Joseph Drouhin : Clos Saint-Denis Grand cru 2020

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for Joseph Drouhin’s Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020

Tasting

Appearance

The color shows a deep ruby red, evolving toward pronounced garnet hues, with violet highlights.

Nose

The nose reveals a complex, alluring aromatic palette. The leading notes suggest finely spiced bigarreau cherry, enhanced by a delicate touch of Havana tobacco and exotic-island woods. Beyond the primary aromas emerge notes of delicate white and violet flowers, orange blossom, sweet fruits, and a minerality reminiscent of freshly wetted cold stone. Some tastings also detect hints of candied orange, adding further aromatic complexity.

Palate

On the palate, the Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020 unfurls an elegant structure, yet with real substance. The attack is remarkably gentle, with a silky, velvety texture. The tannins are polished rather than rustic, reflecting the care devoted to vinification. The palate also reveals a subtle, lingering minerality, likely stemming from the terroir’s distinctive limestone composition. The aromatic persistence is significant, with a finish evoking candied fruits and integrated tannic sensations.

Food and wine pairings

Joseph Drouhin’s Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020 is a quintessential gastronomic wine. It pairs beautifully with delicately prepared noble meats such as veal tenderloin with a forest mushroom sauce or roasted duck breast. Game makes an especially harmonious match: braised saddle of hare or a leg of wild boar prepared in keeping with Burgundian traditions benefit immensely from this grand cru’s underlying minerality and structured tannins. When it comes to cheese, this wine truly comes alive alongside aged, washed-rind cheeses—an emblematic category of Burgundian cheesemaking—such as Époisses de Bourgogne or Brillat-Savarin. Classic regional Burgundian pairings also remain highly relevant, such as coq au vin.

Serving and cellaring

The Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020 offers remarkable aging potential. Official recommendations from the Maison Joseph Drouhin indicate an optimal drinking window spanning fifteen to twenty years from the vintage, i.e., approximately through 2035–2040. Maximum aging potential is estimated at around thirty years. For a bottle stored properly under optimal conditions of constant temperature, moderate humidity, and total darkness, this Clos Saint-Denis 2020 should reach its peak around 2035–2040.

Other characteristics

This wine expresses the delicate balance between freshness and ripeness characteristic of the 2020 vintage, with remarkable concentration and a tannic structure that supports without dominating. Whole-cluster fermentation represents a moderate share of the vinification, reflecting the balance sought by the Maison.

An elegant Burgundy grand cru, a pure expression of the terroir of Morey-Saint-Denis

The estate

The Maison Joseph Drouhin was founded in 1880 in Beaune by Joseph Drouhin, then 22 years old. For more than 140 years, this leading institution of the Burgundian vineyard has been defined by a relentless pursuit of natural elegance and terroir purity. Now led by the fourth generation of the Drouhin family—with Frédéric Drouhin as President of the Executive Board since 2003, Philippe Drouhin as Head of Viticulture, Véronique Boss-Drouhin as Head of Oenology, and Laurent Drouhin overseeing international commercial responsibilities—the Maison owns around 100 hectares of vineyards directly, spread across Burgundy. Committed to biodynamic farming since 1988 at the initiative of Philippe Drouhin, the entirety of its vineyards remains biodynamically certified—an uncommon distinction among the great Burgundian houses. The Maison also stands out for its international presence in Oregon since 1987 with Domaine Drouhin Oregon.

The vineyard

The Clos Saint-Denis, a terroir located in the commune of Morey-Saint-Denis in the Côte de Nuits, represents one of the most subtle and elegant expressions of the Bourgogne appellation. Classified as a grand cru in 1936, this vineyard covers a modest area of around 6.23 hectares. The history of Clos Saint-Denis goes back more than a millennium: it was the monks of the Collégiale Saint-Denis de Vergy who planted this vineyard at the beginning of the 13th century. The site enjoys an east-facing exposure, remarkably similar to that of the famous Chambertin. The vineyard stretches between roughly 280 and 320 meters above sea level, occupying the mid-slope section of the Morey-Saint-Denis hillside. The geological substratum consists of brown limestone soils over a Middle Jurassic bedrock, studded with small stones known as chailles. This soil makeup—particularly the presence of brown limestone combined with clays and phosphorus—creates a unique agronomic environment that imparts a signature minerality to the wines.

Vinification and aging

Joseph Drouhin’s Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020 comes from grape purchases from partner growers under a stringent set of specifications. The harvest is carried out entirely by hand, with grapes picked into ventilated crates that allow air circulation, helping preserve the fruit’s integrity. Careful sorting is performed at harvest. In the cellar, fermentation and maceration take place in small open vats over two to three weeks, with this extended maceration encouraging the delicate extraction of color and fine tannins. This maceration is punctuated by regular punch-downs and pump-overs. The yeasts used are exclusively indigenous or natural. Pressing is carried out using a vertical press, enabling gentle extraction of the remaining juices. Aging of the Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru 2020 takes place entirely in 225-liter oak barrels. The proportion of new barrels is 30%, allowing a gradual integration of vanilla and spicy oak notes without saturation. The aging period lasts between sixteen and twenty months.

Grape variety

100% Pinot Noir.