Comte de Vogue occupies a very special place in the top echelon of the Burgundy heirarchy. Unfortunately, over the many years of collecting and drinking fine wines from the Cote D’or, I’ve only tried this producer’s offerings on, perhaps, half a dozen occasions.

Fellow blogger, Dave Brookes (who also earns his bucks as Sydney Auction Manager for Australia’s leading wine auctioneers, Langtons) kindly brought a bottle of 1983 de Vogue Chambolle-Musigny to my place earlier this year which, after a very shaky start, unfolded and blossomed in the glass into a glorious Burgundy worthy of an outstanding rating. A great effort, particularly for a village wine and a difficult vintage where hail and then rot caused considerable problems across the Cote.

Excellent juice. Typically for Chambolle, not a great depth of colour and just a bit too oaky (for me) on the nose just at the moment but underneath the sappy/musky Pinot fruit was trying its best to make some sort of counterbalancing statement. The palate tells a different story with ripe glossy red cherries, green plums and even a touch of blackberry to the fore, the acidity/oak/tannin balance is nigh spot on and the finish is exemplary - everything sitting on a medium-bodied, relatively elegant platform. Probably will merit a higher score later (give it 3-4 years), but on last night’s performance somewhere around 90/91. Drink 2010-2015.
  

Mature hue with flashes of light ruby in the core but mostly rust. Elegant, earthy, feminine nose of spices (cinammon and nutmeg), game, red cherries, green plums and a little rose hip backed by some varietal sap/tomato stalk and a nice complimentary touch of oak. Of light- to medium-body, the palate reveals an exemplary silky texture combined with a seductive delicateness only Pinot Noir can deliver. Although lighter in style, there is no lack of intensity in flavour with sappy notes of cherry and plum combining effortlessly with subtle savoury oak, lacy fine tannins, gorgeous ripe acidity and a resolute soft finish. Drinking beautifully now, this wine is fully mature and should be drunk over the next several years. Excellent for what it is. 89 points.

One of my favourite Burgundian producer’s, this bottle harks back to the form I grew to expect with this specific label and vintage with the first few bottles opened. The last bottle tried (with a good friend) was so badly bacterially spoiled, I likened it to treated sewerage water. Now that I’ve got off my chest, onto the joys of this particular bottle …..

An attractive solid medium ruby with a smidge of amber and rust in the meniscus. Gorgeously perfumed feminine bouquet of spring flowers, black plums and cherries, subtle sweet earth/sappy notes, perfectly-judged background savoury oak and a beguiling top note of mixed spices (perhaps a little clove and cinammon). Close to perfect to my liking. In the mouth this wine excels with a sleek, svelte entry of beautifully ripened Pinot fruit (aka the nose), terrific mouthfeel and texture, positively counterbalanced by bright acidity and ripe, grippy, fine-grained tannins providing quite an awesome structure. Of medium weight, wonderful purity, great poise, harmony as well as exceptional length, this rates as the best Red Burgundy I’ve tried this year, pipping Rousseau’s 1990 Clos St. Jacques by a couple of points. A wine of elegance, subtlety but brimming with mind-blowing complexity and controlled intensity. Exceptional. 95 points. Drink now-2016+

13% A/V. 60% new oak

Footnote: Just a short explanation for the lack of any particular vineyard mentioned in the header. When a producer blends the grapes from two or more 1er Cru vineyards the vineyard’s names can’t be published on the label. In this case, Alain Meunier blended juice from “Feusselottes” and “Chatelots” - sometimes necessary when the Domaine’s vineyard holdings are just too small to make commercially viable quantities of either.