1995 Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc
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Tasting notes
Healthy yellow-gold color is fresh for the year. Surprisingly vibrant aromas of fresh peach, pineapple and truffley underbrush really blossomed with air, with the fruit element gaining strength. Juicy and intense, even a tad tight initially, conveying serious inner-mouth energy and mineral support to its highly concentrated, utterly pristine flavors of apricot, almond, smoke and mint. This remarkable, rather powerful wine boasts outstanding retention of fruit and finishes with superb savory persistence. Incidentally, this and the 1990 were the only vintages in my tasting to finish with 14% alcohol; nearly all of the rest are between 13.3% and 13.8%. As most long-time collectors no doubt know by now, 1995 and 1996 were the first white Burgundy vintages in which premature oxidation reared its ugly head, but the pair of wines I tasted from Drouhin came through beautifully--and this 1995 is evolving especially gracefully. (just 30 h/h produced owing to substantial millerandage during a cold flowering; 3.24 pH; 4.2 g/l acidity)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Pierre Rovani
More reviews and scores
Most of Burgundy's negociants are envious of Drouhin's highly successful Beaune Clos des Mouches, frequently the appellation's best and most popular white wine. The outstanding '95 is an unqualified success. The well-delineated aromas are enticing and attractive (copious quantities of honeysuckle, anise and minerals). In the mouth, the wine offers a fabulous array of white flowers and deliciously roasted fruits. This full-bodied, refined wine is well-crafted, has excellent length, and should be drunk between 2000-2005. This note is the result of tastings I did in Burgundy between January 7 and January 29. Importer: Dreyfus Ashby, New York, NY; tel (212) 818-0770.
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.