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Joseph Drouhin '06 Burgundy Preview
Specialty Imports
Tasted March 13, 2008 by jjclips2 with 764 views
Introduction
It's usually a hard tasting to taste these wines in their youth. The '05 was of the better tastings to try these young Burgs and the whites usually show beautifully. We'll see what the '06 vintage has to offer.
Flight 1 - White 1 (2 notes)
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Pouilly-Fuissé
84 points
Steely minerality and lemon zest make for clean nose. Wet rocks up front with high acidity, crisp citrus attack, then mellows out with softer acidity, nice minerality and a clean finish. Not bad.
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin / Drouhin-Vaudon Chablis 1er Cru Montmains
85 points
Liked the '05 better. Green apple, herb, and steel on the nose. A bit of stonefruit on the palate at first with a touch of richness, then falls a little thin. Acid finishes very high and a bit hollow in the midpalate. Lemon peel and minerals.
Flight 2 - White 2 (3 notes)
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet
85 points
A step up from the Pouilly and Chablis Montmains. Clean nose with high minerality and lemon oil with a unique hint of pencil shavings. Shows a little richness with yellow apple, touch of oak spice, and softer than anticipated acidity. Nice spicy finish too.
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet
82 points
While not bad, disappointing. Usually enjoy Chassagne better than Puligny, particularly with the Drouhin's. Not this time. Lacks richness and balance. Other than that, good lemon fruit, citrus, with moderate acidity and a touch of minerality. The nose is a bit muted as well. Opens up a bit more after warming up a touch.
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Meursault
85 points
Very enticing nose of sweet yellow apple, cream, and cinnamon. As with the Puligny, shows a hint of pencil shavings. Spicy approach with oak, vanilla, and stonefruit. Nice acidity, clean and refreshing finish, and medium bodied.
Flight 3 - White 3 (2 notes)
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières
90 points
Favorite of the lineup by far, and usually one of my favorite Drouhin whites. The nose is a bit restrained, but offers steely minerality, high acid citrus, with a clean herbal streak. Beautifully balanced. Moderately rich, medium-full body with grilled pear, toast, vanilla, and obvious oak. Finishes spicy and minerally. Very nice, and will evolve.
White
2006 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Blanc
87 points
While not as nice as the Folatieres now, has a long life ahead. Very toasty, burnt brioche, spicy oak on nose. The palate follows through the same with vanilla, creamy pear, and finishes with great acidity. The balance is there, just a bit obtrusive with the oak. Will mellow out with time. Tasted an '88 a few months back and was absolutley stunning. Can't believe these last that long!!
Flight 4 - Red 1 (2 notes)
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits Villages
80 points
Young and austere. Cranberries and underripe, stemmy raspberries. Bitter orange peel too. Did have a nice floral note on the nose though. Very high acidity and medium tannins, dusty. A bit thin too.
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune
85 points
Enjoyed this simple bottling for the first vintage! Usually boring and insipid, not this one. Unique, almost Beaujolais-like nose of cola, ripe cherry candy, and bubblegum. The palate is a bit simple, but nicely balanced with ripe red berry fruit, restrained acidity, and a velvety finish. Quaffable, affordable, value oriented Burg. Who thought there was such a thing?
Flight 5 - Red 2 (5 notes)
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Santenay
This one didn't do it for me. Particularly after trying something simple, such as the '06 Cote de Beaune, and this didn't hold up. Thin and insipid with an unbalanced palate of spicy heat and acid. Maybe a bit bottle shocked, but the rest didn't show as poorly? NR
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Volnay
79 points
Things are getting better, but still unexciting. Shows a nice earthy nose with minerals. The palate shows very high acidity from start to finish with underripe red fruits, slight earthy funk, and dusty tannins.
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Pommard
81 points
This is showing some potential. Nose is a bit richer with bitter chocolate, bright cherry, and slight earth. Still a bit firm, but shows a better balance of tannins and acid with the red cherry and raspberry fruit. Tannins kickin towards finish, but aren't obtrusive.
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Gevrey-Chambertin
84 points
The nose is the best thus far with a floral note along with earth and minerals. Austere and firm tannins and acidity. The tannins end up finishing sweet with a minerality.
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny
86 points
Probably showing the best of the village-level Burgs. The nose is a bit funky, maybe some brett, along with earthy barnyard and truffle. Some nice richness up front on this one, something the rest have lacked. Dusty tannins the whole way through with cherry and red berry fruit, cinnamon, and fairly balanced acidity.
Flight 6 - Red 3 (2 notes)
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge
87 points
Slightly better than the '06 Chambolle, with an even earthier nose and more obvious oak influence. Toasty at first with a rich palate and firm tannins. Acidity is balanced with the fruit and tannin and offers a great mouthfeel.
Red
2006 Joseph Drouhin Charmes-Chambertin
90 points
The blockbuster of this tasting. Full and rich with nicely extracted red and black berry fruits, cherry. Intertwined is a mix of earth, toasty oak and spices. The acidity is a bit soft when compared to the rest of the bunch, but I think it's the intensity of the fruit that is hiding the acid. The tannins are full blown and offer a dusty mouthfeel, but aren't in the way of the fruit.
Closing
The whites stole the show and showed very nicely. The reds are young and austere with a few showing their potential. We'll have to track these as they evolve.