2013 Georges Mugneret Gibourg, Vosne-Romanee 6x75cl

Robert Parker – 89-91

From vines just behind the maison towards the Route Nationale, the 2013 Vosne Romanée has a precise bouquet, dark berries and a touch of black tea, fine delineation here and poise. The palate is medium-bodied and displays good weight in the mouth. It does not quite have the complexity of the 2012 on the finish, but still, this will be a delicious Vosne-Romanée. People often ask: “What is favorite Burgundy grower” to which I often reply: “Mugneret-Gibourg.” As I mentioned in my roundup of 2012s last year, their wines epitomize everything that the Côte d’Or should be. Whenever I depart a tasting from this address in the heart of Vosne, I feel an urge to just buy a case of everything I have just tasted. Like last year it was Marie-Christine he greeted me and escorted me down to their cellars and before we set about their small roster of 2013, she adumbrated the growing season… “It [2013] began later than other vintages and it was a little bit difficult because we were afraid of the weather. We were always anxious. It was raining and in September the weather was not very nice (fortunately in 2014 it was much better.) During the 2013 harvest, which was picked from 5 October over five days, we had some rain. In Ruchotte-Chambertin, on the first day [of the harvest] it was a Saturday and the pickers from Rousseau, Roumier and Mugneret-Gibourg were in the vineyard with their raincoats. Christophe and Eric’s daughters were saying: ‘When you have to go, you have to go.’ It was the first time we were all in the vineyard at the same time because the forecast was bad. Of course we used the sorting table, but there was not so much disease there, and it was nearly all O.K. Everything here was destemmed as normal. It was a classical vinification. Then we could relax a little. When we put the wine in barrel it was later than in 2014, the cellars colder and perhaps this retarded the malolactic fermentation. The malolactics finished in June and then we racked in July. The 2013s will be begin bottling in February until June.” [01/12/2014]

Anticipated maturity: 2016-2025

Vinous – 89

Good medium red. Savory red berries, spices and graphite on the nose; more complex than the 2014. Sweet but harmonious acidity is keeping this wine tight and taut in the early going. Finishes with serious but ripe tannins that will require a bit of patience. [Stephen Tanzer, 03/01/2016]

Anticipated maturity: 2019-2025