Le Clos-Des-Mouches

Fine, pure and pale in colour, the lovely fruit is overlaid by a level of barrel toast which actually works very well. There’s a beautiful intensity and it has kept a lean note all the way through, very successful. Even a touch of tannin at the back, this is very long. Drink 2020-2027
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

The healthy crop was picked from 2nd September, with acceptable yields for the whites but rather low again for the reds. Vinification was adapted to suit the nature of the vintage, with less forceful punching down this year, especially at the start. The Drouhin style is compellingly elegant every year, while 2015 delivers an extra coating of velvet to the fruit.

There were seven separate pickings across the vineyard to ensure that each plot was picked at the optimum moment and it has produced something special. Apples, pears and spices on the palate all combine with a dancing acidity that produces a simply magical wine.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director

Drouhin reds are noted for being lightish in colour, perfumed and a little extracted. Their range of 2010s however show rather deeper colours and more structure the team felt that the wines were responding very well to the period of maceration in the vats after the fermentation had been completed, so they extended this period. A small percentage of stems are often included to add a little seasoning, though the hallmark of the Drouhin style remains an absolute purity of fruit.

Drouhin’s is the largest parcel in the Clos des Mouches, which was largely spared by the frost. The 2016 proves a super example of the Clos’s charms. It is hugely complex on the nose, with aromas of white pepper, orchard fruit and a well-judged dose of new oak (25 percent). The mid-palate is dense, almost tannic, yet finishes fresh and mineral – as Véronique says, this combines the structure of Corton with the elegance of Puligny. Drink 2019-2028.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Originally from the Yonne department, Joseph Drouhin founded the négociant company which bears his name in 1880. His son Maurice took over in 1918, buying the first vineyards including the famous Beaune Clos des Mouches. His successor Robert Drouhin has now passed on management to his children Frédéric (managing director), Laurent (export markets), Philippe (vineyards) and Véronique (oenology). Philippe manages the vineyards biodynamically while Véronique is supported by oenologist Jérome Faure-Brac and chef de cave Mélanie Sire. Véronique Drouhin is happy with the quality of the vintage, and philosophical about its quantity. She points out that a number of village-level wines have been enhanced by the addition of grapes from Premier Cru vineyards too badly frosted to justify their own cuvée. Where the frost was marginally less severe, the team at Drouhin used a tiny tank press – bought in response to the small crop in 2013 – to make what Véronique describes as “micro- cuvées”. Harvest began here on September 23rd, with meticulous sorting to separate the ripe (first generation) grapes from those which grew after the frost. Virtually all the grapes were de-stemmed, and pigeage preferred to pumping-over in a bid emphasise the fresh, fruity character of the vintage.