2017 Joseph Drouhin Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits

Aromas of plums, smoke, lightly grilled meat and ripe, spicy fruit. Full-bodied, round and chewy with layers of fruit and a long, flavorful finish. Shows depth and richness. Extremely intense and persistent for the vintage. Drink after 2022.

96 points jamessuckling.com

2017 Joseph Drouhin Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru is a refined and beautifully expressive Burgundy, drawn from one of Gevrey Chambertin’s most celebrated Grand Cru vineyards. Charmes Chambertin lies on the lower and mid slopes of the Côte de Nuits, with deep limestone and clay soils that give wines generosity, aromatic charm and a supple texture, often making it one of the more immediately seductive Grand Crus in Gevrey. In 2017, a warm and early vintage balanced by freshness, Charmes delivered both richness and clarity, allowing its natural elegance to shine.

Maison Joseph Drouhin is one of Burgundy’s great historic houses, founded in 1880 and still family owned, now under the stewardship of the fourth generation led by Frédéric Drouhin and his children. The Drouhin philosophy has long centred on purity, finesse and respect for terroir rather than power or heavy extraction. The family farms organically and biodynamically across its top sites, believing that living soils are essential to true expression. In Charmes Chambertin, Drouhin’s parcels are carefully tended, with low yields and meticulous vineyard work, and vinification is gentle, using whole berries and restrained oak to allow the vineyard’s voice to come through clearly.

In the glass the wine shows a deep ruby colour with vibrant clarity. Aromas are open and layered, revealing ripe red cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry, interwoven with rose petal, subtle spice, forest floor and a gentle savoury note typical of Gevrey Chambertin. The palate is generous yet finely balanced, delivering silky red fruit, polished tannins and a long, harmonious finish supported by limestone driven freshness. Compared to more muscular Grand Crus, Charmes Chambertin is about elegance and charm rather than brute force, yet it still carries the structure to age beautifully. It pairs superbly with roast duck, veal, game birds and mushroom dishes, and it will evolve gracefully for twenty years or more, developing truffle, leather and dried floral complexity as it matures.

2017 Joseph Drouhin Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru is a classic, graceful Burgundy that captures both the seductive nature of the vineyard and the house’s long standing commitment to balance, restraint and terroir driven winemaking.