The first paragraph of the importer’s reference to this domaine read like this, ” One of the best-kept secrets in the historic Burgundy village of Vosne-Romanée is the husband and wife team of Fabrice and Christine Vigot. Their humble demeanor and low profile belie their outsized talent and influence on some of Vosne’s most famous Pinot Noir wines – and it is past time that their wines received the attention they’ve for so long deserved.”
His appraisel is spot in. We couldn’t find anything is the old familiar places except a couple reviews that were a decade old. It’s almost like these folks were in witness protection even though they the family has been a backbone in a rather famous domaine. Most Burgundy collectors should know the name Mugneret-Gibourg. In the 1960s, Dr. Georges Mugneret hired Fabrice Vigot’s father to tend a number of his prized vineyards in a crop-sharing agreement, including grand cru Echezeaux and plots in Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée. The contract was passed down to Fabrice, who with his wife, Christine, continued his father’s exacting work.
Burgundy wine begins in the vineyard. Everyone will tell you that . That Mugneret-Gibourg Burgundy wines are legend is news to no one who is into Burgundy. But that the foundation upon which that legend stands was actually supported by a modest grower couple down the road. That gives us a good foundation for introducing this label that is in the U.S. of A. forthe first time.
Fabrice and Christine started their own domaine in 1990, combining some of Fabrice’s family’s land in Vosne and Nuits-Saint-Georges with vineyards that Christine inherited from her family in Gevrey-Chambertin, along with the addition of the metayage land from the Mugnerets.
From the importer, “What’s important to note is that this hard-working, generations-deep Burgundian family – particularly among the rarified air of Vosne-Romanée – are hands-in-the-soil growers, first and foremost. Caring for their few acres according to organic principles (with a more recent focus on biodynamics), Fabrice and Christine craft Burgundy wines that are earthy and soulful and utterly transparent to their underlying terroir. Crucially, each of their older-vine plots – all villages-level vineyards – perform far above their station…”
They no longer work for the Mugnerets because the whims of Nature (a frost in 2016) made it difficult for them to continue. Today the family farms only their own vineyards, some six acres across Vosne, Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin. The Fabrice Vigot Gevrey Chambertin Le Etelois 2019 is from a beautifully situated lieu dit, ‘low profile’ parcel that touches both Grand Cru Chappelle Chambertin and Premier Cru Petite Chappelle. The oldest vines date back to the 1960s.
The Vigot Gevrey Le Etelois 2019 shows the classic ‘old school’ Burgundy nose of persistent cherry with overtones of forest floor, spice, and wild herbs. One the palate there is a broad, layered center of red and black cherry with elements of spice, clove, earth, and smokey oak adding to the tapestry of flavors. You’ve got it all…substance, focus, terroir, sweet fruit, elegance, and balance. There’s a pleasing hint of rusticity and little more restraint than a lot of the overtly giving, ‘hey sailor’ 2019 red Burgundies.
You might call this a beautiful anachronism, something of a throwback, terroir driven style in the sense of overall personality but with modern cleanliness, and purity of fruit. This won’t jump out of a tasting of 2019s because it is a more restrained style. But it is deceptively loaded and built to please real Burgundy aficionados. We’re confident it could hang with most Premier Crus at twice the price.