Berry asks a good question. At least a few hours of slow-O can really increase the depth (and overall quality) of most decent Burgs. It’s especially effective with mature wines - but it takes a lot longer with younger ones. And usually any that are initially light bodied also seem to improve quiye a bit. I don’t have much experience with decanting anymore, but used to feel that 60-90 minutes in a carafe was a virtual necessity many times.
They usually do need air, Berry and others are correct. Occasionally they can be scrubbed too clean, but a bit of air usually brings out the terroir. Another option is waiting at least 15 years to crack one (which is what I prefer 
)
I find Drouhin needs this more than many if not most producers.
Interesting comments. Does anyone have any experience with the following Drouhin wines? I don’t have much experience with Burgundy, and recently picked them up from an acquaintance:
1995 and 1997 Joseph Drouhin Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Serpentières
I’m curious how much air I should give these after opening. I’m going to open them soon. I hope they drink well, but I don’t have any expectations either way. There’s nothing on Cellartracker.
I’ve not had those wines, but the 1995 Clos des Mouches are light and put on weight and aromatic interest with air. I’d slow ox the wines for several hours and decant or doubele decant an hour ahead of time if you feel it’s needed (take a small taste then).
This is what I do to take the guess work out of it:
Open them earlier in the day and take a very small taste. If they are are tasting good then just put the cork back in. If they are tight then pour out a half glass. When the wine is open, pour in the wine back to the bottle and replace the cork. If its getting closer to dinner and the wine isnt budging then pour out more (up to a 1/2 bottle) to quicken the oxygenation and then pour the wine back in when it opens. In general try and disturb the wine the least amount as possible to perserve the aromatics.
Berry, those '06 Petits Monts were decanted when opened, then had many hours to sample them. Did not disappear fast, I can tell ya. I hope it was just an awkward stage, and next time will be better.
Sounds like they had every chance to at least start to show well.
It does make me think about the 2006 Drouhin Clos Vougeot. The first few times I had it after release it seemed too oaky and too lacking in substance for me. I was pretty disapointed. I had it again about 4 months ago (different souce) and it was really good. Fantastic even. Maybe it just needed a few more years in bottle or maybe my first source had bad provenance. I have at least one more bottle from that source so time will tell.
That 2001 Moose will be a winner - that is a fantastic wine. Truth be told I don’t think the 2006’s are the best example of what Drouhin can do. Perhaps it’s just a closed phase - time will tell. I own some and have buried them. The 2001’s seem pretty accessible to me and I own a largish pile of the 2001 Charmes Chambertin which has been a go to bottle for the past year or so.
Its worth mentioning that Drouhin had a new winemaker starting in 2006.
I always bought Drouhin in good vintages, typically the Chambertin Clos de Beze, Musigny, sometimes the Griotte, maybe an Amoureuses on occasion. The prices were always quite reasonable for grand cru Burgundy, and I have had some great bottles. I agree, it seemed like they put on weight n the bottle. I was never as impressed when I tasted their range upon release, and always was impressed when I tasted the Domaine-owned properties after some years in the cellar.
The big change in pricing, I believe, came in 2005. Maybe my memory is off, but it seemed like all of a sudden the Beze went from like $125-150 up to $400+, Petit Monts from $80-90 up to $250+, and so on. Crazy. And they stayed there, it seemed, regardless of vintage…06, 07, etc. At those prices, I am no longer a buyer. At those prices, if i chose to pay more for a bottle than is truly sane, I would prefer Dujac or Mugnier Musigny… regular channels’ pricing, that is, not inflated secondary or grey market prices.
Anyone know the story behind the huge price increase? Yes, the 05 vintage was hyped, but they stayed up there!
They likely just felt they were leaving money on the table. It seems like their wines still sell so they were likely right. Maybe they import less to the USA now, I don’t know.
It was definitely as of the 2005 vintage. I pretty much skipped 2005 expecting prices to come down in '06 but they never did. I’d be curious to know if the markups were coming from Drouhin or the importer, anyone have a handle on prices in Europe?
I bought some 2006 Drouhins in Beaune at much better prices than I ever saw over here, but still significantly more than pre-2005 levels.
After many years of our local Seattle retailer supporting Drouhin in good years and bad, the 2005 grand crus did not make an appearance AT ALL. I was told that they did not even hit the state of Washington. I then heard the rumor that “someone” had bought a good portion of the upper level Drouhin reds at the winery itself, and that basically was felt all the way down the normal distribution channels. Does anyone know anything about that? Just curious whether that was fiction or fact.
Dreyfus, Ashby & Company is the importer but since they are 90% owned by Drouhin (I’m pretty sure) its kind of a moot point to ask “who” raised the prices because the answer is “Drouhin” either way.
As a guide, I get the musigny EP for ca. £200 pre-tax (equivalent to ca. $370 all in) in the UK. Not cheap in absolute terms but a steal relative to any other decent musigny producer in my view. Ergo, it’s the good old US distribution chain that is gouging you guys as usual.
We paid about $270 US at KL for the 2007. But this was a 2007 so maybe not representative
As a side note, the BH reviews for Drouhin in 06 were less than enthusiastic.
Price I quoted was 2009 and 2010.