If there is one winery that is typical and representative of Burgundy, it has to be Joseph Drouhin. This maison, founded in 1882 by Joseph Drouhin, began as a winery in Beaune and today ranks as one of the largest in the region with 80 hectares. With a determined and entrepreneurial spirit, this founder not only led it to become one of the largest estates in the region today, but also made it one of the area’s pioneers in moving towards sustainable agriculture and the creation of an oenology laboratory with Laurence Jobard (the first female oenologist in Burgundy). To this day this company is still going and is run by Philippe, Véronique, Laurent and Frédéric (Joseph’s great-grandchildren), and they make red wines like Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, a single-variety wine made from Pinot Noir and aged for 18 months in French oak barrels.
This Pinot Noir is grown in several plots in the famous Chambolle-Musigny vineyard in the south of the Côte de Nuits (in the Burgundy Côte d'Or). Here the winery owns several premiers crus (Noirots, Hauts Doix, Borniques, Plantes, Combottes) that are too small to be vinified separately. Facing east, all of these plots are harvested together and this will be reflected on the label showing the A.O.C. Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru denomination. The old vines, with an average age of 32 years old, grow on limestone soil and have been cultivated biodynamically for decades (with manure compost, horse-drawn ploughs, plant infusions, sulphur and copper).
Under this philosophy, there is no other way to harvest the grapes than by hand, in small perforated boxes that guarantee the safe transfer of the bunches to the winery. Once there, the grapes are selected and transferred to a tank where they are macerated for 2 to 3 weeks. After this process, where aromas and scents are extracted, alcoholic fermentation begins with native yeasts (at a controlled temperature). Finally, Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru is aged for 14 to 18 months in French oak barrels (20% of which are new) until it is bottled. The best way to travel through Burgundy without leaving home.