Joseph Drouhin

Iron Gates and a Door to Freedom at Maison Joseph Drouhin

In the heart of Beaune is a beautiful and historical building built by the Romans in 380, that once belonged to the Canons of Beaune, the Dukes of Burgundy and the King of France.

The ancient cellars have remnants of the Romans, which are nearly 2000 years old and this can only be found at Maison Joseph Drouhin.

Joseph Drouhin settled in Beaune in 1880 where he founded his first winery with a dream to offer great wines with excellent quality that would bear his name.

Read more about the history of Joseph Drouhin

The history of Joseph Drouhin

His son succeeded him and began to purchase vineyards in some of the most outstanding appellations in France.

In 1957 Robert Drouhin acquired more vineyards and was one of the first in Burgundy to rid the vineyards of pesticides and herbicides and built a laboratory of oenology that was run by the very first female oenologist, Laurence Jobard.

Today Joseph’s grandchildren: Philippe, Veronique, Laurent and Frederic run the family business that has been passed down from generation to generation, with each one sharing the passion for the vines and the wines.

Wines from Joseph Drouhin

More wines from Joseph Drouhin at page 2

The vineyards

The 73 hectare estate is one of the largest in Burgundy and owns many vineyards in Burgundy and are comprised of Premier and Grand crus that have been planted with Burgundy’s two varietals; Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Throughout the years the domain was put together by purchases and agreements with families through some of the vineyards being amongst some of the most famous in Burgundy.

For the village and regional appellations Joseph compliments the supplies by purchasing the grapes from other vineyard owners.

The network of caves and cellars that were built covers 1 hectare of land.  In the Gothic cellars is where the most prestigious wines are left to age and above the cellar is an old press and this is the cellar of the Collegiale Church.

The winery

House of Dienat

The house of the Dienat which is the headquarters for Joseph Drouhin is located in the historical city centre and faces the Collegiale church of Notre- Dame and was built in the 15th century.

The cellars of the Kings of France and the cave of Parliament was built on an ancient Roman fort in the 4th century and belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy who owned an important vineyard.

Above the cellar is the parliament hall where they created legislation.

When they came into town for legislation they stayed in a hotel that is now a museum and after the death of Marie de Bourgogne the cellars became the property of the King.

Dukes of Burgundy

The cellars of the Dukes of Burgundy were built in the 15th century under the hotel that they stayed in and it now houses the Marc de Bourgogne where it is aged.

Collegiale Church

The winery of the Collegiale Church was built in the 13th century and is known as the caves and a huge press was built called the Perroquet and a trough which measures at 148 square metres which was used until the French Revolution and has been put to use for special occasions such as the Centennial of Maison Joseph Drouhin, the 125th anniversary of the house and for the Millennium.

Moulin de Vaudon

Moulin de Vaudon is an 18th century watermill on the Serein River close to the Grand cru vineyards of Chablis.

Its unique location is at the heart of their 95 acre estate and is owned by the Drouhin family.

The headquarters of the estate and each bottle of Chablis wines produced are under the name Vaudon as a sign of allegiance to the historical terroir.

Some of the wines are able to age for up to forty years and are distinguished by their purity of taste which, when young produce fruity and enticing aromas and with age acquire a complexity that is a “true masterpiece of excellence.”

The wine collection is an extremely large one and they have over 137 wines from the various appellations.

The vineyards

The vineyards are farmed with organic and biodynamic methods where they use natural compost and plough by horse to allow the grass to grow between the vines.

To preserve the genetic heritage the vine stocks are grown in their own nursery.

The vines are grown naturally with herb infusion treatments and natural predators instead of synthetic products.  The vines are densely planted and they have low yields to allow the vines to enhance the soil.

The grapes are picked in perforated crates and then a natural vinification process takes place with destalking, pressing, gravitational decanting of the must and fermentation with indigenous yeasts.

Depending on the terroir ageing is either done in stainless steel vats or oak barrels that have been made by Drouhin with the oak trees from the forest.  The length of time is also determined by the appellation of origin and the vintage.

Finally, nothing gets bottled unless it has been approved by the family after their taste test.

The wines

The barrels are barcoded to identify the origin of the wines and each cork is stamped with the Joseph Drouhin name, the appellation and the vintage guarantee authenticity of their products.

Beaune Clos des Mouches consists of 100% Pinot Noir and is from the southern end of the Beaune appellation on the Drouhin vineyards with clay, limestone, rocky and marl soils.

It is a deep ruby red colour with aromas of cherry, raspberry and blackberry with hints of pepper, tobacco and humus.  This wine competed in the “Great Chardonnay showdown” in 1980.

Other wines in their collection consist of an A to Z in wines beginning with the Aloxe – Corton, Beaujolais Nouveau “Romane,”Beaune Premier Cru, Chablis, Cote de Nuits- villages, Echezeaux Grand Cru, Fleurie, Gevrey – Chambertin, Julienas, Laforet Bourgogne Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Macon – Lugny, Nuits- Saint- Georges, Pernand Vergelesses Blanc and Rouge, Rully, Saint Amour, Volnay and Vosne Romanee, among many others.

Their white wines sell for more than the red wines and they have a vintage collection of wines too.

Visit Joseph Drouhin

A visit is made by appointment and with so many cellars and caves to explore there is also time to visit the vineyards and the estate Domain as well as a taste test with the huge variety of wines that will take you back in history.

Contact information

Jospeh Drouhin
Website: https://www.drouhin.com/en/
Phone: + 33 (0)3 80 24 68 88

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Address

Jospeh Drouhin
7 Rue d’Enfer
21200 Beaune Burgundy, France

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