2005 Chambolle-Musigny Les Fuées 1er Cru

Freddy Mugnier's 2005s are wines to make a Burgundy lover cry-especially if he or she doesn't own them-but his '06s are no less remarkable in the context of the newer vintage. He picked early, with good sugars, actually beginning before the official start of the harvest in the Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos de la Marechale on September 18, and though he brought in his fruit in good conditions he was unsure of its quality at the outset. Today he's far more positive. "The structure of the '06s is more apparent than that of the '05s," he began. "Their tannins are a bit sharp, and they have slightly more acidity, but the wines are almost as dense as the 2005s. Of course, this was not at all evident just after the fermentations: we thought they were a bit weak in the middle. Now they seem to combine the structure of the '99s with the intensity and sharpness of the 2001s." Mugnier carried out the same vinification as in recent years: two to four pigeages per day during the last half of the fermentation, when most of the grape sugars have already been fermented. His aim is to keep the berries uncrushed as long as possible, which helps him extend the length of the fermentation. Grape sugars, according to Mugnier, were the same here in '06 as in the previous year-from 12.5% up to 14% for part of the Clos de la Marechale.

Freddy Mugnier harvested early in 2005, beginning in Nuits-Saint-Georges before the ban de vendange because the grapes were already ripe (sugars reached 14% in part of the Clos de la Marechale). Mugnier, who does not normally pick late, told me that "the clones we've chosen in the last 20 years [that is, in Burgundy as a region] will not respond well to global warming. The 777 may be the most widely used clone but it's far too precocious, which can be a problem in warmer summers." He offered the opinion that "our children may be as critical of the clones we planted as we were about the clones our parents selected." Mugnier describes 2005 as "almost too smooth. The wines are not yet particularly complex because no one element yet stands out. Perfection can be boring." Mugnier did not include any stems in the 2005 vinifications but told me he regretted this and actually did use some whole clusters in 2006. Incidentally, Mugnier was one of a few winemakers to tell me that he is delaying punching down the cap until the fermentations get well underway, because early pigeage requires a lot of energy and crushes the berries and stresses the grape skins (Mugnier's destemmer only crushes about 20% of the grapes). "Everything interesting is in the skin walls, and we need to preserve their integrity and release these components slowly," he said. (The far more common practice is frequent punchdowns early in vinification, as a majority of winemakers believe that extraction in the presence of alcohol risks introducing harsher tannins. But those who are reconsidering this strategy-not just Mugnier but Dominique Lafon and Etienne de Montille as well-number among the more thoughtful vignerons I visit each year.) The 2005s had been racked just before my visit, following mostly late malos. (A Becky Wasserman selection; importers include Martin-Scott Wines, Ltd., Lake Success, NY) Also recommended: Nuits-Saint-Georges Clos des Fourches (86).