1979 Remoissenet Pere & Fils Musigny

Remoissenet Pere et Fils was founded in Beaune in 1877 and was run as a negociant and producer for the last part of the 20th century by the venerable Roland Remoissenet. The 7.5-acre estate was sold after Remoissenet retired in 2005 to New York investors and a Canadian wine importer. Pierre-Antoine Rovani, once a writer for Wine Advocate, is employed by the New York investors, who installed Rovani as president of of the domaine. Maison Louis Jadot also has a minority financial interest in the estate. Bernard Repolt, the former president of Louis Jadot, is in charge of winemaking at Remoissenet. Vineyards have been added in recent years and the estate is now focused only on producing wines from grapes grown on estate vineyards, a departure from past years. Today the estate is known for Premier Cru red and white wines.

Musigny is considered one of the greatest vineyards in the Cote d’Or, in Burgundy. At 26.5 acres it includes two sections, Grand Musigny and Les Petits Musigny. The vineyard is 260 to 300 meters in elevation and the soil is unusual for the region, a mix of limestone and red clay. Comte de Vogue owns about three-quarters of the vineyard, with a holding of 17 acres. The next largest landowners are Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, with 3.2 acres; and Jacques Prieur with 1.7 acres. Also noteworthy is Leroy’s tiny .7 acre holding. Though most of the vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir, Comte de Vogue plants a small parcel of Chardonnay, which is sold as Bourgogne blanc due to the relatively youth of the Chardonnay vines. Wine writer Clive Coates has written that “at its best the red wine (of Musigny) can be quite simply the most delicious wine to be found in Burgundy.”

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.