My overview of how the 2018 vintage went at Drouhin is here.
I found the whites to include some wines that simply were not very good, a shocking situation for Drouhin, one of the finest and most consistent producers in Burgundy. Perhaps these disappointing wines, which I have not found in well over thirty years of tasting through Drouhin’s wines, are a reflection of the very complicated and fast ripening process at harvest? My notes here are only on the wines that I found to be of sufficiently good quality.
Wines that were in bottle when I tasted them in most cases had been bottled several months before and so should have recovered from any bottle sickness.
2018 Mâcon-Lugny Les Crays
Mineral nose, smooth on palate, moderate acidity. Pleasing apple fruit. Lacks some grip. 13% stated alcohol. 87/B
2018 Mâcon-Bussières Les Clos
Tight, mineral nose. Minerality, some creaminess on palate. Relative to the more disappointing wines, this has more freshness, depth, and body. 87/B
2018 Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu
Fresh nose with some minerality. Apple fruit in mouth with minerality, freshness, good acidity. No oak, old or new, on this wine. This is now an estate wine; previously, Drouhin had bought the grapes from this vineyard and from another grower. 90/B+
2018 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros
Complex nose. Lighter on the palate than the Mont de Milieu. Delicate and fine, some citric elements. Raised in barrels that were 2-5 years old and originally had been used in the Côte d’Or. 91/B
2018 Rully
Light, pure, some minerality, and freshness. Some charm. 87/B
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet
Floral and mineral nose. Light in weight, mineral, extremely elegant. (86-88)
2018 Meursault
Mineral and pure in nose. Mineral in mouth, some lime, good density, finesse, round, smooth. (89-92)
2018 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatières
Gala apple nose. Medium-weight, some glossiness of texture. (89-92)
2018 Meursault 1er Cru Genevrières
Apple blossom nose. Creamy texture, medium-weight, long, apply. Not really identifiable as Genevrières, though. (91-93)
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Embazées
Some minerality in nose and mouth, light elegant, not much depth. (86-88)
2018 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot Marquis de Laguiche
Crisp, mineral nose and mouth. Light but pure, good penetration, elegant. (91-93)
2018 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches
Perfumed aromas. In mouth, good density, tightness, purity. Apple fruit, depth. Picked between 30 August and 8 September; some of the wine was declassified to the Côte de Beaune blanc. (92-95)
2018 Corton-Charlemagne
Drouhin produces an estate Corton-Charlemagne and a negociant one; this is the estate one. Apple blossom nose. Mouth is crisp, light, somewhat tightly-wound. Length and purity. (92-94)
2018 Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche
Pure, intense, focused, magical nose. Medium-weight. Slight sucrosity that should go away with aging. Power, finesse, elegance, length, purity -- it’s all there. (94-97)
In addition to the foregoing wines, there were six others that I did not find sufficiently meritorious to write up.
In addition to the foregoing wines, there were six others that I did not find sufficiently meritorious to write up.