Summary
Maison Joseph Drouhin in Beaune is one of the defining addresses in Burgundy. Founded in 1880 and family-owned ever since, the house brings together two worlds: a classic négociant business and a large estate with around 90 hectares of its own vines. These are spread along the entire axis of the region – from Chablis in the north through the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune down to the Côte Chalonnaise. Its early move into organic and biodynamic viticulture is remarkable: every one of the house's Burgundy sites is certified. Drouhin is run today by four siblings of the fourth generation.
History
The story begins in 1880, when a 22-year-old Joseph Drouhin moved from Chablis to Beaune and founded a wine business there. His son Maurice Drouhin took over after his father's death in 1918 and laid the foundation for the family's own vineyard holdings: he acquired the Clos des Mouches above Beaune, which remains the emblem of the house to this day.
The decisive expansion is owed to Robert Drouhin, who took the helm in 1957. During the 1960s he bought parcels in some of the most famous grands crus of the Côte de Nuits – among them Musigny, Bonnes-Mares and the premier cru Les Amoureuses – and also significantly enlarged the holdings in Chablis. In 1987/88 he took the step overseas with his daughter Véronique, founding Domaine Drouhin Oregon in the Dundee Hills.
Today four siblings of the fourth generation run the house together: Frédéric, Philippe, Véronique and Laurent Drouhin. Philippe is responsible for the vineyards, Véronique for the winemaking in both France and Oregon. Drouhin also belongs to Primum Familiae Vini, the association of leading family wine estates worldwide.
Location & Terroir
The house is based in the heart of Beaune, in a complex of buildings with centuries-old cellars, parts of which reach back to the era of the Dukes of Burgundy. From here Drouhin farms an unusually broad spectrum of terroirs for Burgundy.
In Chablis the vines stand on chalky Kimmeridgian marl, which gives the wines their saline, flinty tension; the centre there is the historic Moulin de Vaudon estate on the river Serein. In the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, limestone and marl soils alternate over the shortest distances, creating the parcel-by-parcel diversity for which the Côte d'Or is famous. The Côte Chalonnaise in the south rounds out the picture with somewhat more approachable, earlier-drinking wines. This spread allows the house to cover the full Burgundian hierarchy, from regional wines to grands crus.
Style & Philosophy
Drouhin's ambition is to bring the differences between the sites into the bottle as undistorted as possible. Cellar work is correspondingly restrained: a moderate proportion of new oak, gentle extraction, long ageing. The red Pinot Noir wines are considered finely drawn, perfumed and classical rather than powerful; the white Chardonnay wines combine fruit with pronounced mineral tension.
Viticulture is formative. As early as the 1980s and 1990s, Philippe Drouhin began converting the vineyards step by step to organic and then biodynamic farming – at a time when this was still seen as an outsider's position in Burgundy. Since the 2009 vintage all of the house's Burgundy sites have been certified. That also involves high planting densities, ploughing instead of herbicides, and a deliberate refusal of technical corrections in the cellar.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range runs from simple Bourgogne to some of the most sought-after wines of the Côte d'Or:
- Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches (red and white) – around 14 hectares and the hallmark of the house; the white Clos des Mouches placed fifth at the legendary 1976 Paris comparative tasting
- Musigny, Bonnes-Mares, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Grands Échezeaux and Clos de Vougeot – red grands crus of the Côte de Nuits
- Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses – one of the most coveted premiers crus of all
- Corton-Charlemagne – great white grand cru from the Corton hill
- Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche – vinified and marketed by Drouhin, one of the most famous white wines in the world
- Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos and the wines of Domaine Drouhin-Vaudon
Awards
As one of the Burgundy houses with the widest range, Drouhin is permanently in the sights of the international wine press; the grands crus and the Clos des Mouches regularly receive top scores. Beyond mere points, the house is above all regarded as a pioneer: its early, consistent path into biodynamics and the founding of Domaine Drouhin Oregon have set an example far beyond Burgundy. Membership of Primum Familiae Vini underlines the family's standing among the great wine dynasties.