2003 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru

Just when you think you have a good grasp on a particular vintage, or on how it should have been handled by winemakers, it's time for a visit to Freddy Mugnier, who can be counted on to take a contrarian approach. Mugnier harvested early in 2004, beginning the day before the ban and carrying out little in the way of triage, except in his hailed-on parcels in Amoureuses and Bonnes-Mares. "The grapes were evenly ripe and perfectly healthy, with the highest sugars ever at this estate," he told me. The malos here were no later than usual (ending between March and July of 2005), and the wines had been racked a couple weeks before my visit. "I make every wine in the cellar exactly the same way, regardless of the vintage," Mugnier told me. "I have come to this approach progressively over time. I realized in 2003 that it was better not to change much about a vintage. The few things I changed in 2003 I regret having changed, even though the grapes were so unusual. It's better to trust the balance of nature than to attempt to compensate for what you think is missing. "

Mugnier harvested late in 2003, beginning on September 1."In the last week of August, the sugars didn't go up and the acids didn't go down," he explained."But the skins got riper and the taste of the grapes changed.I was more anxious about the quality of the tannins than about low acids or high sugars." Mugnier carried out his normal macerations (about 18 days).He did a bit less pigeage than normal, but admitted that he wishes he had done as much as usual."The more experience I have, the less winemaking I do; I don't see the need to adapt to the grapes.It's better simply to use one technique and let the terroir and even the vintage speak."Incidentally, Mugnier resisted the advice of two enologists and did not acidify his 2003s.The wines had been racked a week prior to my visit, and a couple of them were difficult to assess.According to Mugnier, the wines gained shape and definition but at least temporarily lost some of their freshness with the racking.He describes the 2003s as "not a typical style of Burgundy.The wines are richer, sweeter and heavier in their youth.Time will bring more complexity and more finesse."Yields here averaged a mere 21 hectoliters per hectare in 2003; Mugnier was one of several growers who reported crop losses due to caterpillars eating the buds just as they began to swell.