Celebrating 100 years of Joseph Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches

This year the renowned Burgundy producer and négociant, Maison Joseph Drouhin, celebrates the 100-year anniversary of their ownership of Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru, a vineyard named after the honeybees who would forage here.

Their first parcel was purchased in 1921 by Maurice Drouhin, son of founder Joseph, after he took over the family company in 1918. Maurice’s objective was twofold: to improve the quality of Maison Drouhin wines; and to secure his grape supply by buying vines.

Since transportation was still by horse in those days, he decided to buy a high-quality parcel that he knew and liked, and which was not far from their winemaking facilities in the centre of Beaune.

Scroll down to see scores and tasting notes for 11 Clos des Mouches wines

Though it would still be 22 years before Clos des Mouches was officially recognised as a premier cru by the French appellation system, the vineyard had been acknowledged by both well-known botanist Jules Lavalle and wine critic Camille Rodier, as a top cru (‘1ère Cuvée’ & ‘Tête de Cuvée’) in both 1855 and 1920, respectively.

Clos des Mouches therefore represented exactly what he was looking for.

This article contains:

• History of Clos des Mouches and current practises
• Maison Joseph Drouhin at a glance
• Clos des Mouches – an overview of the vintages tasted: 1990-2019

Maurice bought many more parcels of the premier cru over the following 10 years to create the 14 hectares that Drouhin owns today, representing just over half of the climat.

However, the parcels were not in good shape. Following the ravages of phylloxera and World War I, the vineyard needed replanting.

At the time it was common to plant Pinot Noir intermixed with Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris (known locally as ‘Pinot Beurot’). These white varieties were picked at the same time and co-fermented with the Pinot Noir. They were viewed as beneficial, adding roundness and refinement, particularly helpful in the years Pinot Noir struggled to ripen.

But Maurice instead decided to plant his Chardonnay separately, in another parcel.

In 1928, serendipity struck. The Chardonnay was not ripe enough when the Pinot Noir was ready for picking, so he had to harvest it later and vinify it separately. He was so delighted with the result that he contacted Eugène Cornuché, a friend who was the director of Maxim’s in Paris, a restaurant who had counted King Edward VII, Maurice Chevalier and Jean Cocteau amongst its customers.

Enchanted by the wine, M. Cornuché asked for all 300 bottles. While it wasn’t much in volume, it was enormous in terms of symbolism. And thus the reputation of Clos des Mouches Blanc was born.

Maison Joseph Drouhin at a glance:

Year founded: 1880

Head winemaker: Véronique Drouhin

Technical director : Jérome Faure-Brac (since 2006)

Hectares owned : 80 (90% premier & grand cru)

• Chablis : 38ha
• Côte d’Or : 38.5ha (Clos des Mouches 1er Cru – 14ha)
• Côte Chalonnaise : 3.5ha

Number of wines: 100 (circa 60 from owned vineyards)

Today, the four children of the fourth generation of the Drouhin family all work together, a rare occurrence in Burgundy nowadays.

Philippe, the eldest, looks after all the Domaine vineyards in both Burgundy and Oregon. He and his father Robert worked together to convert Clos des Mouches and their other vineyards to organic viticulture in the late 1980s. This led to ongoing biodynamic practices which gave life back into the soil following years of chemical fertilisers and treatments, common in the region in the previous decades.

Chardonnay is still planted in separate parcels from the Pinot Noir, with a 50/50 split between the two varieties. Though Philippe has more or less kept the same plantation layout as Maurice, he thinks that further development could be done to see if certain parcels are better suited to Pinot Noir and others to Chardonnay due to the diversity of soil types, drainage, depth and slope.

Robert’s daughter Véronique works as head winemaker for the company, alongside their technical director Jérôme Faure-Brac.

She explains Clos des Mouches is treated like a grand cru, where each harvest requires multiple passes and can take up to 8-10 days to pick. Because each parcel is vinified separately, she is able to see that there are clear differences between them, showing the complexity of the terroir.

When asked what makes Clos des Mouches special, she pauses for a moment and says; ‘It is a white Burgundy like no other and yet like all of them in one. It has the minerality and richness of Corton-Charlemagne and the freshness and elegance of Puligny-Montrachet. If you taste it blind, you cannot really pinpoint where it is from. It is unique.’

So does the red wine have the same attributes? She continues; ‘The rouge is an excellent Beaune 1er Cru too. It has more elegance than other top crus from Beaune, even though it is situated next to Pommard, a wine known for its structure. Clos des Mouches rouge has a delicateness similar to Chambolle-Musigny. But there is still something additionally special about the Blanc.’

To commemorate the centenary on a personal level, the Drouhins have planted a linden tree, known for its fragrance and highly appreciated by the family, at the top of the vineyard. The tree was named ‘Maurice’.

‘In the coming years, we are looking forward to watching it grow and take root, just like my grandfather did with his vineyard,’ Véronique avows. Here’s to the next 100 years!

Clos des Mouches – an overview of the vintages tasted:

2019 – The second vintage in a row with a long, hot and dry summer. But despite the somewhat extreme conditions, many of the resulting wines are strikingly fresh with lots of fruit and good acidity. Quantities at Drouhin were, however, down by 20%.

2017 – A vintage with healthy fruit and yields following on from the devastatingly low production caused by the frost that struck the 2016 vintage. Many wines have good energy and a fruity touch, creating an easy-drinking, moreish yet fresh style.

2011 – One of the earliest harvests on record which started in August for many. Fruit was generally healthy though under-ripe berries had to be picked out. Wines are generally more fruit-driven with moderate alcohol levels but also with good density.

2008 – A challenging vintage that suffered from hail, threats of mildew, some issues with ripeness and nail bitingly slow malolactic fermentations. Rigorous sorting was required. The resulting wines have an appealing classic structure and a moderately strict style that respects the individual terroirs. Whites were generally more successful.

2006 – A more challenging growing season with both hot and cold summer temperatures. Though a wonderful September helped finally set the right pace, a thunder storm mid-month caused the Chardonnay to ripen quickly. Despite reds having the advantage in many domaines, Véronique feels the opposite is the case for Drouhin and says they produced some excellent whites, including Clos des Mouches, that have always shown well.

2000 – A vintage that produced notably high yields and delivered rain at the end of the growing season in parts of the Côte de Beaune. Resulting reds are fruity, appealing and have aged well despite being only moderately dense. Whites are thought to have the slight upper hand, offering more poise and freshness.

1999 – A five-star vintage in red which is considered one of the best in the last 50 years. Despite the huge quantities of grapes that were produced, many of the wines have shown impressive density, power and complexity. Many have not yet peaked. Not as revered in white, which can be rich, ripe and evolved.

1990 – A vintage that was extremely well-viewed in its youth, particularly for red, as conditions were not unduly different from the legendary 1959 growing season: hot, dry and intense. Reds showed impressive fruit and concentration, but over the years many have evolved quicker than expected.

11 Clos des Mouches wines tasted:

The wines are ordered by colour and by vintage in descending order

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