Mongeard Mugneret
Summary
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret is a family-owned Burgundy estate spanning 30 hectares across the Côte de Nuits, with holdings in prestigious Grand and Premier Cru vineyards where they produce primarily Pinot Noir wines from limestone-clay soils and vines averaging 40-50 years old. Their winemaking balances traditional methods with practical adaptations, employing partial whole-cluster fermentation and scaled oak aging protocols that respect the hierarchy of Burgundian appellations while maintaining a focus on vineyard expression over cellar intervention.
Heritage & Leadership
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret traces its origins to 1620 in the village of Vosne-Romanée, making it one of Burgundy's long-established wine producers. The estate has remained in family hands throughout its history, with the Mongeard family maintaining continuous ownership for over four centuries. Today, Vincent Mongeard directs the domaine, having assumed leadership from his father Jean in the 1990s. Vincent represents the current generation of a family deeply rooted in Vosne-Romanée's viticultural tradition. The domaine expanded significantly during the 1970s and 1980s when Jean Mongeard, alongside his wife Madeleine Mugneret, acquired additional vineyard parcels across several appellations, establishing the foundation of the estate's current holdings.
Vineyards & Wines
Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret manages approximately 30 hectares of vineyards spread across multiple appellations in the Côte de Nuits. Their holdings include parcels in several Grand Cru vineyards: Grands-Echézeaux, Echézeaux, Clos de Vougeot, and Richebourg. The domaine also cultivates Premier Cru sites in Vosne-Romanée including "Les Petits-Monts" and "Les Orveaux," as well as parcels in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, and Savigny-lès-Beaune. The vineyards primarily grow Pinot Noir, with small plantings of Chardonnay for their white wines. The vines in their top parcels average 40-50 years in age, with some older specimens exceeding 70 years. The domaine's vineyards feature the classic limestone-clay soils of the Côte de Nuits, with variations in the proportion of limestone, marl, and clay across different sites.
Philosophy & Practice
The winemaking approach at Mongeard-Mugneret balances traditional Burgundian methods with practical adaptations to each vintage. After hand-harvesting, the grapes undergo careful sorting before fermentation. Vincent Mongeard typically employs partial destemming, retaining 15-30% whole clusters depending on the vineyard site and vintage conditions. Fermentations occur in temperature-controlled vats with regular punch-downs and pump-overs to extract color and structure. The domaine ages its wines in French oak barrels, with new oak percentages varying by appellation level: approximately 50-60% for Grand Crus, 40-50% for Premier Crus, and 25-35% for village wines. This aging typically lasts 18-20 months for top wines and 14-16 months for village-level bottlings. The domaine practices minimal intervention in the cellar, with light filtration only when necessary before bottling. In the vineyards, Mongeard-Mugneret focuses on maintaining low yields through pruning and green harvesting to ensure concentration in the finished wines.