The latest to be released is the 2016 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru. I vividly recall tasting this with Mugnier in the barrel cellar after the dramatic frost-afflicted season. To refresh your minds, allow me to reproduce the relevant paragraph from that year’s in-barrel report. Mugnier explained: “There were three barrels of young vines, pruned as Cordon de Royat, which suffered limited damage from frost, and three barrels of older vines, pruned as Guyot, that were very badly hit. The former, regardless of the age of the vines, was tasting much denser and had a greater length than the latter. The final blend of Musigny includes all three barrels of the young vines plus one of the old ones, in order to bring a touch of freshness. The two remaining barrels were blended with the Chambolle Premier Cru Les Plantes and the few grapes from Combe d’Orveau to form the Chambolle-Musigny Trente-Deux, so called after the number of vintages that I have made.” I have re-tasted the 2016 once in bottle, blind at the Burgfest tasting, where it flirted with perfection. Nothing has changed since then. Mugnier poured the wine in November 2023 after tasting his 2022s (bottles have not been labeled, hence the photograph of the cork). The nose is stunning. There’s incredible purity and intensity, fabulous delineation and a sense of exuberance as it doles out red berry fruit, fresh black truffle shavings and sous-bois. The palate is medium-bodied, with svelte tannins, poised and precise, gently building toward a seamless finish. It represents a heavenly evocation of one of the world's greatest vineyards.

A beautiful floral nose and a wonderful medium-bodied palate belie the difficult birth of this wine, the product of a brutal April frost. Production here was just four barrels, down from an average of 16. But what a wine. Sweet fruit, earthy and spicy notes, this reminds me in some ways of the ‘14 and is if anything ever more complete. If I used exclamation points, I would use them here. Drink now and for the next fifteen years.

Bright, dark red. Musky red berries, cherry, spices and earth on the nose. Savory on entry, then intense, rich and thick in the middle palate; the silkiest of these young 2016s if still showing a touch of reduction. Finishes with sweet soil tones and excellent subtle persistence. Still, I don't find the high notes of the 2015 version.