Once again, the meticulous care that the Drouhin family show in both vineyard and cellar shines through in wines of clean, bright fruit and great terroir expression. It is impossible not to admire their careful approach to extraction of both flavour and tannin, as well as their philosophy towards ageing in barrel, where they even oversee the selection of the oak before instructing the cooperage to fashion their barrels.
During an extensive tasting via Zoom with Véronique Drouhin in Beaune and me in the Atlas office in London, I tasted whites that showed beautiful aromatic expression and concentration of fruit allied to a freshness and harmony on the palate. The reds also showed excellent concentration of fresh, ripe fruit, ripe, fine-grained tannins but all retaining the trademark purity, elegance, and balance of the Drouhin style.
2019 Beaune Blanc 1er Cru, Clos des Mouches, Joseph Drouhin
£510 per 6 bottle case in bond
The nose here shows fresh, ripe pear and white peach fruit with a creamy touch. The palate is beautifully defined with a long, fine mineral backbone. Fruit, acidity and minerality are all so well integrated here, giving the wine a seamless, silky quality on a fresh long finish. Drink 2022-2030 (ROM)
2019 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru, Les Folatières, Joseph Drouhin
£375 per 6 bottle case in bond
Coming soon
2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin
£720 per 6 bottle case in bond
This fine Corton-Charlemagne combines floral elegance on the nose with a fuller texture on the palate held in check by a taut mineral presence. Very well structured. Long and profoundly mineral with vibrant fresh fruit returning at the end. Drink 2024-2035 (ROM)
2019 Beaune Premier Cru, Cras, Joseph Drouhin
£290 per 6 bottle case in bond
Neal Martin, vinous.com, (91-93) points, December 2020
The 2019 Beaune Cras 1er Cru has a very distinctive bouquet ,with granite, almost flinty aromas infusing the red berry fruit. A strong marine influence emerges with time. The palate is beautifully balanced, displaying fine delineation, good firm structure and a solid, quite edgy finish that feels crunchy in texture. Abundant freshness here. This Beaune should give 12–15 years’ drinking pleasure. Excellent. Drink 2023-2038
2019 Beaune 1er Cru, Clos des Mouches, Joseph Drouhin
£420 per 6 bottle case in bond
Creamy red berry fruit on the nose lead into a silkily expressed, fresh summer fruit laden palate. This is supple and palate-caressing yet retains a focused, grippy, mineral persistence suggesting great potential for bottle ageing. Drink 2024-2035 (ROM)
2019 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin
£420 per 6 bottle case in bond
This is the epitome of elegance. Floral cherry aromatics soar from the glass. The palate is delicately textured with the subtle red fruit carrying through from the nose and supported by a fine, chalky minerality that brings tension and length. "I am always inspired by wines like this." says Véronique Drouhin. Drink 2023-2035 (ROM)
2019 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, Les Petits Monts, Joseph Drouhin
£1,200 per 6 bottle case in bond
Intense, aromatic blue and black fruit nose with a subtle spicy touch. There is a real sense of soil and terroir. The palate shows pure fruit and a sense of energy held together in a taut, beautifully delineated structure that is remarkable for its mineral length and fruit purity. Drink 2025-2040 (ROM)
2019 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Joseph Drouhin
£1,050 per 6 bottle case in bond
There is a soft ripe, mashed berry fruit quality on the nose and the palate here. Then a stony quality that brings elegance and length. There is a sense of refinement and a mineral presence which sets this apart as a Vougeot more of finesse than of just power. This is from parcels nearer the bottom of the Clos which did very well in the vintage due to their deeper, moisture-retaining soils. Drink 2025-2040 (ROM)