Burgundy and the Drouhins. Two grapes, countless climats.

Burgundy's two great grapes

Burgundy stretches from Chablis in the north to the Mâconnais in the south, with the Côte d'Or, the golden slope, at its heart. From Beaune you can head north to the Côte de Nuits or south to the Côte de Beaune and taste some of the world's greatest reds and whites within a short drive.

Pinot Noir has no other true heartland. It is thin-skinned and pale, with red fruit, flowers and sweet spice, and with age notes of truffle, mushroom and dried leaves. Chardonnay changes like a chameleon from place to place: citrus and mineral in Chablis, stone fruit and white flowers in the Côte d'Or, rounder and riper further south. Because the place matters more than the grape, Burgundy labels rarely name either variety.

Monks, walls and 1,247 climats

Millions of years of marine sediment, folded by the rise of the Alps and broken by faults, left a mosaic of limestone, marl and clay that can change every hundred meters. From the ninth century, monks studied these slopes, noticing where the snow melted first, built walls around the best plots and gave them names. Perrières means stony ground; Clos des Mouches refers to bees.

These named plots are the climats, 1,247 of them along the Côte d'Or. The grands crus usually sit mid-slope, with premiers crus and village wines around them and generic Bourgogne at the bottom and top. French inheritance law, which splits estates equally among children, helps explain why famous vineyards have so many owners: Montrachet's eight hectares are shared by 14, Clos de Vougeot's 50 by 84.

Maison Joseph Drouhin

Founded in 1880 by Joseph Drouhin, the house is both a négociant and a vineyard owner across Burgundy, with special expertise in Chablis and the Côte d'Or. The family's first vineyard purchase was in the Clos des Mouches in Beaune. When the grandfather tasted its Chardonnay, he decided not to blend it into his Pinot Noir, and the famous Paris restaurant Maxim's asked for the exclusivity. Its fame has never faded.

Today four siblings divide the work. Véronique Drouhin makes the wines, Philippe runs the vineyards, and Frédéric and another brother look after the business side, while their father Robert still joins the tastings. Véronique tells a lovely story of Sunday blind tastings around the family table, and of how a woman taster hired by her father showed her that winemaking could be her path too.

Biodynamics and a style that never changed

Philippe convinced the family to farm their entire estate biodynamically. Yields fell for several years and then recovered, and the family believes living soils express terroir more truly. Drouhin also held its ground when critics praised heavier, oakier wines; Robert refused to add more oak to please the press. The house even partnered with a cooper to make sure its barrel staves were properly dried.

Elegance is the goal. Find out which Drouhin wine scored a perfect 100, why a Musigny is called the most beautiful expression of Pinot Noir, and why Tim Atkin MW thinks the wines are as good now as they have ever been.

Food, music and aging

Tim Atkin MW also offers some down-to-earth advice for anyone nervous about wine language: trust your own palate. We all smell and taste every day, and your opinion of a wine is worth something.

Thanks to its acidity rather than heavy tannin, good red Burgundy can age for decades. The family and the hosts, Tim Atkin MW and Jeannie Cho Lee MW, suggest pairings from grilled lobster and fish in cream sauce to Époisses cheese and truffle risotto, and even debate the right music for Clos des Mouches.

Go furtherWant to taste along? Find Joseph Drouhin’s wines and where to buy them near you on Wine-Searcher.