Firstly let me confess my innate facination for Burgundy. I drink it whenever I can. You will understand, then, my immediate acceptance of an offer to examine the contents of the latest container of Joseph Drouhin burgundies, red and white, to appear on the useful side of the Port Melbourne customs warehouse. Joseph Drouhin is no ordinary firm. It is still run by the Drouhin family, with its head, Robert Drouhin currently in charge of all winemaking and marketing policy. Had the Drouhins been born Swiss then Rolex might have another competitor. They are remarkable people with the flair of the artist, the background and knowledge of the scientist and the dedication of the craftsman. Robert Drouhin is a student of literature at Paris and Heidelberg who at the tender age of twenty-four found himself at the helm of the family’s firm, founded by his grandfather in 1880. Like the rest of his family, he is a highly-competent musician. He plays the violin – the most complicated of instruments. His winemaking philosophies are based on the traditional practices, to let good wines make themselves, only using technology to establish the correct environment for this to occur. He ferments his red in open fermenters, but at controlled lower temperatures. He is innovative enough to have recently purchased land in Oregon on which to grow the pinot noir that has become so fashionable and highly-regarded in that State. “Traditional techniques will make the best wine in a good year”, he says. On a recent visit to Australia Robert Drouhin tried a large number of Australian wines, and found that perhaps we err in an over-use, and perhaps too automatic a use, of technology. “It can rob wine of character and delicacy”, says Drouhin, “but in poorer years there is no substitute for technology”. He went on to add that around thirty years ago his firm went through a period of technological advancement, with the unfortunate results that their wines lost their character, interest and soul. “We have tried everything technically possible in the winery over the last thirty years, and although we are still trying to be new, the traditional techniques still make our best wine”. Anyone who made such a statement in Australia would immediately be put under the microscope. Each wine would be examined, and criticised for any presence of winemaking fault. In Australia, rightly or wrongly, we tend to jump on that sort of thing, often regardless of whether the fluid in question makes a decent drink or not. Anyway, I looked at the Joseph Drouhin wines from a typically critically Australian point of view and they passed. Well, they didn’t just pass – they excelled. There’s something to be learned here. The increasing number of Australian winemakers prepared to take the occasional risk with the traditional techniques of open fermentation, skin contact and malolactic fermentations might be smarter than we all have given them credit for. The Drouhin wines are notable for their softness, approachability and incredible length of flavour. Robert Drouhin says he will not release a wine unless it lasts on the palate long after swallowing which is a pre-requisite for quality in my book. After a sensational year in which everyhting went right in 1985, the 1986 wines, reds especially, looked a little tough and lean. However, if given the chance in the cellar they will certainly show the goods in time to come, although it would still be grossly unfair to compare them to the ’85’s, which will have gone from strength to strength, even then. The new Drouhin range begins with a de-classified Chardonnay, labelled Laforet Bougogne 1988. It shows delicate, peachy fruit, nutty oak and slight malolactic creaminess. The palate is soft, round, with a slightly charry oak influence. It has pleasing weight and freshness, finishing with lively acidity. In all, it’s an honest varietal chardonnay with some real white burgundian characters which retails around $17.72. It competes well against some home-grown alternatives around that price. Marking very hard, I gave it 14.5 out of twenty. The Chablis 1987 is an honest wine with delicate greenish, apple-like fruit, length of flavour and soft acids. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but at $25.59 isn’t out of reach for those who want to see what real Chablis tastes like. I gave it 15.5. A much fuller, richer wine is the Meursault 1987, which at $46.58 shows subdued fruit that should develop well with time. It is oily and toasty – a heavily-wooded burgundy with spicy fruit. Rich, soft and surprisingly tannic at the end, the palate is big up front, but for the time being falls a little short. Again, marking hard, 15.5. Rather impressive indeed was the first-growth Meursault Perrieres 1987, which I awarded 17.5 points. Its nose is richly-flavoured and voluptuous, with impressive spicy, creamy varietal chardonnay fruit. The palate shows a full oka extract, with a rich, oily texture, tremendous weight of honeyed flavour and depth. It goes on and on. At $70.18 it is a speciality wine which can justify the price. It will develop in the bottle for at least ten years. I found the Puligny-Montrachet 1986 utterly charming. A more feminine, elegant wine than the Meursaults, the nose is delicately flavoured with superb integration of buttery, creamy fruit and new oak influence. Soft and utterly smooth, the palate is definitive chardonnay. I would be more than happy to weight the five years or so for the toasty wood on the palate to marry competely with the fruit and tannins. It finishes with a well-controlled grip and long persistence of flavour. I give it 18 points and find the price of $64.94 a dangerous temptation for a special meal. The First-Growth Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1987 is quite brilliant. At $70.18 it needs to be, but I would buy this ahead of the previous wine even though it is a year younger. The colour is a youthful medium straw with a hint of yellow. Remarkably intense, with great depth of fruit and underlying oak, the nose is complex and beautifully-balanced. The palate is very powerful, with richness, grip and a smooth, viscous texture. It has yet to integrate, but the components are all there in big, balanced proportions. Very much a more masculine wine than the Puligny-Montrachet 1986, this wine is massively fruity and persistent in flavour. Anything short of a decade would be too soon. Flagship of this shipment is the decoratively-labelled Beaune Clos des Mouches 1986, another massive wine of immense dimensions on the palate. Its nose is quite immature as yet – with delicate and complex nuances of peachy fruit and new wood. Big, bold and brassy, the palate clearly shows where this wine is heading. It’s almost out-size with its depth of fruit and intense oily, charry oak. The mouthfeel is round and warm – it weighs in at over 13% alcohol. It’s an achievement to make such a wine and keep it in balance. Again, being hard, 18 out of twenty. It retails at $78.05 and should only be bought by those able to keep it a decade or more. Joseph Drouhin have an equivalent to their cheaper chardonnay, the Laforet Bourgogne Pinot Noir 1987, which is a pleasing, simple young wine of some varietal cherry characters, length of flavour and balance. At $17.19 it stacks up quite well against our own. I gave it 14.5 points. The Santenay 1985 is still to loosen up, but given four to five years should be a little better than the 15.5 points I give it here. From the southern tip of the Cotes de Beaune, Santenay is known for wines which begin their life a little unyielding and lean, and this is no exception. It does, however, have some slightly stewy pinot fruit and a dusty, earthy nose. The palate is still quite tannic and lacks real depth of flavour. It retails around $34.51. More impressive was the Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1985, from a First-Growth vineyard which overlooks the fabled Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, It has a bright, fiery colour and a delightful, delicate strawberry-cherry nose with hints of roses. Soft and very approachable, the palate is quite restrained and subtle, with soft tannins and a cherry kernel note. At $93.79 a bottle it would want to be super in five years, and it will be. I gave it 17 points. A little dissapointing was the Gevrey-Chambertin 1985, which you can buy for $62.31. I found it quite spicy, with pleasing fruit, but a little marred with earthy reduced sulphur characters. I realise I sound particularly clinical, and expect full well that your average European would enjoy the ‘farmyard’ smells present, but I prefer not to mix my livestock with my horticulture, if you get the drift. The palate is light-on and quite tannic. It’s not ready yet, but should develop into a lighter, less-complex style in around five to seven years. I give it 14 from twenty. The Gevery-Chambertin Les Cazeriers 1985 was a different, much-improved story. The nose is a little earthy, but shows creamy and heavily-oaked characters with fruit that for the moment at least, is a little subdued by its woody environment. Elegant and refined, the palate is long and supple, with pleasing cherry-strawberry fruit and a firm, well-balanced grip. It is a fine wine that needs at least six years. It sells for $93.79 and I give it 17.5. What can you say about a wine like the Echezeaux 1985 that sounds critical and objective? It is a wine of massive depth and complexity, with perfumed floral characters, chocolates and a salad of berry fruits on the nose. The palate is extraordinay for its weight and richness, depth of fruit and sheer finesse. It is super-powerful without really showing it with a generous weight of tannin you could easily ignore. Remarkable, and definitive pinot noir. It’s easily worth 19 out of 20, and the $104.28 if you ever buy wine at this price. The Musigny 1986 lacks the real depth and finesse of the Echezeaux 1985, but we’re not comparing apples with apples. As I have suggested, 1986 was a leaner year, and the wines will take longer to show their class. Nevertheless, the wine has a fragrant, perfumed sweet berry nose with touches of earthines and spice. The palate needs to develop, but is classically Burgundian with a gamey taste and cherry/raspberry fruit flavours. Its heavily-oaked and the wood has yet to integrate. The tannin and acid are very pronounced and will take around eight years to soften. The wine costs $130.52 and I rated it at 18.5. Musigny is a Grand Cru in Burgundy, to the north of La Romanee Conti and nearby the village of Vougeot. The Clos de Vougeot 1986 is another soft charmer. The nose is gamey, spicy and well-defined, with rich plummy fruit and creamy oak. It has a soft, voluptuous palate with cherry kernel flavours framed by a huge tannic backbone destined to ensure a long future. I rate the wine very highly at 18.5 and the price is a comparative bargain at $88.55. The final wine in the tasting was the Beaune Clos de Mouches 1986 rouge, a firm, robust pinot noir capable of living for decades. The nose is still quite delicate and gamey, with stewy fruit flavours and hints of roses. Huge tannins presently enclose the soft, sweet fruit of the palate, ensuring that a decade or more will need to pass before this wine accepts the fact that it was destined for drinking. I scored the wine at 17.5. It retails around $57.07. Of course these wines aren’t cheap, and nor should they be. I only drink them if I strike lucky with a tasting such as this, or else act sans responsibility or retraint at a licensed restaurant. Value for money will only ever be seen in the eye of the beholder. It would be a waste of time for me to explain to someone they are actually worth the prices asked – it’s something you know inside. Jospeh Drouhin is to be complemented on its consistent quality and style across a range of wines from one of the most difficult, frustrating, yet ultimately rewarding patches of earth in the world.
