Thoughts on Drouhin-Laroze

[Peter_Chiu]

@NoahR

Has anyone actually tried, either and barrel or in bottle, the 2010 grand crus? Would love impressions

Drouhin-Laroze owns many g-crus.

I never have a chance to try his Musigny and B-Mares as they never came to Quebec, Canada.

For his other top g-crus, I owned and tried at least 2 or 3 of his other top g-cru, specially from from vintage 08 and 09 ( including CdBeze ).

For vintage 2010 the CdBeze and CdV were not offered here …so I only bought his Latricieres. So far I have not open any …YET. I will only star opening them in 2020.

If the price is right, I would recommend that you should buy them without any hesitation.

Here is what Meadows said :

Latricieres : .67 ha parcel of extremely old vines.

CdVougeot : from a superbly situated 1 ha parcel high on the hill.

CdBeze : from a parcel of 1.5 ha of vines planted in 1949.

[Peter_Chiu]

@Peter Chiu

In Quebec, Canada we used to have Drouhin-Laroze (domaine) and Laroze de Drouin (negoc - operated by daughter Caroline ).

His best domaine-reds are Musigny and CdBeze; the nest are his B-Mares and CdVougeot and then…Latriceres. They were priced extremely reasonable…and I love them.

Sadly…the 2012 CdBeze, CdV and Latricers …are no longer here.

[John_J_Vachon]

Noah:

I’ve had all of the Grand Cru’s in 2010(except the Musigny)-very good wines a bit thinner maybe but

I liked the acid touch of the vintage.

[Robert_Pavlovich]

Robert, glad you pointed out Cathiard’s and DRC’s oak regimens. It’s an interesting subject, and reminds me of an idea I had for a thread a while back.

[Eric_Lundblad]

This discussion here, or the comments about the ‘pre-Nico’ DL regime, reminds me of a discussion a while ago about Dugat and Dugat-Py and why those aren’t more popular/discussed here. The take home of that discussion (for me) was the extract and oak (of Dugat/Dugat-Py) is out of style now, and requires lots of time to evolve/integrate and to show well, but reflects burgundy (from a viewpoint) once they get there. The ones I’ve had were too young, but this made sense to me. Seems that pre-Nico era DL wines (early 2000s to early 2010s?) are made in that same era/values…and the quality/consistency of the winemaking improved (from the 90’s/prior) to make aging a somewhat more realistic gamble (aging all burgundy is a gamble).

Regarding oak: I’ve had a few DLs, which showed oak…but were more balanced than, say, the mid 2000s Bouchard reds.

[Martin_Steinley]

@Robert Panzer

Beze
Bonnes Mares
CV
Chapelle or Latricieres
Lavaut
Chambolle “villages” (1er Baudes below BM and Veroilles, the ol’ high-low combo)

Even the '13 villages is a beaut.
But if I were to go straight for the serious…
Trying painfully young le Musigny is not worth it, fwiw.

Well, the Musigny is about a $400 toss, so no worries there. I will, however, give the others a go. Thank you for your recommendations.

[Howard_Davis]

Here’s the link to my notes on the '13s including the new oak percentages:

https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=26749&searchId=814083BE&UISource=list

I didn’t find the wines overoaked or over extracted. The new oak percentages, as Robert reports, are nothing out of the ordinary. Each to their own I guess …

[Robert_Pavlovich]

Good to see the positive report Howard. Interesting also to see the comments on 2013. I’ve heard conflicting reports from producers on whether '13 will go a distance.

[dbailey]

Just bought a 6 pack of the 14 BM to go with my other 14s from them!

[Nigel_Bruce]

Howard,
Intriguing that during your tasting the parents appear to make absolutely no reference to their son Nicolas. Was that the case, or have you just edited down what you noted at the time? Your recollection gives the impression the father saw himself as fully in charge of the 2013 vintage.
Nigel

[Howard_Davis]

Nigel,

We spent the full time with the two parents. Even though Philippe talked about different vintages, I don’t recall either of them mentioning their son winemaking. Having said that, the visit was two years ago, I might have forgotten something …

Cheers, Howard

[Robert_Panzer]

Fwiw, I have often seen that in estates transitioning to the young generation making the wines, visitors are greeted by the generation appropriate to the visitors. Older folks with mom and dad, younger folks with the “kids”.
Steve Tanzer had never met Etienne Grivot’s daughter, Mathilde, as of last year, always received uniquely by Etienne. As an example…

[Michael_Bowden]

@Robert Panzer

Fwiw, I have often seen that in estates transitioning to the young generation making the wines, visitors are greeted by the generation appropriate to the visitors. Older folks with mom and dad, younger folks with the “kids”.
Steve Tanzer had never met Etienne Grivot’s daughter, Mathilde, as of last year, always received uniquely by Etienne. As an example…

When did Mathilde become the head winemaker? Did Etienne retire?

[Robert_Panzer]

They work together, but she has been as hands on as Etienne for the past 4-5 years…the baton is passing.

[Nigel_Bruce]

Hi Howard,
It was just the stark difference between your account of your June 2014 visit and Robert’s of his Nov. 2014 visit in post 15 re. the father sharing credit with his son. I just got the feeling from your account that Philippe was not ready to hand over the reins…by November for whatever reason, he was perhaps more convinced of the positive influence of his son’s input. Would that make sense Robert?

[Howard_Davis]

@Robert Panzer

Fwiw, I have often seen that in estates transitioning to the young generation making the wines, visitors are greeted by the generation appropriate to the visitors. Older folks with mom and dad, younger folks with the “kids”.
Steve Tanzer had never met Etienne Grivot’s daughter, Mathilde, as of last year, always received uniquely by Etienne. As an example…

Hmm Robert. Are you trying to say I’m an old guy? I’ll have you know I’ve been hosted on visits by new generation people eg Silvia Altare or Luigi Scavino. Then again who am I kidding …

Off topic, Robert you’re not next in Burgundy late June are you?

Cheers, Howard