CHAMBOLLE MUSIGNY

2017 1er Cru Les Amoureuses Domaine Joseph Drouhin

EN PRIMEUR

Wonderfully perfumed and ripe with sweetness of fruit, showing strawberries and orange peel. Floral, too. Full-bodied, round and mouth-filling with ripe and round tannins. Nutmeg and plum flavors. Extremely long and persistent. Drink after 2022, but already so open and sexy. Drinking range: 2022 - Rating: 95 Nick Stock, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2019)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

Tasting this delicious wine reminds you why Chambolle is such a great village. This esteemed 1er Cru vineyard gives you everything you can dream of with Chambolle Musigny, Lovely elegant, gentle attack does not lack intensity and there is a ripe feel to the pretty red fruit. - the floral notes build with rose petal and cherry blossom in such a gorgeously gentle, but defined way. The detailing here is gorgeously precise - yet has such a pretty softness too. Really very delicious - aromatic with a fine mineral backdrop - classic, lacy, soft feel and a big step up from their village wine. Refined wine yet this gives simple pleasure. Drinking range: 2021 - 2027L&S (Nov 2018)

(40% whole clusters). This too is strikingly floral with its spicy, pure and cool nose that blends attractively complex aromas of both red and dark currant. In the same fashion as the Clos de Bèze, the palate impression of the vibrant middle and overtly mineral-driven flavors is almost delicate yet in contrast to the Bèze, they tighten up on the youthfully austere and gorgeously persistent finish. This is a bona fide ‘wow’ wine. Drinking range: 2029 - Rating: 95 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Apr 2019)

The 2017 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses was a little reserved when I tasted it, unwinding in the glass with aromas of raspberries, spices and subtle new oak, holding back the floral top notes that routinely characterize this cuvée and which I'm sure will emerge in due course. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with a succulent and voluminous core of beautifully pure fruit, satiny structuring tannins and a long, delineated finish. I caught this at a bad moment, but it's evidently an excellent Amoureuses in the making. Rating: 92-94 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2019)

The 2017 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses 1er Cru was picked on September 8 and includes 40% whole cluster fruit. What I love about this Amoureuses is that it could not come from anywhere except this prestigious vineyard. The refined floral bouquet is sensual and nicely defined. The harmonious, feminine palate is beautifully balanced, displaying filigreed tannin and a precise, transparent finish that is intellectual as well as seductive. This is a beautifully crafted wine and vies with the Clos-de-Bèze as one of Drouhin’s finest 2017s. Drinking range: 2023 - 2045 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2019)

Mid crimson. Seductively, delicately scented. Red fruits, not overly sweet-smelling, and a delicate dusty/mineral note. Refined, slim, harmonious and fresh. The length is amazing. Mouth-watering, pure and all tongue-tied on the palate but ready for a long life. Drinking range: 2027 - 2047 Rating: 18.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Dec 2018)

Joseph Drouhin, founded in 1880 and still family owned, are one of the most well-respected names in Burgundy, especially through their flagship wine, the iconic Clos des Mouches.

A huge part of the Drouhin production comes from their own domaine fruit (78 hectares), and much of the rest comes from contracts such as that with the Marquis de Laguiche, who shook hands with the grandfather of the current generation, agreeing to let him manage his vineyards which included an important part of Le Montrachet; this collaboration endures. Today, the fourth generation is at the helm

Small refinements continue to be made here. The presses have been changed - a reversion to basket pressing for the reds, and for whites the presses are open - along with a number of other growers they are following the trend to think that slight oxidation of the juice before fermentation is not a problem and may add complexity as well as avoiding later problems of premature oxidation in bottle.

For the reds there has been the introduction of selective whole-bunch fermentation in the Côte de Nuits wines. The house style remains one that 'emphasises the natural elegance of great Burgundies' as they describe it. The domaine is all cultivated with an organic and biodynamic approach.

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Wines bought en primeur are scheduled to arrive in the UK over the course of the next eighteen months. If you do not wish to take home delivery, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our primeurs team for more information.

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BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

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