2017 Joseph Drouhin, Beaune Premier Cru, Les Greves

The 2017 Beaune 1er Cru Les Grèves offers up a sweet bouquet of cassis, cherries, forest floor and spices. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, with a deep core of succulent fruit that displays excellent concentration, largely concealing its fine structuring tannins before concluding with a chalky finish.

The 2017 Beaune Grèves 1er Cru has a pure, quite expressive bouquet of maraschino cherries mixed with crushed strawberry and rose petal aromas. The palate is sweet and quite candied on the entry, featuring plush red currant and raspberry notes, and very smooth and open-knit toward the finish. This is a joyful Grèves, though not as long-term as other recent vintages.

Cask sample. Mid crimson. Gently peppery note over dark red fruit. Almost dusty. Very restrained fruit character but it is really satisfying and moreish on the palate. Chewy, dry and with great elegance and finish. Incredibly long. (JH)