Maison Joseph Drouhin
The eponymous Joseph Drouhin founded the négociant company, which bears his name in 1880, having spent much of his early life in Yonne. His son Maurice took over in 1918, buying the first vineyards, including the famous Clos des Mouches, which we are delighted to offer below. An arduous process of expansion thanks to the nature of Burgundy’s patchwork of owners, Maurice was finally able to carve out quite the empire for his family, which endures to this day.
A titanic character in Beaune, Maurice both sat on the INAO committee and acted as deputy administrator of the Hospices de Beaune throughout the turbulent World War II. At the height of his powers, Drouhin even had exclusive distribution rights to Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. However, he was unable to purchase a portion of the company, which subsequently went to Leroy.
His successor was his nephew Robert Jeausset-Drouhin, who took charge in 1957. Still maintaining a watchful eye over proceedings, Robert has ceded main control to his children (and fourth generation) Frédéric, Laurent, Philippe and Véronique. Philippe Drouhin manages the vineyards biodynamically, and as of 2009, their entire range has the ECOCERT organic certification.
Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
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Burgundy | 6 | - | HK$11,995.00 | |||||
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Burgundy | 2 | 93 (VN) | HK$10,550.00 | |||||
Vinous (93)Healthy yellow-gold color is fresh for the year. Surprisingly vibrant aromas of fresh peach, pineapple and truffley underbrush really blossomed with air, with the fruit element gaining strength. Juicy and intense, even a tad tight initially, conveying serious inner-mouth energy and mineral support to its highly concentrated, utterly pristine flavors of apricot, almond, smoke and mint. This remarkable, rather powerful wine boasts outstanding retention of fruit and finishes with superb savory persistence. Incidentally, this and the 1990 were the only vintages in my tasting to finish with 14% alcohol; nearly all of the rest are between 13.3% and 13.8%. As most long-time collectors no doubt know by now, 1995 and 1996 were the first white Burgundy vintages in which premature oxidation reared its ugly head, but the pair of wines I tasted from Drouhin came through beautifully--and this 1995 is evolving especially gracefully. (just 30 h/h produced owing to substantial millerandage during a cold flowering; 3.24 pH; 4.2 g/l acidity) |