Faiveley Musigny Grand Cru - 2019

Thanks to its aging in flakes, smaller than traditional barrels, this wine presents an atypical profile. Of remarkable density, with chocolate aromas, it also offers fresh, liquorice and vegetal nuances from the whole harvest. This aromatic richness and its persistence on the palate are remarkable, it is definitely a wine with an assertive character.

Burghound 95-98: A restrained yet elegant nose reluctantly offers up its notes of plum liqueur, black fruit and a wonderfully broad range of exotic Asian-style spices that in particular includes sandalwood and hoisin. The rich, generous and gorgeously textured and imposingly big flavors caress the palate thanks to the abundance of dry extract that helps to buffer the firm, austere and mouth coating yet chiseled finish that displays simply huge length. This knockout effort is at once powerful and seductive and a wine that should be genuinely great in time.

Wine Advocate 95-97: The 2019 Musigny Grand Cru is a magical wine in the making, soaring from the glass with scents of peonies, blood orange, wild berries, rose petals and subtle hints of musk and smoked duck. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and sumptuous, it's deep and pure, with ultra-refined structuring tannins, lively acids and a long, exquisitely perfumed finish. Given the tiny production, this isn't a cuvée that one encounters with any regularity, but readers with the requisite disposable income who encounter a bottle or two shouldn't hesitate.

Decanter 98: Faiveley farms two parcels in Les Musigny - one near the bottom of the slope at the northern extremity of the appellation and one at the top of the slope next to Roumier. Half of the fruit here was fermented as whole clusters. The massive wine is slightly reticent at first, but opens up with black fruit, liquorice and oak spice, along with a sauvage note. The overall impression is somewhat dense and imposing, yet very subtle and appealing.

Burghound 96-98: A strikingly floral-suffused nose features notes of kirsch, cassis, black raspberry and hints of wood. There is excellent volume to the velvet-textured and sappy flavors that exude ample minerality on the driving finish where hints of bitter chocolate and oak appear. This gorgeous effort is very firmly structured and should enjoy an exceptionally long life as it's very much built for it. Brilliant.

Wine Advocate 95-97: The 2020 Musigny Grand Cru is exquisite, mingling aromas of wild berries and blood orange with nuances of exotic spices, forest floor, rose petals and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, multidimensional and sensual, it's beautifully refined, with vibrant acids and a silky, seamless profile, concluding with a long, licorice-inflected finish.

Decanter 99: A stunningly beautiful wine from two small plots that total 0.13ha. The grapes are fermented as 50% whole clusters and since there is so little fruit, the wine is fermented directly in the same cask it will age in (fermentation integrale). There is more than enough substance to overcome the oak, however, and this has profuse aromas that range from pomegranate to black cherry and plum, accented with floral notes of rose petal and peonies, then exotic spices such as star anise and liquorice, along with a bit of smoke from the casks.

Burghound 93-96: Moderate wood surrounds the ripe, fresh and exotic aromas of plum, black cherry, sandalwood and jasmine tea. The sleek, concentrated and powerful larger-scaled flavors exhibit excellent drive on the refined and hugely long finish where the wood reappears. This is an imposing wine in the context of the 2021 vintage and even though it is on the oaky side today, there is sufficient density to progressively integrate it over time.

Wine Advocate 93-96: There are the equivalent of some 400 bottles of the brilliant 2021 Musigny Grand Cru, a full-bodied, layered and seamless wine evocative of rose petals, exotic spices, sweet red berries, candied peel and peonies. Concentrated, supple and sensual, with a rich core of cool, perfumed fruit, it's a special wine in the making.

Decanter 95: This wine features an amazingly silky texture yet impressive density. There is abundant ripe pomegranate, currant fruit, and notes of rose petals and spice. The complexity and length on the palate ensure that this is among the vintage's top wines. It is produced from two small plots that total 0.13 hectares. The grapes are partly destemmed and fermented directly in the same cask in which the wine will age. Faiveley Musigny is a reference for the appellation and among their greatest reds.

Burghound 94-97: A smoky combination somewhat grudgingly offers up a mix of poached plum, black cherry liqueur, kirsch, violet, rose petal and exotic tea. The delicious and almost painfully intense middleweight flavors are not especially dense though they are refined to the point of silkiness, all wrapped in a moderately austere bitter pit fruit-inflected finish that goes on and on. While not necessarily better or intrinsically more interesting than the Clos de Bèze, there is a certain undeniable class here.

Wine Advocate 95-97: As usual, the 2022 Musigny Grand Cru is a micro-cuvée from a tiny 0.03-hectare parcel. Wafting from the glass with aromas of black cherries, wild berries, incense, licorice and exotic spices, it's full-bodied, seamless and perfumed, with a deep and multidimensional core of fruit, supple tannins and a long, resonant, intensely saline finish.

James Suckling 98-99: Still very closed and slightly flinty on the nose (reduction of this level is entirely normal during barrel ageing). However, the ravishing beauty of the palate leaves no doubt that this is a very great Musigny. So incredibly silky you want to bathe in it. The finish is off the scale in terms of length, precision and delicacy.

Decanter 97: This exquisite wine has an intense expression of bright cherry fruit, rose petals, and earth on the initial attack, and the precise fruit character continues to open on the palate, marked at this point by the oak aging, since it is aging in four small barrels custom-made by Francois Freres. The texture is lush and rich, but there is no lack of freshness, and despite the intensity of the fruit, the wine is never over the top. This wine will begin to open properly in a decade and will easily last another three (or four) after that.