Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Exuberant and joyful, this white Beaune is brimming with pineapple, pear, honeysuckle and vanilla. Ripe and concentrated, but not a jot too big. Stunning mineral acidity that turns the finish into a firework display of fruit and terroir colors. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe, juicy yellow-plum and pear flavors are calibrated by a fresh mineral undertone in this voluptuous expression of one Burgundy's most celebrated vineyards. Matured 12 to15 months in 25% new oak, it's a big, powerful wine adorned in layers of sweet spice, smoke and dill undertones, but held upright by a spine of acidity. The wineneeds some time to meld but should drink at peak from 2025 to 2035 and hold longer still.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Mingling aromas of citrus zest and pear with hints of white flowers, buttered toast and almonds, Drouhin's 2019 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc (Domaine) is medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with lively acids and a gourmand profile, concluding with a saline finish.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Decanter
Drouhin owns two parcels totaling 6.42ha, here, at the southern edge of Beaune on the border with Pommard. The fruit is whole cluster pressed and fermented in cask (25% new) after a short settling. The wine shows a lovely definition, with ripe apple, citrus and a profound, waxy depth on the palate. Drouhin begins by working the lees in the early stage and then stops the bâtonnage to end on a slightly reductive note.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
While the city represents the epicenter of wine production in Burgundy, the term, “Beaune” also refers to the specific sub-appellation of the greater Côte de Beaune, whose vineyards climb up the pastoral slopes that border the city to its west. Originally founded as a Roman camp by Julius Caesar, the city of Beaune eventually became the seat of the dukes of Burgundy until the 13th century. Today it is home to top négociants such as Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Latour, and Bouchard Père et Fils.
The appellation, dominated by Pinot Noir plantings, represents a lovely and charming place to begin to understand red Burgundy. Its sandy soils create light and supple, floral driven Pinot Noir. These wines are designed to be enjoyed within five to 10 years. The vineyards of Beaune span a broad swath of Premier Crus from Savigny-lès-Beaune to its border with Pommard.
Chardonnay acreage here has been increasing here in the more recent years.