Le Musigny is a Grand Cru vineyard site (or climat) of the Cote de Nuits sub-region in Burgundy.

October 1, 2010

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Le Musigny is a Grand Cru vineyard site (or climat) of the Cote de Nuits sub-region in Burgundy. Covering just over 25 acres (10 hectares) of prime terroir in Chambolle-Musigny, the site is located at the junction of commune’s boundaries with Flagey-Echezeaux and Vougeot. Classified Grand Cru in 1936, the appellation is one of only two Burgundy Grand Crus to produce both red and white wines, from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay respectively.

Le Musigny sits, as do all of Burgundy’s Grand Cru sites, on the limestone-rich mid-slope of the Cote d’Or escarpment. The particular slopes on which it sits are relatively steep, and thus very well drained, holding a gradient of between 8 and 14 percent across the whole site. They are the lower slopes of a hill known as La Taupe, ‘The Mole’.

The Le Musigny soils have a high proportion of chalk and limestone, and the excellent drainage of the site means that not only is there only a small clay component here, but that the vines are forced to dig deep, healthy root systems in search of water. The effect of terroir on the wine is entrenched in Burgundy’s belief systems, and the terroir here (the aforementioned soils combined with a marginal continental climate) helps to create rich, forward wines with marked aromatic element. This combination of power and elegance has led Le Musigny wine to be known by the description une main de fer dans un gant de velours – ‘an iron fist in a velvet glove’.

Far from isolated from other Grand Cru sites, the vineyard’s southern boundary is marked by the north-western edge of Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru and the north-eastern corner of Echezeaux Grand Cru. Given the widespread view that these two sites are the two most questionable Grand Cru sites of the region, one might expect this shadow to have spread north over the vines of Le Musigny. Fortunately this is far from the case; Le Musigny is held in such high regard as to be compared to such stellar vineyards as Romanee-Conti and Le Chambertin.

The only apparent checks placed on the fame and prestige of Le Musigny is that it is in one of the lesser-known villages of the Cote de Nuits; Chambolle-Musigny is a little less ‘obvious’ than Gevrey-Chambertin, whose sheer volume of Grand Cru surface area brings the names more salience. The overall impact of this is not too negative for Le Musigny, as it attracts the attention of those interested in seeking out the more obscure gems that Burgundy has to offer.

The oddity that is Le Musigny blanc adds a further element of intrigue for those interested in Burgundy and its wines. There is only one producer who makes this wine, which also happens to own more than one half the whole vineyard; the Domaine de la Comte Georges de Vogue. A further twist in the story of this wine is that most of the Chardonnay vines currently planted there are still young, having been replanted since 1990. As a result, the vines were too young to qualify for Grand Cru status, and several recent vintages of these white wines were sold under the dramatically less prestigious Bourgogne appellation.

Source: http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-le+musigny

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