Tardis springs to mind on entering Domaine Drouhin-Laroze. Passing through the gate from a narrow, yet main, one-way street in the tiny centre of downtown Gevrey-Chambertin, you enter a unimaginably vast property housing a winery, a restaurant, a woodland garden, an extensive family home…you also immediately feel a sense of home and family. We are absolutely delighted to be offering the wines of Domaine Drouhin-Laroze in our main en primeur offer for the first time this year after tasting there on a couple of occasions last year and offering some late release 2017s last summer direct from the Domaine. Caroline Drouhin greeted us again in November and talked us through their take on the 2018 vintage and the ongoing changes taking place. There is a strong sense of purpose and dynamism which is reflected in the wines. The harvest began here on 1st September and was completed on 8th September with the result being wines of scented fruit and vibrant freshness and mineral persistence. There is a real sensitivity to each wine’s needs – destemming or whole bunch, oak use, duration of fermentation or of ageing. The bad news for the short term, even if good for the long term, is that a massive 50% of each of their Latricières- and Chapelle-Chambertin holdings have been uprooted for replanting, so volumes from these two gems will be low, even in more abundant vintages, for some time yet. Furthermore, despite the talk of increased volume in 2018, production of their Grands Crus is down 20-25%.
2018 Gevrey-Chambertin, Dix Climats, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze
£180 per 6 bottle case in bond
As the name suggests, this comes from ten parcels across Gevrey, though the main contribution is from the Clos de Combe in the centre of Gevrey-Chambertin. This shows real purity and clarity of fruit. Such an elegant style. Bright blue and red fruit. Vibrant and beautifully balanced with a stony, mineral length. What marks this out is the transparency of fruit and the refined tannins giving a silky texture and appealing harmony. Drink 2021-2028
2018 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze
£570 per 6 bottle case in bond
From 100% destemmed fruit, this wine is aged in 80% new oak and is the biggest wine in the Drouhin-Laroze line up. Soft-skinned coolly ripe fruit on the nose and palate. Then a density builds across the mid-palate. A fruit-encased minerality shows itself, but mainly this wine is about fresh ripe fruit and velvet texture, cushioned and layered. Full-bodied, densely fruited and long, with a stony note on the finish. Drink 2023-2038
2018 Bonnes Mares Grand Cru, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze
£630 per 6 bottle case in bond
As has become the norm, there is 30% of whole bunch fruit here and the resultant wine is aged in 80% new oak. Perfumed red berry fruit, sleek and silky. Clean, subtle oak spice and vanilla notes on the nose too. The pure red fruits are carried through the palate with a real mineral power. Limestone persistence but such a juicy red berry fruit core. Great freshness. Mouth-watering. Saline. White stone end. Drink 2023-2038