George Comte de VOGUE Musigny VV Grand Cru 2021

George Comte de VOGUE Musigny VV Grand Cru 2021

The 2021 George Comte de VOGUE Musigny VV (Vieilles Vignes) Grand Cru is the pinnacle of red Burgundy. It hails from ancient vines in the Musigny vineyard, and this Grand Cru epitomizes the grandeur and depth of Pinot Noir. With its deep, alluring ruby color, it offers a complex bouquet of red and black fruits, violets, and exotic spices. On the palate, it unfurls with power and grace, revealing layers of flavors and a seamless, lingering finish. This Musigny VV Grand Cru is a masterpiece that reflects George Comte de VOGUE's unwavering dedication to crafting Burgundy wines of the highest caliber.

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru 2021 is a red Burgundy from one of the Côte de Nuits’ most legendary Grand Cru sites, made from old Pinot Noir vines in Chambolle-Musigny. It is a perfumed, satiny and profoundly mineral wine—elegant and sensual in youth, with the structure, tension and depth to age for decades.

Technical Details

• Producer: Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé, Chambolle-Musigny, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France

• Wine: Musigny Grand Cru, Cuvée Vieilles Vignes

• Vintage: 2021

• Grape variety: 100% Pinot Noir

• Vineyard: Musigny Grand Cru, blended from multiple sub-sections

• Vineyard location: Chambolle-Musigny, Côte de Nuits

• Vine age: Old vines, typically 40–70 years

• Yield: 24 hectolitres per hectare

• Production: Approximately 4,500 bottles

• Soil: Shallow, stony limestone-rich soils on the upper slope; deeper, clay-rich soils below, over oolitic and Comblanchien limestone

• Harvest: Manual, in small boxes

• Fermentation: Spontaneous, with indigenous yeasts, approximately 50% whole cluster

• Extraction: Gentle, favouring pump-overs over punch-downs

• Ageing: Approximately 18 months in French oak barrels, 30–40% new

• Bottle size: 750 ml

• Closure: Natural cork

• Alcohol: 13.5%

• Critic scores: 95–97/100 — Neal Martin, Vinous; 94–96/100 — William Kelley, Wine Advocate; 97/100 — John Gilman, View From the Cellar

• Drinking window: 2030–2050 and beyond

• Serving temperature: 15–17°C

The Producer

Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé is one of Burgundy’s most historic and revered estates, based in Chambolle-Musigny and holding extensive parcels in the Musigny Grand Cru. The domaine is known for its profound, terroir-driven Pinot Noirs that combine aromatic complexity, mineral precision and exceptional ageing potential.

The Musigny Vieilles Vignes is the estate’s flagship wine, assembled from multiple sub-sections of the Grand Cru, including Les Petits Musigny and Les Grands Musigny. Each parcel is vinified separately before blending, allowing the final wine to express the full diversity and complexity of the Musigny terroir.

Vineyard and Terroir

Musigny is one of the great Grand Crus of the Côte de Nuits, located in Chambolle-Musigny and known for producing wines of exceptional finesse, perfume and depth. The vineyard is divided into several sub-sections, each with its own character and contribution to the final blend.

The soils are limestone-rich, with clay and marl, providing both structure and mineral tension. The 2021 Musigny Vieilles Vignes draws from parcels across Les Petits Musigny and Les Grands Musigny, at 260–300 metres elevation, with variable soil depths and a mix of oolitic and Comblanchien limestone bedrock.

The 2021 Vintage

The 2021 Burgundy growing season was cool and challenging, with frost, hail and mildew pressure reducing yields significantly. Despite these difficulties, careful fruit selection and meticulous vineyard work allowed Domaine de Vogüé to retain the freshness, aromatic definition and fine tannic structure that define the vintage.

The 2021 Musigny Vieilles Vignes was cropped at 24 hectolitres per hectare, yielding approximately 4,500 bottles. It represents a strong start for Jean Lupatelli, the estate’s new régisseur, and is described by William Kelley as “impressively sensual and effortless.”

Winemaking and Ageing

The Pinot Noir is hand-harvested in small boxes and fermented with ambient yeasts in wooden vats, with approximately 50% whole clusters. Extraction is gentle, favouring pump-overs over punch-downs, preserving the wine’s fruit purity and aromatic lift.

The wine is aged for approximately 18 months in French oak barrels, with 30–40% new oak. The final blend is assembled from multiple sub-sections, creating a wine of remarkable complexity and balance despite the challenging vintage.

Tasting Profile

The 2021 Musigny Vieilles Vignes opens with notes of sweet berries and cherries mingled with rose petals, musk, blood orange and spices. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, satiny and perfumed, with excellent concentration, lively acidity and sweet, supple tannins.

John Gilman describes a bouquet of red and black cherries, sweet stem tones, gamebird, iron, mustard seed, woodsmoke, limestone minerality and cedary oak. On the palate, the wine is deep, full-bodied and vibrant, with a great core of fruit, stunning soil inflection, ripe suave tannins and impeccable balance on the long, focused finish.

Aroma and flavour: cherry, raspberry, blackberry, rose petal, musk, blood orange, spice, iron, woodsmoke, gamebird, limestone and cedary oak.

Palate: medium- to full-bodied, satiny and vibrant, with supple tannins, lively acidity, layered fruit and a long, focused, mineral-driven finish.

Style: a profound, age-worthy Grand Cru Pinot Noir—sensual and aromatic in youth, with the structure, tension and depth to evolve for decades.

Drinking Window

William Kelley suggests that the 2021 Musigny Vieilles Vignes will drink well from 2030 and last for decades, while John Gilman calls it “a great vintage of Musigny in the making.” The wine’s freshness and structure give it the balance to develop gracefully over the long term.

For current drinking, extensive decanting is recommended. Allow the wine 4–6 hours in a decanter or large Burgundy glass to reveal its full aromatic complexity and mineral depth.

Food Pairing

Serve at 15–17°C with roast duck, pheasant, guinea fowl, venison, lamb or beef in a light red-wine sauce. The domaine itself suggests pairing it with duck breast with dried fruit, œufs en meurette, rare lamb chops with herbs, and aged Comté cheese.

Its acidity and fine tannins also suit mushroom-based dishes, truffle preparations and semi-aged cheeses such as Époisses, Comté or Cîteaux.

Collector Note

This is a rare allocation wine from one of Burgundy’s most historic and revered producers, made from old vines in one of the Côte de Nuits’ great Grand Crus. Domaine de Vogüé’s Musigny Vieilles Vignes is produced in limited quantities—approximately 4,500 bottles per vintage—and the 2021 vintage’s exceptional quality has earned it 95–97 points from Vinous and 97 points from View From the Cellar.

The combination of the domaine’s reputation, the legendary Musigny terroir and the freshness of the 2021 vintage makes this a compelling long-term proposition for collectors of age-worthy red Burgundy.

Recommended serving: decant for 4–6 hours before serving at 15–17°C; use a large Burgundy glass to allow its perfume, fruit and mineral depth to unfold.