WTN: 2006 Joseph Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune, Burgundy, France

(I had an opportunity to taste a Chorey-les-Beaune with Laurent Drouhin at the Charlotte Wine and Food weekend in April 2010 but it may have been a later vintage.) 13% abv on label. Semi-transparent; not terribly dense in appearance. Deep cherry aroma and flavor. Seemed smooth and ready to drink although it may evolve further in time. I tried it both chilled and at room temperature and slightly preferred it chilled. Strangely, along with the cherry component I noted a citrus element in the wine--lemon or grapefruit--maybe from the natural acidity. On the second day I thought it exhibited some deeper, almost earthy undertones and performed well for the price point among Burgundies. It stood up fairly well to a broiled NY strip steak and fried onion rings.

performed well for the price point among Burgundies

From my limited experience across vintages this is an extremely good Burgundy QPR wine in terms of pure drinking pleasure. One can't expect terroir definition, but that's not always necessary.

JC,
Jean and I have had about a half dozen bottles of this wine and you've captured its character very well. It's light on its feet and high in acidity, but it has lovely fruit which has steadily deepened over the past 18 months. John Gilman has stated his opinion that this wine continue to develop for the next decade at least, but our stash will certainly not survive that long.

Mark Lipton

I'm going to be on the lookout for more Drouhin wines in the future.