($14, Dreyfus Ashby & Co.): The firm of Joseph Drouhin, one of Burgundy’s best, is still family owned and operated.  Though they own vineyards extensively throughout the region, they also have a talent for buying grapes and wines from other growers, blending them as needed, and bottling them under the Drouhin name.   This wine demonstrates that when Drouhin puts their name of a bottle, it’s authentic Burgundy, be it a simple Bourgogne Blanc, such as this Laforêt, or one from an exalted Grand Cru vineyard.  In a marketing tool directed to Americans, who, for the most part, are more interested in the grape than its origins, Chardonnay is prominently displayed on the front label, relegating the appellation, Bourgogne Blanc to the back of the bottle.  But do not confuse this crisp stylish wine with an opulent New World Chardonnay. Drouhin has taken wines from throughout Burgundy — a bit from Chablis, some from the Côte d’Or and the rest from the Mâconnais — to make a thoroughly complete and accurate expression of white Burgundy, which focuses more on minerality than fruitiness, though it has enough of the latter.  I cannot recommend this wine strongly enough–for those looking for unoaked Chardonnay, for those who want an introduction to white Burgundy, and yes, for those Burgundy lovers who don’t want to spend a fortune for the real thing.  I know I’m being generous with a 90 point score, but rarely have I tasted such an exceptional wine at the price.
90 Michael Apstein Apr 7, 2015