LE MUSIGNY

2019 Grand Cru Domaine Joseph Drouhin

EN PRIMEUR

Oh yes. Wow. Gracefully such pretty perfume rises from the glass. On the palate there is subtle and yet forceful fruit, a persistence. Textbook sophistication of Burgundian Pinot. Nicely ripe - but still such poise and restraint. Super silky, but with drive and gentle power pushing on and on. Lovely baking spice and perfectly cleaved deep red fruit is pitch-perfect. Firm but still inviting. This will be hard to resist young, but will run and run. The family have 67 ares here (over half a HA) - 'we are very lucky' Veronique tells us - yes indeed! L&S (Nov 2020)

* 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.

The star wine of the event. Glowing purple in colour, the 2018 Drouhin Musigny is magical in all its dimensions, without any suggestion of being a blockbuster. The fruit is superbly sensual while maintaining its gracefulness, and the tannins are exceptionally fine grained. The acidity is also beautifully integrated and the persistence stands out. What more to say? Tasted: March 2022 Rating: ***** Jasper Morris - Inside Burgundy  (Mar 2022)

A super-elegant and super-silky Musigny that glides over the palate, in spite of its serious tannin structure. Excellent concentration of fine red-berry flavors. Lively acidity that gives this great delicacy at the very long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2023. Rating: 96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jul 2021)

(from a .68 ha parcel). Like the Amoureuses, a highly perfumed nose displays a blend of floral, spice, plum and dark currant aromas. Here too the mouthfeel of the slightly bigger and more powerful flavors remains highly refined and super-sleek with an equally delicate mid-palate texture, all wrapped in a firm, powerful and even classier finale. This is indisputably regal and as is often the case, this is easily the best wine in the range in 2019. Beautiful juice that is packed with upside development potential. Drinking range: 2034 - Rating: 96 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com (Apr 2021)

Drouhin's 2019 Musigny Grand Cru is brilliant, soaring from the glass with aromas of raspberries, cherries, orange rind, exotic spices, rose petals, musk and classy new oak. Full-bodied, layered and perfumed, it's deep and multidimensional, with lively acids, powdery tannins and a long, mineral finish. This is worth a special effort to seek out. Rating: 95-97 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Jan 2021)

The 2019 Musigny Grand Cru contains 40% whole bunch. It has a beguiling bouquet of haunting delineation, featuring very pure black fruit mixed with truffle and light Earl Grey aromas. The palate is exquisitely balanced, hints of allspice and clove infusing the black fruit. A touch of dark chocolate emerges toward the very persistent finish, which fans out just as you would expect from a Musigny. Effortless. Drinking range: 2025 - 2055 Rating: 96-98 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Dec 2020)

Intense nose – more closed than the Clos de Bèze. But with majestic palate-spread and complexity. A dry (rather than sweet, but not drying) finish. Beautifully precise. Cherry juice but not the excessive black-cherry notes of an overripe wine. Fresh, refined and extremely long. A bone-dry finish but with crackling energy. Denser than the Clos de Bèze. Glorious. Drinking range: 2027 - 2045 Rating: 18.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Dec 2020)

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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STORAGE OPTIONS:

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.

While helpful, we do not require a firm commitment on delivery destination to process your primeur order at this stage. Our team will be in contact with you when your wines arrive in the UK to confirm the necessary delivery details.

BURGUNDY EN PRIMEUR FAQ

OFFER: All wines are offered subject to availability and final confirmation.

PRICING: All prices are quoted IN BOND ex-VAT, by the case size stated. Please double check that the desired case size does match what is being offered as wines are variously listed in threes, sixes, dozens, halves and larger formats.

DELIVERY - TIMING: This is a primeur offer so the wines are not yet physically available for delivery. They will be shipped to the UK over the next eighteen months. Generally, wines are shipped to your nominated location once the whole order has landed in our London City Bond account. If you require wines to be delivered by a certain date, please advise us at the time of ordering.

DELIVERY - FEES: In bond delivery to an Elephant Storage account (for more information see 'Storage Options' opposite) is free of charge. Transfer of wines to any third-party bond (i.e. not Elephant Storage) will incur an administration charge of £16.50 + VAT for all orders under £1,000. Please indicate if you would like the wine duty paid and a duty & VAT invoice will be raised once all the wines on your order are available for shipment. Once the relevant duty & VAT has been settled, we will ship the wines to your nominated address as per our normal duty paid Delivery Terms.

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