The 2016 Chambolle-Musigny Village comes mainly from the premier cru Les Baudes that was not affected by the hail damage. It has a very refined bouquet with impressive delineation and plenty of freshness. There is a subtle marine influence here. The palate is medium-bodied with a sorbet-fresh opening. It is not a deep Chambolle, more linear and strict, prioritizing freshness and tension. This should age very well.

The 2015 Chambolle-Musigny Village actually includes 70% premier cru fruit courtesy of Les Baudes, the rest is village cru (personally, I would bottle it separately, although they assured me that they sell it for the price of a premier cru so they are not losing out). It has a gorgeous bouquet with blueberry and creme de cassis, floral scents emerging with time. I adore the precocity here whilst maintaining the precision of a premier cru. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. There is an abundance of lively black cherry and blueberry fruit; it comes across detailed and energetic towards the focused finish. This has great potential, though it needs 3-4 years to absorb the new oak.

The 2014 Chambolle-Musigny Village has a simple blackcurrant pastille-scented nose. The palate is balanced by just missing the roundness and the sensuality one seeks in Chambolle. It feels a little static and needs to display more Chambolle typicity, a wine that needs to wake up!

The 2013 Chambolle-Musigny Village, which comes mainly from the lieu-dit of "Les Baudes" and supplemented by fruit from "Les Véroilles", has a touch more fruit on the nose than the Morey Saint Denis Village at this early stage. The palate is medium-bodied with taut tannins, tart red cherry and raspberry fruit with a stony, rather austere finish. It does not have the chutzpah of the 2012 last year from barrel, although it should gain some flesh by the time of bottling.

The 2012 Chambolle-Muisgny Village is de facto mostly premier cru from “Les Baudes” that is declassified because of the addition of a small amount of village cru that Philippe said is not worth bottling separately. It has a generous and expressive strawberry and Morello scented bouquet that displays great vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, quite firm tannins, impressive harmony with a complex, mineral-driven finish. This is very fine and indeed, in my opinion is undoubtedly premier cru quality. This domaine must possess one of the most enviable portfolios in the Cote de Nuits, with several grand crus to their name scattered across 11.5-hectares of prime vineyard. So I guess one must ask the question why Drouhin-Laroze is not better known? I suppose you could argue that in the past, the wines had an air of commerciality about them, wines that were commendable and enjoyable, yet rarely approached the profundity of say Rousseau or Bachelet. Their intrinsic quality was not in doubt. The trouble is that when you have such a roll call of iconic grand crus to your name, the bar is simply raised. Personally, I have found much pleasure in previous vintages that always seem to show well in barrel. I have always found winemaker Philippe Drouhin to be a conscientious vigneron, usually with his wife Christine by his side, either in the office or pouring wines at tastings. And there is now a gradual changing over to the sixth generation as their son Nicolas and daughter Caroline, gain more involvement in the running of the estate that now includes a negociant arm overseen by Caroline. Tasting through their 2012s, there does remain a slight “heaviness” to the wines that you could align with say, Bernard Dugat, and that does not mean they are inherently inferior – just that it is a perceptible leitmotif that means they rarely contain the finesse or effortlessness of those aforementioned growers. I always come away thinking if that if they just tweaked their practices a little, they could suddenly see their wines capture that sense of magic – perhaps pick a little earlier, extract less and moderate the level of new wood that has always made an impression e.g. reconsider using 100% new oak for all the grand crus. This is an estate to watch. They have always quietly gone about creating very good wines, but it would not take much with those grand crus to see them suddenly elevated to the top league. Importer: available through Diva Beaune in the United States, also Atherton Wine Imports (www.awiwine.com) in California and through Fields, Morris & Verdin in the UK.