Joseph Drouhin is a maison that hardly leaves indifferent wine lovers of Burgundy because of its wines, both white and red, which warm the heart. The name of this winery is that of its homonymous founder Joseph who, at only 22 years, in 1880, established its headquarters in Beaune, beginning to produce wines with the same determination with which he bought the most beautiful vineyards of the various appellations. After Joseph’s death took over his son Maurice, who, in addition to continuing the expansion policy undertaken by his father, created a real winery giving it an official status. Maurice’s successor was Robert Drouhin who, from 1957, gave the estate its current dimension, with the acquisitions, ahead of his times, of land in the Chablisienne and the adoption, always ahead of time, of a sustainable productive philosophy.
Today the head of the house are Philippe, Véronique, Laurent and Frédéric, the sons of Robert, who manage the 80 hectares of land owned divided between 90 different denominations for over two-thirds Grands Crus and Premiers Crus. Both in the own vineyards and in those of the few (selected) vignerons that give the grapes to the house, biodynamic viticulture is practiced and only natural products are used. For the refinement the house has some rooms as iconic as the cellars of the Collegiate of the Canons of Beaune and that of the Kings of France, both of the 13th century, and the cellar of the Dukes of Burgundy, of the 15th.
To the extreme south of the appellation Beaune is situated a Clos, a vine enclosed by dry stone walls, known as the Clos de Mouches, because of the fact that originally that enclosure housed beehives and that the bees were called “mouches à miel” (“honey flies”). The vineyard, which was bought by Maurice Drouhin, bringing together all 41 microplots divided between eight owners, immediately showed the great vocation for quality production, giving birth to two wines, one white and one red, both called by his name “Clos de Mouches”.
The red version, the Pinot Noir, comes from vines planted with high density (10,000/12,500 vines per hectare), grown without mechanical means, exclusively with organic manure, infusions and decoctions of plants, sulphur and copper, and rock dust, with a very low yield (20/25 quintals per hectare). After a first selection in the vineyard and manual harvesting, the grapes macerate and then ferment spontaneously thanks to the action of indigenous yeasts, always at controlled temperature. The aging in 20% new small barrels, mainly from Tronçay oak left to drain for at least 3 years, lasts from 14 to 18 months and is followed by bottling and marketing.
The 2010 vintage has an intense ruby color, and an olfactory range that opens with notes of Ravenna cherry, black cherry, tomato and vinyl concentrate, followed by carob beans, pot pourri, roasted coffee and graphite, with conclusive empyreumatic and blood/ferrous echoes. The palate is decidedly fresh, even if the wine is not lacking in roundness, with a really thick and elegant tannic texture, and a good sapid/mineral component; all enriched by the return of red fruit and the hematic sensation that persist for a long time even after a long and juicy closure.
Rating: 92/100
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