x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 187
  • Producer ranking ?

    49
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    lamb with aubergines

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The Story

Clos des Mouches is the beating heart of the Drouhin Family’s life in Burgundy. A subtle vineyard mosaic, an essay in terroir, a symbol of hard work and shared joy, Clos des Mouches has been synonymous with Maison Joseph Drouhin since 1921

 

 

This legendary Premier Cru, which produces elegant, subtle, complex, and sublime white and red wines, is the genesis of the family estate.Today, Maurice Drouhin’s vision and commitment to authentic Burgundy, and his singular approach to a very special place, are upheld by the family’s third, fourth and fifth generations. The incredible stories, emotions, and inspiring vintages are why the family holds Clos des Mouches so dear and why it is so closely linked to the Maison’s identity. The hundredth anniversary is not merely a celebration of the past but a recognition of a living heritage that has survived all manner of human endeavors.

Clos des Mouches is located at the southernmost tip of the Beaune appellation, halfway between Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet. Ideally situated on its hill, this vineyard is notable for its terraced mosaic of blocks, each having subtle differences in character according to altitude and orientation. Clos des Mouches takes its name from the many beehives that previous winegrowers once placed in the fields. Strictly translated, a “mouche” is “fly,” but in Burgundy, they are “honey flies,” or more recognizably, “bees.”

 

In 1957, Maurice Drouhin's son, Robert, took over. Following in his father's footsteps, he grew and modernized the family business. In 1961, he acquired the family's parcels in Musigny, Bonnes-Mares, and Amoureuses. In the late 1960s, Robert's belief in the future of Chablis boldly guided the acquisition of nearly 40 hectares of Grands Crus, Premiers Crus, and villages appellations. In the 1970s, he hired Laurence Jobard, one of the first women oenologists in Burgundy, and in 1987 his visionary approach led the House to the other side of the Atlantic, where, with his daughter Veronique, he founded Domaine Drouhin Oregon. Philippe Drouhin, Robert's eldest son, took over the management of the Drouhin domaines in 1988. Intrigued by Bioversity and deeply concerned by environmental issues, Philippe quickly decided to move the House towards organic farming. The Clos des Mouches served as his ideal laboratory: its terroir is complex, with a significant slope of hills, different orientations, a millefeuille of clay-limestone soils "in platelets" through which the roots weave their way to find their resources. The checkerboard layout of the plots of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the age of the vines were all criteria allowing Philippe Drouhin to convert first to organic and then fully biodynamic viticulture."I chose the organic route out of personal conviction and technical reasoning, biodynamics to provide additional answers," specifies Philippe Drouhin. "There are still many unknowns about the functioning of soils and vines, but the holistic and gentle approach of biodynamics makes perfect sense to me."In parallel with this viticultural development, Maison Joseph Drouhin has launched a colossal effort to preserve the wine heritage by developing massale selections with other great names in the vineyards through the Association for the Protection of the Diversity of Burgundy Grape Varieties.The fourth generation, and recently the first member of the fifth, Laurène, Véronique's daughter, continues to follow the family's pioneering traditions. Philippe, Véronique, Laurent, and Frédéric Drouhin all occupy key and complementary positions to keep the family business alive and growing. In their pursuit of excellence, they are aided by a dedicated team of women and men who perpetuates the tradition of excellence of the House on a daily basis.

Founded in 1880 by Joseph Drouhin, Maison Joseph Drouhin has always been led by members of the Drouhin family.

For more than a century, the grapes have come from vineyards that have been meticulously selected owing to their perfect exposition, unique character and reputation. Four generations of Joseph Drouhin family have built up a large and one of the most prestigious wine estates in Burgundy. Maison Joseph Drouhin is resolutely committed to a strict observance of tradition and respect for the heritage of Burgundy. The estate comprises 72 hectares of vineyards among the greatest appellations. The true amateur will discover in these wines the Drouhin signature: the originality of the terroir, the finesse of the aromas, the elegance and harmony of the structure and the style of the vintage. The use of biological methods is a profound conviction at Joseph Drouhin. An organic approach, discreet and natural so to let the wine express herself at her best. For many years now, Joseph Drouhin has been experimenting biodynamic methods. Their winemaking process can be described by vigilance, common sense and gentleness in order to allow the wines to express their very best. The mission is to unfold the greatness of Burgundy.

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Vintage 2016

2016 RED BURGUNDY VINTAGE REPORT

The 2016 harvest was, of course, later for Pinot Noir in the Côtes de Nuits, and some climats had different productions depending on how they weathered the frost of April 26th. In this report I will talk about each of the producers’ allocations to illustrate the variations between the totals from the 2015 and 2016 vintages. I will also seek to give you an idea of the style of the 2016 red wines versus those of the 2015 vintage.

Depending on the producer, some growers actually preferred the 2016 red wines to the 2015s. There are definitely stylistic differences. The 2015 wines are more structured and powerful, and I consider the top 2015 wines to be superior to the top 2016 wines. However, this does not mean that there are not some fabulous 2016 red wines. I do feel that 2016 was a better vintage for red wines than for white wines, which is opposite of the 2015 vintage. And from what I heard and observed during my visit, the 2017 will also probably favor the whites. I actually think that 2017 could be the best vintage for white wines in quite a while, with the wines showing much more concentration than those of the 2014 vintage but possessing similar acid levels. Needless to say, it will be exciting to try them in June.

The Pinot Noir harvest in 2016 varied from as early as September 22nd for some villages in the Côte de Beaune to as late of the first week of October in the Côte de Nuits. The only other harvests that lasted into October in the past twenty years were those in 1998, 2001, 2008, and 2013. 2016 is by far better than any of those vintages. Looking on the flip side, there have been four harvests that started in August: 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2017. It appears as of now that 2017 will be the best of those. When I tasted the 2016 red wines, I was surprised by the supple textures and abundance of fruit. This fruit was very fresh and the ripeness and lovely acidity made the fruit last long on the palate. The acids were strong on the finish due to the high levels of tartaric acid. The wines are never alcoholic due to the quite cool weather throughout the growing season. Since there were no real heat spikes, no grapes were harvested with a potential alcohol level of over 14.5%, no matter when they were picked. That was not the case in 2015 where some growers that like to push the limits of ripeness went overboard and made top-heavy wines with too much tannin and too much alcohol. What is nice about the 2016 red wines is that even in areas where the frost was severe, it did not affect the quality, although the growers definitely did have to do a lot of work in the vineyards to prevent mildew after the frost and due to a very wet May. Luckily the mildew affected the leaves more than the grape skins. June weather returned to normal and flowering began midway through the month. This meant that harvest would start the last week of September. The areas that did not experience frost, such as Santenay, Morey-Saint-Denis, the northern side of Nuits-Saint- Georges (Vosne-Romanée side), some parts of Corton, and some plots of Bourgogne Rouge, had a larger harvest than in 2015. Some climats of Morey-Saint-Denis, such as Clos de la Roche and Clos de Tart, had their best harvest since the 2009 vintage. Happily, due to dry conditions in July, August, and September, there was beautiful weather for harvest. Rains on September 15th and 19th provided relief from hydric stress that had arisen from the lack of rain from August 5th until September 15th

(5 inches total fell in a month and a half ). So if the grower waited just a little bit after the last rain on September 19th, there was very little rain afterwards, except for about 3 inches on October 2nd. After this it did not rain again until October 14th at which point harvest was over for the vast majority of growers.

What was depressing was seeing so many upright barrels at the Domaines in many areas. Some producers in villages such as Pommard, Volnay, much of Nuits-Saints-Georges, and Vougeot had tiny harvests. Mongeard-Mugneret was down 58%, but given that they had normal crops in their Bourgogne vineyards, the drastic drop in quantity was in vineyards such as Échezeaux (down 70%) and Clos Vougeot (if your parcels were towards the back). Grands Échezeaux was a disaster, as was Savigny- lès-Beaune, which produced no villages level wines (thus we received no villages level Savigny-lès-Beaune from Mongeard- Mugneret). Another example, our allocation of Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru Les Narbantons, which is usually around 170 cases, was only 15 cases in 2016. Also from Mongeard-Mugneret, Pernand-Vergelesses was down from an average of 45 cases

to just 14; Grands Échezeaux, down to 27 cases from the usual 85; Échezeaux, normally 100 cases was just 30; and Vosne- Romanée Premier Cru Les Orveaux, which is usually 87 cases was down to 37. Villages level Vosne-Romanée from vineyards that were lower in altitude also suffered terribly, as did Richebourg. In the end, it all depended on the wind currents, clouds, and if the vineyard was protected from the currents by walls.

 

My growers in Nuits-Saint-Georges that mostly have holdings in the southern side of the village gave me half of the 2015 allocation. Concerning Domaine Henri Gouges, I got half the allocation of Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Saint- Georges as well as half the allocations of Premier Cru Les Vaucrains and Premier Cru Clos des Porrets Saint-Georges. While not as drastic as the previous appellations, I also received less Premier Cru Les Pruliers and villages Nuits-Saint-Georges. In the case of Thibault Liger-Belair, some vineyards in the Hautes-Côte de Nuits had to be combined into one cuvée because there were not enough grapes to fill a fermentation tank. In 2017, Liger-Belair only produced 8 barrels of Premier Cru Les Saint- Georges compared to 24 in 2017. To really get a picture of the situation, in 2009 he made 30 barrels. He has produced a few new wines in 2016. We will be introducing a villages Chambolle-Musigny made from purchased grapes, as well as a Corton Grand Cru Clos du Roi. He made 2 barrels of this wine, as well as 2 barrels of Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru. Thibault

is one of the growers who likes his 2016 wines almost as much as his 2015s. With regards to Thomas Morey and Vincent & Sophie Morey, the allocations are almost the same as in 2015. Domaine Matrot will be slightly less. Domaine Henri Boillot is almost identical to the 2015 vintage, but with more Pommard and Volnay. And, finally, Alain Gras and Domaine Michel Briday allocations are pretty much equal to those of the 2015 vintage.

Danny Haas

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

Bright ruby. Red berries, anise, fruity, spices, detailed, scented, floral, layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, red berries, fruity, some spices, elegant, nuanced, long. 92

  • 92p

"An exceptional wine. Beautiful, deep-red ruby colour, with the bright sheen of great Burgundies. Intense and fresh nose for the young wines. Primary notes of red fruit dominate, such as Morello cherry ("griotte", or wild cherry), raspberry, blackberry. There are hints of complexity with smoky flavours evolving towards liquorice. When the wine is maturing, aromas of pepper, tobacco, humus and undergrowth appear. When drinking the wine, the first impression is always clear-cut and the texture fleshy. The body is firm without being rough, well meshed without being heavy. There is great freshness in the younger wines. With age, the wine gets rounder. It takes on "gras" (velvety texture) and a more precise architecture, supported by silky tannins. It is lively and refined at the same time. There remains a final and most pleasing sensation of harmony, fullness and delicate tannins, as the wine lingers on the palate".

Vintage The 2016 crop was low in quantity but its quality provides a nice surprise. The mature grapes gave deep ruby-coloured wines displaying notes of black fruit mingled with hints of violet and spices. The palate is round and generous. The wines are typical of their terroir. Serving Temperature: 16°C (61-62°F). Cellaring: 5 to 40 years.

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Information

Origin

Beaune, Burgundy

Other wines from this producer

Aloxe-Corton

Bâtard-Montrachet

Beaujolais Nouveau

Beaune Premier Cru

Bonnes Mares

Bourgogne blanc

Chablis

Chablis Grand Cru Les clos

Chablis Premier Cru

Chablis Vaillons Premier Cru

Chambertin

Chambertin Clos de Bèze

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze

Chambolle-Musigny

Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses

Chambolle-Musigny Les Baudes

Charmes-Chambertin

Chassagne-Montrachet

Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos Saint-Jean

Chassagne-Montrachet Morgeot 1er Cru

Clos de la Roche

Clos-Des-Mouches Blanc

Clos de Vougeot

Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru

Corton

Corton-Bressandes

Corton-Charlemagne

Côte de Beaune

Côte de Beaune Blanc

Côte de Nuits-Villages

Echezeaux Grand Cru

Gevrey-Chambertin

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetieres

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Cazetiers

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur

Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux Saint-Jacques Premier Cru

Grands Echézeaux

Griotte-Chambertin

Laforet Bourgogne Chardonnay

Laforêt Bourgogne Pinot Noir

Meursault

Meursault Charmes

Meursault Genévriers

Meursault Goutte d’Or

Montrachet

Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche

Morey Saint-Denis 1er Cru Ruchots

Musigny

Nuits-Saint-Georges

Pommard-Rugiens

Puligny-Montrachet

Puligny-Montrachet 1er Les Folatieres

Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatières

Richebourg

Romanée St. Vivant

Rully Blanc

Rully Rouge

Santenay 1er Cru Gravières

Vaudon Chablis 1er Cru Montmains

Volnay

Vosne-Romanée

Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts

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