Drouhin's medieval cellars in Burgundy
If you’re looking for a mind-blowing wine for a
special holiday dinner, look no further.
If you’re a white wine lover, get ready to be transported to Mecca. I’ll be writing in a separate article in this
blog about the best wines of our recent Wine-Knows tour to France, but I couldn’t
wait to share this one from our stop in Burgundy.
If you’re a history buff, the appeal of Clos de
Mouches makes it an even more compelling choice. First let me share that I tasted this in the medieval
underground cellar of Drouhin….but his isn’t just any cellar by a long
shot. There are 2.5 acres of illustrious
caves tunneled underneath Burgundy’s capital city, Beaune, during the 13th-18th
centuries. These are the very cellars in
which the Drouhin family (as well as many other Burgundian winemakers) successfully
hid their premier wines from the Nazi’s in WW II. Drinking even bottled water here is a magical
experience, let alone a Clos de Mouches blanc.
The story of how the blanc (white) Clos de Mouches came to be is also a little treasure
of history. The birth of the wine occurred in the 1920’s
as France was struggling to recover from the first World War. At this time, both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
were planted in the Clos de Mouches vineyard and often mixed together in the
blend, but 90% of the Clos de
Mouches parcel was Pinot. One year, the
Chardonnay did not ripen, so the Pinot was picked and vinified alone. Then, a very unusual hot spell descended on
Burgundy and the white grapes ripened…but it was too late to add them to the
Pinot. As it was a very small volume,
Drouhin decided to try something unique and made a small batch just of the
Chardonnay---it was too small of an amount to sell on the marketplace, so
Drouhin intended to keep it for his family’s personal consumption. If it hadn’t been for the winemaker taking a bottle
to a friend, I wouldn’t be writing this article, as this white wine would never
have been made again.
His friend lived in Paris…and just happened to own the
wildly popular Maxim’s Restaurant (3 Michelin stars). The proprietor of Maxim’s took one taste of
the Clos de Mouche blanc and told
Drouhin he would buy every bottle available.
It was here in Maxim’s that the famous actor Maurice Chevalier fell in
love with the wine and proclaimed it his favorite.
For all of you ABC’s out there
(anything-but-chardonnay) hold on! If
anything will change your mind, this Premier Cru Clos de Mouche white is the
one. The 2010 vintage that I tasted in
the magnificent cellars was complex and elegant, with notes of citrus
intermingling with floral, almond, nutmeg and mineral. This one had me at “hello.” Thankfully,
it’s widely available in the US and its price tag of $70-90 (depending on the
vintage) makes it the perfect wine for a special occasion holiday event.
FYI…there is also a Clos de Mouches red by Drouhin
made from Pinot. While we’ve tasted it
during the visit to Drouhin as well, it was the white version that made the
earth of the cellars move for me…and I’m a red wine gal.
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