INTRODUCTION
STRENGTHENED BY EXPERIENCE, THE SKILLS ARE MASTERED
Vincent Mongeard runs the family estate in Vosne- Romanée since 1995. He farms 30ha of vineyards with holdings spanning across the Côte d’Or. The historical plots are in Vosne-Romanée and nearby, where he makes some Vosne villages and 1er cru, a Clos de Vougeot, some Échézeaux, Grand-Échézeaux and a Richebourg.
The 2021 vintage wines will be released later in 2023
HISTORY
The domaine Mongeard-Mugneret has been based in Vosne-Romanée since the 17th century. It covers an impressive 30 hectares of vine and 35 appellations, mostly in the Côte de Nuits, producing reds and whites of classic complexity and long-ageing potential.
Vincent is the eighth generation leading the domaine. He joined his father Jean in 1976, and fully in charge from 1995. The nineth generation is already in place with his daughter Justine in charge of the cellar. The family has an impressive line-up of holdings throughout the Côte d’Or, the pinnacle of which are the reds from Vosne-Romanée.
1945 was the first vintage bottled under the Mongeard-Mugneret name and exported to the US market. Today the domain’s wines are distributed globally and its name is firmly on the rise.
VITICULTURE
The style of Mongeard-Mugneret wines is terroir-driven. They express the identity of the appellations and don’t follow new trends. Just as Jean had displayed a forward-thinking approach in domain-bottling his wines, he was also one of the first growers to green harvest (cut off excess bunches of grapes). Vincent continues some of these practices but prefers hard pruning in winter. Of course, each vintage being different, Vincent adjusts his decisions to what the year brings.
Since the mid-1990s, vines are tended in accordance with lutte raisonnée principles.
This involves using organic material wherever possible and chemical treatment only as a last resort, in difficult years. For ten years now all the grands crus and some of the premiers crus are biodynamically farmed. Gradually, this is being extended to the whole domaine. All of the work is done by hand, with the exception of a tractor for ploughing.
WINEMAKING
NATURE BECOMES PERFUME
Vincent allows the must a short period of cold maceration prior to fermentation. He only uses natural yeast for the fermentation. In line with Vosne tradition, he uses a robust proportion of new oak: 60% to 100% for the grands crus, 30% to 40% for the premiers crus and 25% to 30% for the village wines. He does not filter or fine prior to bottling.
The grapes are fully destemmed for the regional wines while from the village plots and up, Vincent keeps an increasing portion of whole bunches, when the ripeness level allows. The wines are made for long ageing. Old-fashioned Burgundies, in the best sense of the expression.
Since the early 2000s, Vincent has personally selected the oak for his barrels and seasoned it for two years at the domaine, before having barrels made to the specification of each vintage. He uses fine-grained oak, with a light toast (by contrast, his father favoured a heavier toast). The wines are aged in 228 litre barrels, in 600 litre demi-muids and in 1200 litre muids.
THE WINES
The domaine today known as Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret has been based in Vosne-Romanée since the 17th century. It covers an impressive 30 hectares and 35 appellations, mostly in the Côte de Nuits. The domaine produces reds and whites, the former in particular making some classically complex and long-lived wines.