Stunning Vosne-Romanée from Domaine Gerard Mugneret!
12/2/24 -
Pascal Mugneret took over his father’s domaine in 2005 and started off his role by eliminating the use of herbicides. By 2010 the use of synthetic sprays was discontinued and biodynamic methods were introduced. Even with these viticultural changes, Pascal believes that the wines still carry his father’s style: inviting, generous, and "gourmand." As Pascal describes, “we observed more suppleness in our soils, increased biodiversity, increased resistance to disease, and our vineyards evolved: the vines were more upright; the symptoms of fanleaf lessened; dark green gave way to a brighter green, indicating better balance and a more symbiotic relationship between the vine and soil. The bunches took on another form, with longer stems and more aerated berries. Their health remained stable even in complicated vintages.”
The Mugneret family has 2.5 hectares of vines in Vosne-Romanée villages that spread throughout 9 climats. Up until 2016 these were all vinified and aged separately before being blended together to make 1 cuvee. After 10 years of observation, Pascal decided to divide them into three different bottlings: Quatrain, Aux Vigneuax, and Cuvee Pre-Colombiere, two of which we are proudly offering today! “I separated out the Vosne-Romanée Quatrain, composed of two climats from the north of the appellation (Ormes and Chalandins) and three climats from the south (Réas, Jaquines, Croix Blanches). Their complementarity astounded me. On their own, the northern parcels, on deep, water-retentive, clay soils, were fleshy but lacked depth. The more vertical yet leaner south added lift. The result is a bright, fresh, and elegant wine. We also isolated the two parcels of Vosne-Romanée Aux Vigneux. They produce a harmonious, dense, suave wine, with notes of spiced bread and ripe fruit.”
Everything that Pascal does, he does with intention and purpose which translates into wines with purity, and a true sense of place. I feel as though he waxes poetically on his philosophy of wine-making, romanticizing the idea of it all while clearly he puts in incredible amounts of work. What I have found over the years here is consistency. Obviously no two vintages will be the same, but year after year the wines always prove to be beautiful, and expressive. As he continues to produce wines, Pascal says, “I hope to work more closely with Nature in order to make wines that are alive, that have soul. I hope to make wines that tell a story, and for them to be able to do so freely there has to be a balance between control and letting go.”
-Hanna Krilov
