The producer
The 22-year-old Chablisienne, Joseph Drouhin, founded his own wine company in Beaune in 1880. His son Maurice succeeded him and started buying up premium vineyard land. Robert succeeded Maurice in 1957, acquiring even more vineyards including some in Chablis and was one of the first in Burgundy to stop using chemicals and pesticides in the vineyards. Today, Robert and his wife Francoise’s four children, Philippe, Veronique, Laurent and Frederic run the house of Drouhin.
With 80 hectares of vineyards, Joseph Drouhin is one of largest estates in Burgundy owning land from Chablis, in the north, through the Cotes de Nuits and Beaune, and finally Cote Challonaise, in the south. For the regional appellations, the Drouhins complements their fruit supplies by purchasing fruit from long time grower partnerships.
The pinnacle in the Drouhin wine list, is the Domaine Marquis de Laguiche piece of the Montrachet vineyard – which, with 30%, is the largest percentage of land in Le Montrachet. And furthermore, the Beaune Premier Cru vineyard, Clos des Mouches, which produces both a white and a red wine. They also produce an excellent white from Corton Charlemagne.
The wine
Drouhin owns 0.25 hectares of land in the Clos des Chenes premier cru vineyard, in the heart of Volnay. Named after the oak tree (“chene” in French), Clos des Chenes has clay and limestone soil, and the vines are on average 40 years old. Ageing takes place in French oak barrels, of which 20% are new, and lasts for 14-18 months. This is a wine of generous strawberry complexity, with violet and spice aromatics, refined tannins, and a soft fruity texture and length.