2009 Blanc Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru

Drouhin’s white Beaune Premier Cru is a classic example of its precise, soil-driven white Burgundies.

Joseph Drouhin’s Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc is an oxymoron of a Burgundy: an insider’s wine that’s normally made in generous quantities. While some wine oenophiles may turn up their noses at the very idea of white wine from Beaune—not to mention the appellation in particular, as it possesses no Grand Crus, red or white—this Premier Cru is way more interesting, and serious, than it has any right to be. Long-time fans of Drouhin’s pure, elegantly styled white wines are well aware their Clos des Mouches blanc is an outperformer, and a chameleon that can mimic wines from Grand Cru sites on the Côte de Beaune. Time and again, in my tastings of new vintages chez Drouhin, the Clos des Mouches Blanc has taxed my lexicon of descriptors—and that’s a good thing.

The overwhelming majority of the vintages I tasted at Drouhin were in superb condition, and bottles from 1996 and 1995—the first two vintages in which premature oxidation was a serious problem with white Burgundies—were vibrant and youthful. Two older vintages, 1992 and 1979, were in fine form 26 and 39 years after the harvest. Both of these wines were made from generous crop levels—49 and 55 hectoliters per hectare, respectively—and feature moderate acidity, but clearly possess one crucial key to longevity: balance. Perhaps most important, the three youngest vintages I tried—2016, 2015 and 2014—were especially complex and mineral-driven, suggesting that the current team of Drouhins (and Faure-Brac) is a well-oiled machine.

In both Chablis and the Cote d'Or, the summer of 2010 was not hot, said Philippe Drouhin, and the plants did not lose their acidity. "We had a high percentage of malic acidity, similar to 2008, but the overall acid level was a bit lower in 2010. We started picking in Puligny-Montrachet several days after the rains on September 12. Those who did not spray late enough risked getting leaf damage, which would have led to slow, incomplete ripening," Drouhin added. "There's a botrytis element in some wines that gives an impression of ripeness even when it's not really there." A few of the 2010s I tasted at Drouhin at the beginning of June were just at the end of their malolactic fermentations.

I tasted the 2009s with Jerome Faure-Brac, Drouhin's head winemaker. Interestingly, Faure-Brac chose to serve these wines a touch on the warm side, so I could observe their strengths and weaknesses more clearly. It was a high stakes move, especially in a warm vintage. I am not sure I would have personally had the guts to make that decision, but it speaks of great conviction….and the wines came through beautifully. The 2009 harvest began on September 21st, quite late for the year. New oak levels were down sharply, malos were blocked on a number of wines and the estate did no bâtonnage. The wines were racked one prior to being bottled.

Philippe Drouhin told me that the family starting harvesting its chardonnay with its Clos des Mouches holding on September 7, picking portions of this cru through virtually the entire white wine harvest, which ended on September 18. Grape sugars were elevated in 2009, according to Philippe Drouhin: from 13.1% to as high as 14.6% for the Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne. Winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac routinely blocked 20% of the malolactic fermentation in order to preserve vibrancy in the wines. Still, the Drouhin bottlings from the Cote de Beaune have pHs in the 3.3 to 3.35 range, compared to 3.1 to 3.2 for their Chablis cuvees. Drouhin described the 2009 wines as more charming than the 2008s; he believes they will be pleasant to drink young. "But the 2008s are also ripe wines, and their acidity is there for a good reason," he added.