Winemaker Notes
An outstanding wine. Pale yellow color. Complex floral nose of white lilac and white rose. Once open, fruity aromas come to the fore, evolving towards grilled hazelnut and almond. When the wine is more mature, the nose is surprisingly strong and fifteen minutes of aeration produce wonderful notes of white truffle, citron, honey and nutmeg, elegantly meshed together. Very lively on the palate. Its rich texture is in evidence, but also its structure and minerality. It is round, but never heavy. Harmonious fullness in the aftertaste.
Professional Ratings
-
Decanter
This wine's ripe apple fruit aroma shows accents of butter, hawthorn flowers, and spice. The texture is ripe, and there is almost a suggestion of honey on the palate. However, the ripeness is not exaggerated, and balanced acidity brings this to a satisfying conclusion. The grapes come from Drouhin's two parcels that total 6.42 hectares in the zone on the southern edge of Beaune. They are pressed as whole clusters and fermented on native yeasts in cask (25% new). This will drink well young and should age nicely for a decade.
Barrel Sample: 93 -
Jasper Morris
I was fortunate to be able to taste this wine as there were almost no grapes at all, yielding between 2 and 5 hl/ha. A little more yellow, a light primrose colour. An attractive vibrant fresh fruit with a few citrus notes, even some orange blossom. Good depth here, with a soft oakiness.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.