Drouhin-Laroze

Domaine Drouhin-Laroze was founded in Gevrey-Chambertin in 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Laroze. It took its present name in 1919, when his granddaughter Suzanne Laroze married Alexandre Drouhin, who brought vines in Chambolle-Musigny with him. Nicolas and Caroline Drouhin, brother and sister, run the estate today, with their parents Philippe and Christine still involved. It farms about 11.5 hectares, more than forty per cent of it grand cru across six different grands crus. The domaine is a separate business from Maison Joseph Drouhin in Beaune, despite the shared surname.

The six grands crus are Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Latricières-Chambertin and Chapelle-Chambertin in Gevrey-Chambertin; Clos de Vougeot; and Musigny and Bonnes-Mares in Chambolle-Musigny, the Bonnes-Mares parcel lying on the Chambolle side of the climat. Chambertin-Clos de Bèze sits at the heart of the Gevrey grand cru band and is the one climat whose wine may also be sold as Chambertin. Latricières-Chambertin lies at the southern end of that band, and Chapelle-Chambertin below Clos de Bèze towards the road. The estate also holds four Gevrey-Chambertin premiers crus: Au Closeau, Craipillot, Clos Prieur and Lavaut-Saint-Jacques.

Village wines come from Gevrey-Chambertin, including the lieux-dits Clos de Combes, En Champs and Vignes Belles and the Dix Climats blend, and from Morey-Saint-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny. The estate holds no organic or biodynamic certification. Vinification varies by cuvée, with a proportion of whole bunches on some wines and full destemming on others; the grands crus are raised in up to eighty per cent new oak from the Allier and Nivernais, while the village wines go into used barrels. The wines are bottled with minimal filtration and show black cherry and blackcurrant, violet and spice over firm tannin. Arcana Cabinet lists eight wines from the domaine: the grands crus Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Latricières-Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin and Clos de Vougeot; the Gevrey-Chambertin premier cru Au Closeau; and the village wines Gevrey-Chambertin Dix Climats, Morey-Saint-Denis Très Girard and Chambolle-Musigny. The range also includes the grands crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, the premiers crus Craipillot, Clos Prieur and Lavaut-Saint-Jacques, and further Gevrey-Chambertin lieux-dits.