2015 Beaune Clos de Mouches
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Beaune 1er Cru is extremely reduced on the nose, to the extent that any fruit aromas are impossible to discern. The palate is chewy and solid, lacking grace and finesse, which is a shame because there is some lovely dark berry, almost confit-like fruit here. Yet the SO2 renders this distasteful at the moment, and my inclination is to think that it is fixed and will not dissipate with bottle age. Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
(vinified with a higher-than-normal 35% whole clusters): Healthy medium red. A touch of reduction dissipated to reveal explosive aromas of very ripe red berries, spices, earth, game, mocha and smoky minerality. Fat, full, smooth and mouthfilling, conveying strong terroir character and a noble rusticity to its flavors of cherry, red berries, menthol and underbrush. An expansive, round wine with lovely sucrosité but also very good energy for its alcohol in the high 13s. The late-arriving tannins are substantial but refined. A terrific Beaune wine from a very ripe year. At 18 hectoliters per hectare, the crop here was actually smaller than that of 2016, but last year Frédéric Drouhin nonetheless described it as "the first decent crop since 2011."
(Frédéric Drouhin described the production of 18 hectoliters per hectare here as "almost a normal year, and the first decent crop since 2011"; these vines were picked in one shot on September 7; 20% vendange entier ): Bright, dark red. Slightly reduced aromas of raspberry and smoky minerality smell energetic and ripe. Wonderfully silky and rich, showing noteworthy depth and concentration to its red and darker fruit and mineral flavors. Finishes spicy, tactile and very long. A superb showing today, but this wine has the stuffing for a slow evolution in bottle.
About the producer
Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest and most famous producers in Burgundy, making both domaine and négociant wines. It remains family-owned and run, now in the hands of the fourth generation.