Tasted in Beaune with Véronique Drouhin, 04 December 2023.
Maison Joseph Drouhin
7 Rue d’Enfer
21200 Beaune
Tel: +33 3 80 24 68 88
www.drouhin.com
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There were a few changes – additions – chez Drouhin in 2023. Véronique explains, “We have the new properties of Château Chasselas and the domaine Rapet in St.Romain who had always been a long source of grapes. Both places ticked all the boxes. We were close to Chateau Vinzelles for a long time but these two opportunities came along and we can’t do everything.”
Véronique on 2022:
“Generous but with quality. It was quite easy for the winemakers but less easy for the vigneron(ne)s – it was hot, or very rainy – but we’d have accepted any of that years ago… It was actually the 2nd warmest vintage since 1947, the first still being 2003. The harvest date was a little different to the logic as the heat had blocked the vines but the rain got things going again – but without that it could have been a very different vintage. The amount of rain made the difference in terms of harvesting dates. We liked the ripe harvest so used quite a bit of whole clusters – the later you rack and the more lees from the fermentation that you keep it seems to bring freshness in the warmer vintages.”
The wines…
A delicious range of 2022s – including some properly great wines too – ones that will be worth a special search.
All still with natural cork – ‘we are dinosaurs here,’ laughs Véronique – ‘but all the half bottles of whites are bottled with DIAM and certain importers request in screw-cap – and so that’s honoured for them. We may stop the half-bottles for environmental reasons – carbon footprint – but we probably won’t be producing only bag-in-the-box or magnums in the short term!’
2022 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Les Godeaux
Above Lavières
An airy and quite fine nose. Supple, modestly cushioned, very nice texture, the flavour spreading out over the palate – faintly spiced finishing flavour – delicious finishing with a little licorice.
2022 Beaune 1er Aux Cras
More direct, more focus to these red fruits. Vibrantly wide, juicily flavoured – very broad finishing – that’s a simply excellent Beaune – just so delicious.
2022 Beaune 1er Clos des Mouches
Wider, fresher, more peppery red fruit. Fuller, rounder but with a very different – more direct – style of structure. Hmm, the finish so broad and mouth-watering – there’s lots of finishing concentration here.
2022 Vosne-Romanée
Some Chaumes 1er included in this.
That’s lovely – a small, hyper attractive, floral component. Full, lots of concentration and it’s very silky too. That’s another simply delicious wine with some sneaky finishing complexity – it holds very long…
Fuller and broader – this is very concentrated though showing some of its barrel elevage today. Direct, actually quite broad too – a seamless quality to this large-scaled wine. Super balance – that may be a great one! My experience suggests drink a few young and then have at least 15 years of patience!
2022 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
The classic ‘6 premier crus’ for this wine
Such a floral nose – not the scale of the Vosne but it’s a more open beauty. More direct, super-silky – a wine with a fine architecture and power yet so sleek – porcelain. Slow moving waves of finishing flavour complete the experience – really absorbing wine.
Quite airy openness but what depth – wow! More finely divided complexity here – like the nose, and despite the concentration, an airy presentation – all is on display. Holding a mouth-filling finish as long as you like – that’s incredibly impressive – clearly great wine.
The domaine has parcels in this and Grands – and usually shows the latter – so for a change. This from En Orveaux – ‘a place that holds onto the humidity in hotter years, like 2022…’
That’s a very beautiful, quite cushioned nose – less complex than Musigny but today, more alluring. You taste the wc, but what a gorgeous floral accent to the fruit and fabulous texture. It simply melts over the palate – great wine!
2022 Clos de Bèze
Part domaine, part contract, vinified separately and then assembled.
Darker, with more direct and spiced fruit. You sense again a little whole-cluster, like the Echézeaux there is a fine and silky texture too. The fruit spiced like the nose This for long keeping I think but it’s structurally a beautiful thing – again with a licorice style to the finish!
Les whites:
Like the reds – apart from the St.Romain – none are bottled yet.:
2022 Chablis Les Clos
Fresh, vibrant and yes, mineral! Pretty, part golden, citrus but not exotic. Width, complexity, growing weight – a beauty!
2022 St.Romain
Production has not changed – it’s just that a large part of this was a contract in 22 in 23 it’s domaine and will now go through organic conversion. Parts are still on contract. 12.6° natural – it was more like 13.5° for the GCs.
A fine, almost textured width of aroma. Cool, growing with energy. Citrus, some pineapple, more juicy than mouth-watering – chilled in the summer – vin dangereaux.
2022 Puligny-Montrachet
Hmm – that’s got a fine an airy floral character. Wide, melting over the palate, a hint of barrel at this early stage – but it will fade over the coming months. Some generosity but a wonderfully delicious wine with fine finishing energy. Yum!
2022 Meursault 1er Genevrières
A small contract at this address.
Extra aromatic depth, frames with a little creamy barrel today. A mm of cushion but also with obvious structure – architecture. Just a very beautiful, fading finish of multiple complexities and haunting length – yes!
Extra weight, extra scale – extra freshness to balance too. Width, intensity and a ‘togetherness’ that is just next level. Chiselled yet with a small cushion. Complete wine – bravo!
1921 purchased, 1928 the first white vintage.
Fine freshness and more direct in style. A saline attack and with a more sweeping, less generous (though still some) shape. Super finishing intensity – that’s great Beaune – I think I’d rather have the Laguiche – but if you want great Beaune – look no further!
2022 Corton-Charlemagne
Domaine from Languettes – nearly 50-year-old vines
Some width but also with a direct style and becoming quite airy in the glass. Here we have more of a mineral cascade of mouth-watering energy. Faintly oaked today – but this will be a wonderful thing in 5+ years.
2022 Montrachet Laguiche
A slightly smoky, stone fruit, faintly floral. Mouth-filling – a presence, slightly grained with tannin – here is a wine to wait for – delicious as it is. Today, the real ‘extra’ is the finish – it holds the centre of your palate and just sits there – imperious. A Montrachet finish. Be patient – ie 15+ years if your cork supports that!