2020 Joseph Drouhin - Vosne Romanee 750ml) [PRE ARRIVAL]

Maison Joseph Drouhin balances traditional and modern methods across its vineyards and cellars, running its own on-site nursery, plowing between rows, and thinning leaves by hand to manage ripening. Grapes are entirely hand-harvested, and fermentation takes place in open vats before the wine ages in oak, an approach the house has followed since Joseph Drouhin founded the firm in Beaune over a century ago. That same commitment to careful vineyard work led to full organic certification for all estate-grown grapes from the 2009 vintage onward, part of a broader shift toward more natural farming across the Drouhin holdings.

This village-level Vosne-Romanée draws in part on fruit from parcels near the Aux Chaumes premier cru, giving it added depth for a village wine. The grapes are vinified using the same disciplined, low-intervention methods Drouhin applies throughout its range, with a moderate use of new oak meant to support rather than dominate the fruit.

The 2020 opens with a touch of reduction that clears to reveal focused, blue-tinged fruit beneath. The palate is medium-bodied, with supple tannins and floral notes that turn toward wilted violet on the finish, gaining grip and structure with a little time in the glass.