Portfolio : Drouhin-Laroze

Drouhin-Laroze

An Atherton Wine Imports Direct Import

Since 1850, five generations of Drouhins have farmed and made the wines at this small family domaine. After helming the estate since 2001, Philippe and Christine Drouhin are stepping aside, allowing their son, Nicholas, and daughter, Caroline, to run the domaine. Armed with fresh ideas and old-world techniques, they are handling the grapes more gently, adding whole bunches for structure and freshness where needed, and have reduced the use of new oak. The results are tremendously exciting.

As Neal Martin put it after tasting the 2016s for the first time, “I waltzed away with a spring in my step, convinced that the domaine is on the cusp of a new chapter. From the Bourgogne Rouge up to their Clos-de-Bèze and a single barrel of the sadly quantity-depleted Musigny, these were wonderful, life-affirming, quite cerebral wines in the making. Given the enviable, glittering array of holdings, trust me, Drouhin-Laroze could rapidly be up there with the very best, alongside the likes of, say, Rousseau or Mortet.”

Nicolas and Caroline are maintaining this lofty course with a nuanced approach to stem inclusion. They believe whole bunch vinification can lead to austere wines from powerful terroirs like Clos Vougeot and Gevrey Lavaut St-Jacques. But each vintage they will adjust their approach for every wine in order to create a harmonious balance of fruit, brightness, and structure. For example, in 2020, they completely destemmed Lavaut St-Jacques and Clos Vougeot, while most others incorporated 30-40% stems, and the Morey St-Denis “Très Girard” got 100%.

Praise for Drouhin-Laroze

“Recent wines overseen by Caroline and Nicolas Drouhin are cut from a very different cloth. The domaine always presided over an enviable array of Premier and Grand Crus – no fewer than six of the latter – so potential was enormous. Mirroring the likes of Duroché, Heresztyn-Mazzini, Claude Dugat and so forth, they have adopted a more prudent and respectful approach to winemaking, picking a little earlier, easing off the skin maceration and employing whole bunches and dialing down the new oak, inter alia. The result is a range of far superior and more interesting wines than just five or six years ago. The market has not quite cottoned on to that – yet.” (Neal Martin, Vinous, Jan 2019)

“It was also good to confirm the renaissance of Domaine Drouhin-Laroze…This domaine has been coming up noticeably in quality in the last few vintages, having been a sound source prior to that.” (Jasper Morris, MW, Inside Burgundy, Dec 2018)

“This time I waltzed away with a spring in my step, convinced that the domaine is on the cusp of a new chapter. From the Bourgogne Rouge up to their Clos-de-Bèze and a single barrel of the sadly quantity-depleted Musigny, these were wonderful, life-affirming, quite cerebral wines in the making. Given the enviable, glittering array of holdings, trust me, Drouhin-Laroze could rapidly be up there with the very best, alongside the likes of, say, Rousseau or Mortet.” (Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate, Dec 2017)

Featured Vineyards

• Musigny
• Chambertin Clos de Beze (vines planted in 1949)
• Bonnes Mares
• Clos de Vougeot – 1.02 ha of old vines close to the wall at the top of the hill
• Latricieres Chambertin – 0.67 ha of very old vines
• Chapelle Chambertin
• Gevrey “Lavaut St. Jacques” Gevrey “Au Closeau” (60 year old vines)
• Gevrey “Clos Prieur” (from 1er Cru portion of the vineyard)
• Gevrey “Craipillot” Chambolle Musigny (80% Les Baudes 1er Cru and 20% from the villages portion of Les Veroilles)
• Gevrey Chambertin, “Dix Climats”
• Morey St-Denis, Tres Girard

Wines