2021 Beaune Rouge, Clos des Mouches, 1er Cru, Joseph Drouhin, Burgundy

Cask sample

Lightish crimson. Intense, lifted, vibrant red fruit with a hint of oak adding a more savoury aspect. Beaune’s red-fruit purity showing through. That savoury side is more apparent on the palate. Firm, gently chewy, but smoothed, tannins. Succulent and long. Embryonic but showing its ready harmony and likely longevity.

Drink 2028 - 2040

Fortunately, the yield was better in red than white! A solid red crimson colour. Peppery notes, the whole bunches more evident than on the Cras. Good supple tannins here and then with a livelier finish, perhaps thanks to the stems. Fine, persistent red fruit.

Drink 2025 - 2030

The 2021 Beaune Clos des Mouches Rouge 1er Cru is one of my picks from Drouhin this year. Wonderful, vivacious red fruit leap from the glass, hints of sous-bois and dried rose petal. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine mineralité, demonstrating more complexity than the preceding Beaune Cras with more grip on the finish. Superb.

Drink 2025 - 2045

Drouhin noted that this had just been bottled a few days before I tasted it, and not surprisingly, it was much more aromatically restrained, with its nose markedly floral and spicy red pinot fruit scents. The texture of the medium-bodied and less mineral-driven flavours is quite similar to that of the Les Cras, though the supporting tannins are even finer in the beautifully balanced and sneaky long finale. This is a Clos des Mouches of generosity and finesse.

Drink from 2031 onward

Drouhin makes both red and white wine from the Clos des Mouches; the red is particularly good value. The 2021 vintage has good colour and ripe black cherry aromas, liquorice, and earth. The texture is velvety and rich, with firm tannins and good length. The grapes come from 6.82 hectares of vines at the southern end of Beaune. The grapes are partly destemmed and fermented on native yeast before ageing in cask. The supple nature of the wine will make it approachable in a few years, and it should age for another twenty beyond that in a proper cellar.

Drink 2025 - 2040

Beautiful nose of wild raspberries, cherries, sandalwood, cloves, orange fruit and cardamom. It is so harmonious on the palate, with very fine, seamless tannins and fresh acidity, all integrated. Medium-bodied, long and full of energy.

Drink or hold