2012 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru

"Overall, the 2012 reds show good aging capacity, more for the Côte de Nuits wines than the Côte de Beaune," said Frédéric Drouhin. "Personally, I will keep the 2012s longer than the 2013s—maybe 15 years for the top reds." His sister Véronique added that she thought the '12s would age very well but that they would not shut down in bottle--"a little like the 2009s."

Brother and sister Frédéric and Veronique Drouhin were quite sanguine about the 2012 harvest when I stopped by last fall. The vintage was tough for many growers, but Drouhin was hit especially hard. Yields at Clos des Mouches, one of the family's flagship vineyards, came in an achingly low 6-8 hectoliters per hectare. Frédéric Drouhin describes the 2012s as similar in style of the 2010s, but with lower acidities. The little fruit that did come in was healthy and ripe. Malos finished quickly, leading Drouhin to bottle earlier than most. The Grands-Echézeaux, Clos de Bèze, Musigny, Charmes and Bonnes-Mares were all in bottle at the time of this tasting, in November 2013. I hope to be able to taste those wines at some point in the future.

Domaine Drouhin appointed a new vineyard manager in 2012, as Xavier Guiraud retired after 14 years with the company, said Frederic Drouhin, and the new manager "saw everything in his first year--not to mention his second.In 2012, we had 80% impact from hail in some areas; coulure and millerandage; mildew and oidium pressures.A heat spike in August further cut the crop but did not cause rot.Good weather in September saved the harvest."The hailed-on grapes, added Drouhin, were very ripe and had good skin maturity.Winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac did little in the way of cold maceration, vinified most of his cuvees with 10% to 20% whole clusters, and carried out some additional maceration after the end of the fermentations "because the wines were gaining in volume every day."Needless to say, the Cote de Beaune reds are a mixed bag in 2012, but the estate's wines from the Cote de Nuits display the intensity and full ripeness of the vintage.