Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier

The Château of Chambolle-Musigny has been owned by the Mugnier family for over a century and a half. Frédéric Mugnier purchased it in 1863 along with four hectares of vineyards. This first Frédéric, born in 1830, reinvested profits from a successful liquor business established in Dijon back into wine.

In 1880, phylloxera devastated Burgundy, drastically reducing the value of the vineyards, but Frédéric began acquiring additional plots within the Chambolle estate. In 1902, he completed the purchase of Burgundy’s largest monopole, the Clos de la Maréchale, nearly ten hectares in the commune of Nuits-Saint- Georges.

By 1950, after the economic crisis of the 1930s and World War II, Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier, great-grandson of the first Frédéric, decided to sell the liquor business and lease the vineyards to a merchant from Nuits-Saint-Georges. The lease for the Chambolle vineyards ended in 1978, and six years later Frédéric Mugnier, son of Jacques-Frédéric, took full responsibility for the family domaine.

A key moment for the estate was the return of the Clos de la Maréchale to the domaine in 2004, which radically changed its size and allowed for better organization.

The approach to viticulture and winemaking focuses on preserving the purest expression of nature with minimal technological intervention. Recently, Frédéric stated: “I don’t have a very romantic idea of winemaking; I don’t consider it a creative process. I am simply responsible for providing the right environment for the grapes to turn into wine. With healthy, ripe grapes from vineyards like these, winemaking should be simply respectful; reducing the role of the cellar should not cause any concern.”