Joseph Drouhin, Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge 2016

robert_parker90

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2016 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches offers broody red fruit laced with melted tar on the nose, sultry after the Grèves but with a pleasant oyster shell scent. The palate is medium-bodied with chunky ripe tannin. What it might lack in finesse, it makes up for in sheer substance and charm. Maybe I was just expecting a little more joie-de-vivre and complexity. Drink over the next 5-8 years.

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: William Kelley

Tasted from bottle, the 2016 Beaune 1er Cru Clos des Mouches Rouge has deepened and fleshed out since I tasted it from barrel, and today its superb potential is impossible to dispute. Wafting from the glass with a rich bouquet of raspberries, black cherries, rich soil tones and spices and deftly framed by toasty new oak, the wine is medium to full-bodied, fleshy but vibrant, with a layered, textural mid-palate, velvety tannins and a long, precise finish. This is a serious, broad-shouldered Clos des Mouches that will offer a broad drinking window.

vinous88

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2016 Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru feels a little static at the moment compared to its peers with plush, slightly confit-like red fruit and the oak conspicuous at present. It’s not overbearing, just a little trop. The palate is medium-bodied with juicy ripe, black fruit laced with charcoal and brine notes, gentle in grip but it might well be amidst an awkward phase. I would like to revisit this in a couple of years time. Tasted blind at the 2016 Burgfest tasting in Burgundy.

vinous91

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

(average production in this large holding was 28 hectoliters per hectare, with potential alcohol ranging from 12.8% to 13.2% in the various lots; vinified with 25% whole clusters): Healthy medium red. Deep nose displays red and darker berries accented by spices, minerals and flowers; ultimately a bit blacker in character than the Grèves. Also more airy in the mouth, with a very fine-grained texture and harmonious acidity that makes the Grèves seem almost heavy by comparison. Lovely subtle inner-mouth perfume here. Finishes with nicely delineated fruit and spice notes, lively tannins and saliva-inducing minerality.

james_suckling95

Reviewed by: James Suckling

Fascinating aromas of dried strawberries, dried meat, spices and dried rose petals. Full body, chewy tannins and a juicy, savory finish. Polished tannins. Pretty length. Drink or hold.