2020 Joseph Drouhin - Chambertin Clos de Beze (750ml)

Maison Joseph Drouhin sources this cuvée through a practice fairly distinctive for a grand cru bottling: a blend of fruit from its own parcels within Chambertin-Clos de Bèze together with grapes and must purchased from growers under strict specifications, with Drouhin now able to set the picking date on both. All the fruit is hand-harvested in open crates and sorted as needed, then vinified with a variable share of whole clusters depending on the character of the vintage.

Chambertin-Clos de Bèze lies in the northern Côte de Nuits, on a gentle, east-facing slope. Monks from the Abbey of Bèze held vineyards here as early as 630 AD and enclosed the site with a wall that no longer survives, though its soil, a mix of red clay, chalk, and broken stone, remains unchanged. Fermentation and maceration take place over two to three weeks in small open vats, with punch-downs, pump-overs, and indigenous yeasts, followed by sixteen to twenty months in oak barrels, roughly a third of them new.

The 2020 shows a well-defined bouquet of crushed rock and forest floor threading through red berry fruit, with white pepper, clove, and a light saline edge. The palate is elegant rather than overtly powerful, with gentle grip and a long, tender finish.