2007 Maison Joseph Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru

Drouhin’s 2007 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru is redolent of red licorice, red raspberry, cherry, lily, and nutmeg. Its alluring aromas presage its sweetly-ripe, polished palate, and it finishes with good length, although it loses just a bit of its fruit purity and smoothness at that point. I would plan to enjoy this over the next 3-5 years. “2008 was very slow in doing its malolactic – which was good, and ended up with a pretty lively impression of acidity” remarked Veronique Boss-Drouhin, “and I think the wines will be slow to evolve in bottle, as well.” Numerous cuvees were still in tank or barrel when I visited in March, which constitutes an unusually late schedule at this address. The 2007s, by contrast, were bottled even earlier than normal, most at age 12 months. In 2008, a 15-25% share of stems and whole clusters was included in the fermenting vat for the Clos des Mouches and for most of the Drouhin grand crus, whereas in 2007 that degree of vendange entier was practically the rule across the entire Drouhin range (by no means all of which I tasted). Importer: Dreyfus-Ashby & Co., New York, NY; tel. (212) 818-0770