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Chambolle-Musigny represents the charm of the Côte de Nuits district of Burgundy. But you’ll find that term mainly in reference to the vineyards in its southern stretches, which border Clos Vougeot: the Grand Cru of Le Musingy and in part, its neighboring and most exceptional Premier Cru, Les Amoureuses. Some producers argue for the primacy of Les Amoureuses and its eligibility for Grand Cru status given its wines can sometimes surpass other Grands Crus.
Le Musigny ranks on par with the most acclaimed Grands Crus for Pinot Noir: Romanée-Conti, La Tâche, Richebourg, Chambertin, and Chambertin-Clos de Bèze. It is also the only Grand Cru in Côte de Nuits for Chardonnay. All of the others are in Côte de Beaune.
This village can in fact claim only two Grands Crus vineyards and—in the context of breaking down the minutiae—they are markedly different. Bonnes-Mares, the other one at the far northern end above the village, bordering Morey-St-Denis, offers power, strength and great aging potential. But Chambolle-Musigny includes a nice handful of exceptional Premiers Crus, as noted above with Les Amoureuses as the finest. Le Fuees and Les Cras are other noteworthy Premiers Crus.
Overall, a top Chambolle-Musigny offers pure aromas of violets, dark cherry and damp earth, coupled with a velvety elegance, supple mid-palate, an abundance of black and red berry, and finesse and power through a long and fine-grained finish.