Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages

In 1880, at the age of 22, Robert Drouhin founded his own winery in Beaune. Today, almost 150 years later, his four great-grandchildren run these wineries “with the same passion that inspired their founder”.

With nearly 90 wines and 80 hectares, Robert Drouhin is one of the largest and most representative wineries in Burgundy. Each of their wines express the originality and uniqueness of the premiers and grands crus terroirs of Chablis (38 hectares), Côte Chalonnaise (3.5 hectares), Mâconnais, Beaujolais, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits (38.5 hectares).

The latter is where Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages comes from, a wine made with a blend of grapes from Corgoloin, Comblanchien, Premeaux, Brochon and Couchey, the villages located at the southern end of the A.O.C. Côte de Nuits-Village (in the heart of Burgundy, between Paris and Lyon). Here, on clay and limestone soil, and where quality is more important than quantity, about 10,000 vines per hectare are grown organically and biodynamically. In terms of yield, the maths doesn’t add up, so Joseph Drouhin also buys grapes and wine from the usual suppliers in the area (which is full of premiers cru).

The Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages production process begins by selecting the grape clusters. The best berries will be selected and put through an alcoholic fermentation and maceration process (which lasts 3 weeks), followed by malolactic fermentation, where the grapes’ malic acid will be converted into lactic acid (providing more body and volume on the palate). Throughout all of these processes, carried out by native yeasts and bacteria, the temperature is constantly controlled.

Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages then ages and matures in French forest barrels (10% of which are new oak). The rest are 3 years old, which the winery says will bring elegance to the final product. The wine spends about 12 to 15 months in the barrels. At this point, the wine is closely monitored and analysed, checking and tasting each barrel separately, and this process will form the basis for future decisions and blending the cuvées.