This wine demands another 6-7 years of cellaring. Oddly, about three years ago it was giving signs of maturing quickly, but it has now completely shut down. The Bordeaux-like, saturated dense ruby/purple color is followed by a tight-fisted nose and flavors of black fruits, underbrush, minerals, smoke, and new oak. Although extremely concentrated, the wine is broodingly backward, and not fun to drink ... yet. This loaded effort should prove to be one of the longest-lived red Burgundies made in the last twenty years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.

Mittleres Karmingranat, breiterer Wasserrand, Randaufhellung. In der Nase deutlicher Alterston, zart madeirisiert, alte Schokolade, etwas Politur, intensive Tabaknote, mit Luft immer mehr Nougat und Orangenschale. Am Gaumen süß und komplex, feine nussige Aromen, angenehmer Schokotouch, etwas Dörrobst, frische Textur, zitronige Nuancen, ein recht stoffiger Wein, mit guter Süße ausgestattet, der aber doch schon ein klein wenig unfrisch wirkt. Um diesen Wein zur Geltung zu bringen, muss man ihn einen Tag vorher dekantieren, weil er extrem verschlossen ist. Ob dieser Wein sein Terroir darstellt, bleibt weiterhin eine Frage, über die sich trefflich streiten lässt.

The 1990 Musigny Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru has always been a controversial wine. This is my fourth bottle and I continue to side with those that feel it was overhyped on initial release. It comes across as a ham-fisted wine. For a start, it has an archetypal "dead fruit" nose, drained of vigour and energy, sultry with cedar and burnt toast, as if aping a Bordeaux. The palate is dense and excessively tannic. It still has a vice-like grip, yet it is bereft of tension and precision, leaden towards the finish. I have never liked what ought to have been a great Musigny and touted as such in some quarters. Now at 28 years old, it is not going to get any better. Tasted at the La Paulée in Beaune.