Winemaker Notes
"A true delight and a great harmony! A beautiful purple colour. On the nose, delicate and fruity aromas such as strawberry and red currant. On the palate, the tannins are refined and lend a nice roundness to the body. Elegant aftertaste". -Veronique Boss-Drouhin
Professional Ratings
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Jasper Morris
This is a mix of purchased fruit from the Grande Chatelaine vineyard, which may only be sold as Côte de Beaune, and declassified fruit from some Drouhin’s own Beaune 1er Cru vines. So great value! Rich bright purple, with a super-seductive yet fresh bouquet. Energy and finesse together. Has its own distinct label within the family of Clos des Mouches. Superb weight of smooth red fruit right across the palate and very good length.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Wine Enthusiast
Bold hits of licorice and black pepper accent violet and black cherry in this supple, black-fruited Pinot Noir. Etched by soft, dusty tannins and a freshly concentrated, juicy palate, this immediately enjoyable, elegant wine should reward through 2030 at least.
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Decanter
Produced from 1ha of domaine vines, notably young plants from the Clos des Mouches (all organically farmed), along with some purchased fruit. The combined effect is a wine that shows a forward, ripe plummy fruit on the initial attack, along with lush, supple tannins and an earthy edge on the palate. Tannic, but not astringent, with a pleasantly lingering finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Drouhin's 2019 Côte de Beaune goes from strength to strength. Consisting substantially of declassified Beaune premiers crus, it bursts from the glass with notes of raspberries, cherries, plums and petals. Medium to full-bodied, supple and enveloping, with melting tannins and succulent acids, it's an immensely charming red that exemplifies the appeal of the vintage.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A classic source of exceptional Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir, the Côte de Beaune makes up the southern half of the Côte d’Or. Its principal wine-producing villages are Pernand-Vergelesses, Aloxe-Corton, Beaune, Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet.
The area is named for its own important town of Beaune, which is essentially the center of the Burgundy wine business and where many negociants center their work. Hospices de Beaune, the annual wine auction, is based here as well.