The Mugnier property, based in Chambolle-Musigny, has been in the family since the 1880s, and the Premier Cru “Clos de la Maréchale” vineyard since 1902 (Mugnier also owns a sizeable piece of the Grand Cru “Le Musigny”). Most of the domaine’s vineyards were leased to others until fifth-generation proprietor Frédéric Mugnier took over in 1985. Clos de la Maréchale had been leased to the large négociant Faively since the 1950s, but Frédéric reclaimed it for the Mugniers in 2004 (increasing the size of the domaine from 4 to 14 hectares in the process). At a little over nine hectares in size, and planted to both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the beautifully positioned Clos de la Maréchale is the crown jewel of the estate and the largest ‘monopole’ (single-owner vineyard) in Burgundy.

Frédéric Mugnier had been an oil engineer in the Middle East, and later a commercial airline pilot, before returning to the family wine estate. His is a thoughtful, low-intervention approach in both the vineyards and cellar; farming is carried out sustainably—almost fully organic at this point—and his use of new oak for aging maxes out at around 25% for the higher-end bottlings. The ‘house style’ is very understated and refined: Mugnier’s wines are 100% de-stemmed before fermentation, lending them great purity of fruit and supple textures, and the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.