terroir | VinoVerve

Taste the Terroir of Burgundy: Maison Joseph Drouhin

By MTB | January 25, 2011 - 12:01 am |January 23, 2011 Boston Wine Expo, Burgundy, Festivals, Marguerite Barrett, terroir, wine

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Maison Joseph Drouhin, logo from company website www.drouhin.com

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

This year I treated myself to two wine seminars at the Boston Wine Expo, focusing as last year on French wines that I don’t have a chance to experience on a day-to-day basis.

The day began with “Taste the Terroir of Burgundy with Laurent Droughin of Maison Joseph Drouhin.” Maison Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest and most well regarded houses in Burgundy. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Drouhin, it remains a family-owned business run by the fourth generation, Frédéric Drouhin, President; Véronique Drouhin, Head Winemaker; Phillipe Drouhin, Estates Manager, and Laurent Drouhin, Director United States Market. They work closely with their father, Robert Drouhin, who ran the house until 2003.

The house was founded in 1880 when a very young Joseph Drouhin established his own wine company in the Beaune region of Burgundy. Joseph’s son, Maurice, expanded the business, purchasing the domain’s first vineyards in 1919. He continued to purchase vineyards through the 1920s and 30s, including the Clos des Mouches, which produced one of my favorites among the eight wines presented that afternoon. Maurice Drouhin was, in turn, succeeded by his son Robert who continued to expand the vineyards, particularly in the Chablis region, which hadn’t yet been recognized for it’s full potential. Under Robert Drouhin’s leadership, Maison Joseph Drouhin became a leader in “natural” viticultural practices, moving away from the use of pesticides to organic and sustainable methods. In 2009 Maison Joseph Drouhin was awarded organic certification. While proud of this certification, Laurent Drouhin pointed out that Joseph Drouhin did not pursue organic, “natural” methods in the hopes of winning awards or recognition, but rather to better allow the nuances of terroir to express themselves through the wines. “The Burgundian soil expresses itself through the vine. We strive to reveal its most hidden and subtle message.” (Source: Joseph Drouhin brochure).

Laurent Drouhin, seminar host; photo from Joseph Drouhin website www.drouhin.com

Maison Joseph Drouhin has vineyards across Burgundy in the Chablis, Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune (Côte d’Or) and Côte Chalonnaise regions. The domain encompasses 182 acres of which 60% are Grand Cru or Premier Cru vineyards.

Maison Joseph Drouhin remains committed to five core values:

Dedication to the diversity of Burgundy through a focus on clean, pure wines that reflect the character that nature provides through the soil and the climate.

Family heritage which allows the family to make decisions based on what is best for the wine and not just the bottom-line. To illustrate this, Lauren Drouhin offered as an example the family’s decision to declassify (not bottle and market) a recent vintage. The barrel tastings indicated that the wine was “not bad,” but “not bad” was not good enough to release in the family’s mind. Better to not release the vintage than to release a vintage that did not live up to the standards Maison Joseph Drouhin has set for itself.

Listening to nature, which manifests itself through a commitment to use only natural products and methods, including ploughing by horse rather than machine to avoid compacting the earth and better protecting the vines roots.

Perfection and Elegance. Joseph Drouhin works to craft wines that achieve balance and harmony, elegance, charm, complexity and pleasure.

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Better Know An AVA – Lake Michigan Shore

By GMN | November 11, 2010 - 8:31 am |November 11, 2010 AVA, Blaufrankisch, Cabernet Franc, cabernet sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurtztraminer, Lake Michigan Shore, Lemberger, local wines, Locapour, Malbec, Marsanne, Michigan, Petit Verdot, Pinot Gris, pinot noir, Riesling, Road Trip!, Roussane, Shiraz / Syrah, Stephen T Colbert Memorial Better Know an AVA, terroir, Viognier, wine

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Continuing my Michigan winery planning I move on to Lake Michigan Shore. Why? Well it contains the Fennville AVA and is the appellation listed on the bottles for the only winery in the Fennville AVA. And frankly, it is the Michigan appellation that is closest to home for me as it takes about 90 minutes (not counting traffic snarls) to enter into Michigan.

Why is this area significant? Well, unlike most northern wine regions, Michigan Shores produces a good number of vitis vinifera grapes, including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Lemberger, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Roussanne, Syrah, and Viognier. The reason? Something we Midwesterners* call “Lake Effect”. The water in the Great Lakes (essentially small fresh water inland seas) moderate the temperatures and the precipitation on lands west of each lake. Temperatures never become as frigid as they would on the east coast of a lake as they do on the west coast. Anyone who has lived in Chicago and Buffalo or Detroit can tell you how they differ (and this blog has a couple of gals who have experienced the difference. Chicago is much colder). This gives the grapes a longer growing season than is experienced in say, Iowa and a couple of weeks makes a big difference. The soils are a relatively uniform throughout the region, consisting of glacial moraines.

In addition to being relative close to home, there are a good number of wineries in the AVA. How many? Well that depends on who you ask and what you count. Why who you ask? Well, the folks at the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail list count twelve wineries as members. Me? I count about seventeen. More is better right? Well, that leads to the what you count part, as several of the wineries have multiple tasting rooms. Tasting rooms are great in a pinch, but frankly I prefer going to the winery directly, at least if it is possible. Given the number of beachfront cottages, condos and other casual getaway places in the area, I would have been surprised if there weren’t tasting rooms trying to take advantage of the numbers of summer people.

I am planning to head out on Sunday (barring teen disasters) to visit a couple these wineries. If you have a favorite? Let me know… contact me at gretchen at vinoverve.com

Where should I visit? Email me!

Dating the Don

By GMN | September 3, 2010 - 12:12 am |August 18, 2010 California, Gretchen Neuman, Petite Sirah, terroir, video, video post, Vineyards, WallaWalla, Washington, wine, Wine Tastings, winemaker, winemaking

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Boy, that sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Never fear, I am not hanging out with mobsters or any nationality… I am drinking wine from Don Sebastiani & Sons. This winery, an independent offshot of the Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery is terroir driven. The wine was poured by Greg Kitchen, the winemaker and Jack Meyer from their marketing department.

The wine poured was from their Crusher line of wines which are grower’s selections. We tasted the 2008 Petite Sirah from Clarksburg.

Don Sebastiani & Sons
P.O. Box 1248
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 933-1704

The Wines of Rutherford Hill

By GMN | September 2, 2009 - 11:32 am |September 2, 2009 Adventures, Anthony Terlato, Bordeaux, Gretchen Neuman, Napa Valley, Rutherford, Terlato, terroir, Wineding Roads

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

The tour of Rutherford Hill was wonderful, but it is the wine that was amazing.

I am ashamed to say that I can not remember the unique attributes of each of the wines that I sipped on my tour. I was taken with all the sights and sounds going on around me. They were excellent (I hate not having enough hands to do everything that I want to at the same time).

The wines that I drank along the route were the 2005 Merlot and the 2004 Merlot Reserve and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon which were wonderful.

When we got back to the tasting room, I got to taste some of the more wonderful wines.

The 2006 Malbec smelled and tasted of blueberries and cherries. The 2006 Petit Verdot smelled of coffee and tasted of black cherries and chocolate. I got a special treat with the winemakers blend getting to taste it both poured regularly and decanted via a Vinturi. Now in all fairness, the wine smelled and tasted good before I got to taste the version poured through the Vinturi. But after it was? WOW! That is all I can say. The aroma was fuller and more dramatic. The taste? With more body and soul. WOW! I was so impressed with the Vinturi’s job, I bought one to take home. It even has the Terlato logo on it. So I will always remember my trip to Rutherford Hill (as if I could forget).

From there we moved on to the to some of the Terlato Family Vineyard wines. After reading Anthony Terlato’s book, Taste: A Life in Wine (I love my iPhone Kindle reader… you take your reading with you literally everywhere.) The Terlato wines are produced at the Rutherford estate vineyard, but in the vineyard within the vineyard. The idea was to raise the quality of the Rutherford wines which represents the chief goal of the family. Personally, I believe that the wines achieve this goal in spades!

The Angels Peak’s is lush with a plum taste and tobacco-y. The Cardinal’s Peak was more wood and leather with jam overtones. My favorite of the three was the Devil’s Peak with its smooth and complex flavors. The “Peak” series are Tony Terlato’s homage to the wines of Bordeaux, France. These wines are blends of the best of the vineyard and made to express the best elements of the grapes. The Episode wine, on the other hand, seem to be an expression of place – Napa. The wine was intense and lingering on the palate. I brought a bottle home as a thank you to my folks for helping me with my trip. Dad, naturally is saving it. I hope he allows us to open it for Christmas!

The last wine that I tasted at Rutherford Hill was the 2004 Zinfandel Port. I have to admit that I am something of a Port snob in that I rarely find one that I like from America. This one was made in the style that an authentic Port would be made but used Zinfandel instead of the traditional grapes. The result is an American expression of Portuguese tradition.

I was sad to be leaving Rutherford Hill but as I lugged my box of wine (I can’t resist buying a few bottles) but was looking forward to the second part of my Terlato family adventure – my trip to Chimney Rock!