In a reversal of the pattern set by the corresponding village wine, Drouhin's 2006 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru is composed largely of estate fruit – further supplemented, this year, by the blending in of their Les Baudes – and includes only a minor share of purchased fruit. Scents of cumin, nutmeg, griotte cherry, purple plum, and lily lead to a lithe, relatively delicate palate whose cut and freshness furthers the vintage-typical generosity, and from which any hardness or vegetal undertones that might have been legacies of hail have been banished. This archetypal Chambolle finishes with an exuberant, buoyant burst of fruit and spice. I would plan on enjoying it over the next 4-5 years, though, and would harbor no compunction about opening bottles again soon.
"I was skeptical when the harvest came," says Philippe Drouhin about 2006, "because the weather had been so hectic; we had to sort the grapes; and it was not as nice as '05. But the more I tasted the '06s in the course of the year, the more I liked them." Winemaker Jerome Faure-Brac says he was hyper-cautious about avoiding the extraction of bitterness or under-ripeness, and employed vendange entier (whole clusters with stems) on a significant share of the grands (and top premiers) crus, but only in conjunction with rigorous table-sorting. Most came in at 13-13.5% potential alcohol. The wines were bottled about as early as they ever have been at Drouhin, to preserve and avoid drying out the fruit. (Just as elsewhere in this report, I have frequently indicated in my tasting note whether the source of grapes is the family's domaine or contract fruit, but have not attempted to reflect this as part of the descriptions used to identify the wines.)
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