2014 Beaune Clos de Mouches
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Tasting notes
(just eight hectoliters per hectare produced due to the hail): Good medium red. Ripe aromas of strawberry, mocha and earth. Surprisingly supple and pliant but with good grip and acidity to the cherry, licorice and spice flavors. Finishes clean if a bit folded in on itself, with a positive peppery accent. Frédéric Drouhin told me that new leaves appeared on the vines two weeks after the hail and were able to ripen the fruit that remained, which he credited to the Drouhins' organic viticulture.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(the production here was a tiny eight hectoliters per hectare): Bright red-ruby. Musky, slightly reduced aromas of black cherry, black raspberry and crushed stone. Much denser than the Beaune Grèves, with strong minerality energizing the middle palate. The very firm tannins will require extended cellaring but strict selection has produced a very successful wine under difficult conditions. This vineyard has been brutalized by hail in recent years and the vines will need time to recover; even in 2015, they yielded just 15 hectoliters per hectare.
The 2014 Beaune 1Er Cru Clos des Mouches was picked between September 16 and 19, completely destemmed and raised for 16 months in cask. Noticeably deep in color, it has a tight blackberry and briary-scented nose that needs to develop a little more complexity and tension. The palate is dense on the entry, well balanced and showing some oak at the moment that will need to be subsumed. There is respectable weight and substance here, a touch of chewiness but decent length. A bit broad-shouldered, give this Clos des Mouches 4-5 years in bottle.
About the producer
Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest and most famous producers in Burgundy, making both domaine and négociant wines. It remains family-owned and run, now in the hands of the fourth generation.