Joseph Drouhin Beaune 1er Cru 'Clos des Mouches' Blanc 2023 (750ml)

Clos des Mouches lies at the southern edge of Beaune, where the appellation meets Pommard. It sits mid-slope on a gentle rise that faces east and southeast to catch the early sun. Its name goes back to the beehives that once stood inside its walls, since locals called honeybees “mouches à miel,” or honey flies. In the 1920s Maurice Drouhin, son of the house’s founder, set out to assemble the vineyard. He bought 41 separate plots from eight different owners until Drouhin held about 14 hectares, the largest share of the clos and one of the family estate’s first vineyards. The clay-limestone soils turn rocky near the top and become a mix of limestone and marl lower down, which gives the Chardonnay both richness and a firm mineral backbone. Drouhin began farming the vineyard organically in the late 1980s and biodynamically in the 1990s, keeping yields low and harvesting by hand. The grapes are pressed slowly, then the wine is fermented and aged for up to 18 months in French oak, about a quarter of it new. The 2023 season was one of the warmest Burgundy has seen and brought the fruit to full ripeness. The wine shows yellow fruit and white flowers, with a generous palate held in place by bright, clean freshness.