Maison Joseph Drouhin

Joseph Drouhin was 22 years old when he took over a long-established business in the historic heart of Beaune in 1880. Starting in 1918, his son Maurice set out to expand the family company by acquiring vineyards and building his own estate; in 1921 he bought his first plot in the Clos des Mouches, at the southernmost tip of the Beaune appellation. Robert Drouhin took over in 1957 and expanded the family domaine with numerous Premier and Grand Crus, particularly in the Côte de Nuits. In the late 1960s he invested heavily in Chablis, acquiring nearly 40 hectares in the historic heart of the appellation together with the eighteenth-century Moulin de Vaudon, and in 1987 he established Domaine Drouhin Oregon with his daughter Véronique. In 2023 the house announced the acquisition of two new properties, one in Saint-Romain and one in Saint-Véran, for a total of more than 20 hectares; the Saint-Véran purchase is the Château de Chasselas, with 7.5 hectares of vines in AOP Saint-Véran. Maison Joseph Drouhin remains a family business, and the family is a founding member of Primum Familiae Vini, an association of wine-producing families established in 1992.

• 1880: Joseph Drouhin, aged 22, takes over a long-established business in Beaune
• 1918 onward: Maurice Drouhin expands the company by acquiring vineyards; first Clos des Mouches plot in 1921
• 1957: Robert Drouhin takes over; late 1960s: nearly 40 hectares in Chablis and the Moulin de Vaudon
• 1987: Domaine Drouhin Oregon established by Robert and Véronique Drouhin
• 2023: new properties in Saint-Romain and Saint-Véran (Château de Chasselas), more than 20 hectares in total

Robert Drouhin, born in 1933, was at the operational helm of the house from 1957 to 2003, returning to Beaune to succeed his father Maurice and becoming president of Maison Joseph Drouhin at 24. In 1976 he placed his trust in Laurence Jobard, one of the first women winemakers in Burgundy, with whom he established the house's oenology laboratory. The house is directed by his four children, the great-grandchildren of Joseph Drouhin, born between 1961 and 1968. Frédéric Drouhin, the youngest, became General Manager under his father in 1995 and President of the Executive Board in 2003. Véronique Drouhin, who studied oenology at the University of Dijon, made her first wine in 1988 at Domaine Drouhin Oregon and has worked between Burgundy and Oregon since then. Philippe Drouhin, Robert's eldest son, assumed the leadership of the Drouhin estate in 1988 and oversees the vineyards; in the cellar, Véronique works with Jérôme Faure-Brac. Laurent Drouhin is Export Director for North America and the Caribbean and, from the New York region, oversees the commercialization and marketing of all Drouhin wines; Dreyfus Ashby has imported the family's wines since the 1960s. The fifth generation arrived when Laurène, Véronique's eldest daughter, joined the house in 2020.

• Robert Drouhin (born 1933): at the operational helm from 1957 to 2003
• Frédéric Drouhin: General Manager from 1995, President of the Executive Board since 2003
• Véronique Drouhin: oenologist, first wine at Domaine Drouhin Oregon in 1988, working between Burgundy and Oregon
• Philippe Drouhin: leadership of the estate since 1988, in charge of the vineyards
• Laurent Drouhin: Export Director, North America and Caribbean, based in the New York region
• Laurène, Véronique's eldest daughter, joined the house in 2020

Domaine Joseph Drouhin covers 100 hectares across the whole Burgundy region: Chablis, the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais. It is made up mainly of Grand Crus and Premier Crus planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, built over time through acquisitions and family agreements. The family owns 53 hectares in the Côte d'Or and 40 hectares in Chablis, where the wines carry the name Drouhin Vaudon. The estate's Grand Crus are Chablis Bougros, Preuses, Vaudésir and Les Clos, Chambertin-Clos de Bèze, Griotte-Chambertin, Bonnes Mares, Musigny, Clos de Vougeot, Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux, Corton-Bressandes, Corton-Charlemagne and Bâtard-Montrachet. Its Premier Crus include Chambolle-Musigny Amoureuses, Vosne-Romanée Petits Monts, Volnay Clos des Chênes and, in Chablis, Montée de Tonnerre, Mont de Milieu and Vaillons. For certain appellations the house complements its supply by working with long-standing partner winemakers, and the full range extends across nearly 90 appellations.

• 100 hectares from Chablis to the Mâconnais, mainly Grand Crus and Premier Crus
• 53 hectares in the Côte d'Or and 40 hectares in Chablis (Drouhin Vaudon)
• Estate Grand Crus: Chablis Bougros, Preuses, Vaudésir and Les Clos; Chambertin-Clos de Bèze; Griotte-Chambertin; Bonnes Mares; Musigny; Clos de Vougeot; Echezeaux; Grands-Echezeaux; Corton-Bressandes; Corton-Charlemagne; Bâtard-Montrachet
• Supply complemented by long-standing partner winemakers for certain appellations

The Clos des Mouches lies at the southern end of the Beaune appellation, next to Pommard. Its name comes from the beehives once kept in the vineyard: in the local dialect bees were called mouches à miel, or honey flies. Maurice Drouhin, who considered it the finest terroir in Beaune, bought his first plot in 1921 and went on to buy 41 different parcels from 8 proprietors. The Drouhin vineyard sits at mid-slope with an east to south-east exposure and is the largest parcel of the Clos des Mouches, at 14 hectares, one half planted with Chardonnay and the other with Pinot Noir, on clay and limestone soils. The house celebrated 100 years of the Clos des Mouches in 2021. The Montrachet of the Marquis de Laguiche is a 2.06-hectare property, the largest parcel of the Montrachet vineyard, located entirely on the Puligny side of the appellation; it has been in the hands of the Laguiche family since 1776. The Drouhin family is in charge of its cultivation and vinification and, since 1947, has carried the wine's renown worldwide. The house also lists a Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeot Marquis de Laguiche.

• Clos des Mouches: 14 hectares, the largest parcel of the climat, half Chardonnay and half Pinot Noir
• Assembled by Maurice Drouhin from 41 parcels bought from 8 proprietors, starting in 1921
• Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche: 2.06 hectares on the Puligny side, owned by the Laguiche family since 1776
• The Drouhin family cultivates and vinifies the Laguiche Montrachet; the association dates from 1947

Across its 100-hectare estate, Maison Joseph Drouhin has followed organic viticulture practices since the late 1980s and biodynamic viticulture since the 1990s. Philippe Drouhin, shortly after taking over the estate in 1988, steered its practices toward organic and biodynamic farming. Work in the vineyard includes horse ploughing, cover cropping and natural composting, and biodynamic treatments derived from plant infusions and natural predators follow a specific calendar. Plantings reach up to 12,500 vines per hectare, yields are low, and grapes are hand harvested into small perforated crates. The house develops mass selections in its own nursery and is a member of the association for the preservation of Burgundy's grape variety diversity. In the winery, vinification follows the natural rhythm of each climat, with tools that include gravity clarification and indigenous yeasts, and the oak for its barrels is air-dried for three years. The Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche ferments and ages in oak barrels with around 30% new, the Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos in 500-litre barrels with no new oak for 12 to 15 months, and the Chablis Réserve de Vaudon in stainless steel for 7 to 10 months.

• Organic since the late 1980s, biodynamic since the 1990s
• Horse ploughing, cover cropping and natural composting
• Up to 12,500 vines per hectare; hand harvest in small perforated crates
• Mass selections from the house's own nursery
• Indigenous yeasts and gravity clarification; barrel oak air-dried for three years

In July 1987 Robert Drouhin and his daughter Véronique, who had just graduated in oenology, decided to buy land in the Dundee Hills of the Willamette Valley, founding Domaine Drouhin Oregon. A gravity-flow winery was built on top of the hill in 1989. Three years later the estate released a selected Pinot Noir cuvée named Laurène, after Véronique's eldest daughter. The first estate Chardonnay was produced in 1996; three vintages later came a Pinot Noir selection named Louise, and in 2004 a Chardonnay cuvée named Arthur. In 2013 the family acquired Roserock Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills, a 112-hectare property including 54 hectares of vineyards, predominantly planted with Pinot Noir. The family now owns 100 hectares in Oregon.

• July 1987: land bought in the Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley
• 1989: gravity-flow winery built on the hilltop
• Cuvées Laurène (Pinot Noir), Louise (Pinot Noir) and Arthur (Chardonnay, from 2004)
• 2013: Roserock Vineyards, Eola-Amity Hills, 112 hectares including 54 hectares of vines

The house's cellars lie beneath the streets of Beaune. Their walls include the foundations of a Roman castrum and traces of the very first church in Beaune, and Robert Drouhin acquired and restored the cellars and winery of the canons of the Collegiate Church in the early 1960s. Above a portion of the cellars stands the Parliament of Burgundy, and one of the house's cellars served as cellars for the Kings of France. Maurice Drouhin joined the Administrative Board of the Hospices de Beaune in 1925, served as Vice-President from 1941 to 1955 and donated over 2.5 hectares of Beaune Premier Cru to the Hospices. The family is one of the main buyers at the Hospices auction each year, particularly of the cuvée Beaune Premier Cru Maurice Drouhin.

• Cellars with Roman castrum foundations beneath central Beaune
• Canons' cellars and winery acquired and restored by Robert Drouhin in the early 1960s
• Maurice Drouhin: Hospices board from 1925, Vice-President 1941 to 1955, donor of over 2.5 hectares of Beaune Premier Cru

The house presents its style as one guided by elegance and harmony: when consumed young, its wines are fruity and delicious, and with patience they evolve into a sumptuous and complex character. In a 2023 interview with The Drinks Business, Véronique Boss-Drouhin credited organic and biodynamic farming with benefits 'for preserving the vineyard's identity and for the good of the wine.' On a December 2002 visit, the Burgundy Report found the Grand Crus tasted from barrel to show 'beautifully intense and pure fruit' with very fine tannins.

• Elegance and harmony as the guiding principles of the house style
• Fruity when young, more complex with age

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/presentation/in-the-heart-of-the-estate, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/presentation/introduction-of-the-family, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/presentation/in-pursuit-of-excellence, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/presentation/pioneers-in-oregon, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/passion-3/hospices-beaune-tradition-familiale, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/passion-4/burgundy-seen-through-our-historical-sites, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/our-wines, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/montrachet-marquis-de-laguiche-grand-cru/2024, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/beaune-clos-des-mouches-premier-cru-rouge/2024, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/beaune-clos-des-mouches-premier-cru-blanc/2024, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/chablis-grand-cru-les-clos/2023, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/chablis-reserve-de-vaudon/2023, https://www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/laforet-bourgogne-chardonnay/2023. Official source: Bourgogne wines (BIVB) business press release (2023), https://www.bourgogne-wines.com/press/detail-d-un-communique-de-presse,2333,9344.html?args=Y29tcF9pZD0xNDc1JmFjdGlvbj12aWV3RGV0YWlsQ29tbXVuaXF1ZSZpZD0yMzEzJnw%3D. Secondary sources: The Drinks Business (6 December 2023), https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2023/12/green-pioneer-maison-drouhin-celebrates-30-years-of-organic-and-biodynamic-production/, and the Burgundy Report (March 2003), https://www.burgundy-report.com/burgundy-report-extra/03-2003/profile-maison-joseph-drouhin-beaune/. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.