Country:France  Region: Burgundy  Varietal: Pinot Noir and Gamay Vintage: 2012  Category: Red Wine  Colour: Red Producer: Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret "Vincent Mongeard and his wife Anne, are the 8th generation custodians of Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret, established when Vincent's grandparents pooled their vineyard resources in the 1920s. The domaine is located in Vosne-Romanée in the heart of the Côtes de Nuits.The Domaine has vineyards in 28 appellations totalling over 30 hectares, ranging from Villages to Grand Cru. Vincent has a passion for Pinot Noir and predominantly makes red wines. 'Reasoned viticulture' (sustainable) is practiced with a focus on soil health.Manure and composts are used to improve soil health. A lot of thought goes into selecting the perfect fine grain oak for maturation. Vincent personally picks his own oak from Nièvre and the Tronçais forest in Allier. The oak is cured at the domaine for 18-24 months and a local cooper assembles the barrels for them.The 'La Croix' Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits is hand harvested from a vineyard of 0.69 hectares. The average age of the vines is 45 years and the wines are aged in 30% to 40% new barrels. It is an excellent introduction to Mongeard-Mugneret. If you want to get serious, try the Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, it comes from a tiny parcel of 0.62 hectares. The vines range from 40-50 years old and the wine is matured in 100% new oak barrels." Winemaker: Vincent Mongeard Vineyards: When it comes to his vineyards, Vincent takes an intelligent and pragmatic view: "I adopt many of the practices of organics and biodynamics," he says. "But all of our vineyards are different, and all require a different approach, so the use of one philosophy would not give us the quality we're looking for." Because of this and because of the distance between his vineyards, the harvest lasts for over a month. He destems all the grapes and discards about 8-10% of the crop on the sorting table. The 25-52 year old vines are Guyot pruned. In the spring severe debudding takes place to regulate the crop. A green harvest is carried out in the summer to increase concentration and the grapes are always picked by hand. The 'Orveaux' vineyard lies between the Grand Cru Echezeaux vineyard and a forest, giving shade and therefore freshness to the finished wine. Vinification: The grapes were de-stemmed and underwent a cold maceration for four to five days to obtain colour, aroma and tannin. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at 30ºC for 12-15 days. A gentle pressing of the grapes was then made to extract a good level of tannins. The free run juice and the press juice were then unified in stainless steel tanks before being run off by gravity into French oak barrels, 30 to 40% of which was new. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and was then further aged for a period of 18-22 months. Finally the wine was bottled without filtering. Tasting Notes: Deep ruby in colour with aromas of red fruits, blackcurrants and raspberries. Robust and richly perfumed with both a silky and rustic character. It is fresh yet mellow and supremely well-balanced. Food Suggestion: Excellent with a simple fillet steak, or try with venison steak haché. Closure: Natural Cork  ABV: 13%