Jospeh Drouhin Chorey Les Beaune 2005

Hi all, how's everyone doing today?  I got very excited to do this blog because Burgundy is probably my favorite French appellation, and one of my favorite places for wine period.  A little history lesson is needed as a set up though, as I understand that foreign wines can be confusing. 
The Franch like to label their wines based upon where they come from rather than the grape(s) that comprise the wine itself.  So when I say I love Burgundy, I am saying that I love the wines that come from the Burgundy region; the same goes for Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, etc...  Burgundy on a base level is very easy to understand, a White Burgundy will be Chardonnay 99% of the time, Red Burgundy will be Pinot Noir.  The one exception for reds is that technically Beaujolais is within the region of Burgundy, and these wines are made with Gamay.  Also very important is to know that Burgundy is a very divided place. 
Bourgogne-a base level wine made from grapes throughout all of Burgundy
Chorey Les Beaune- a town within the region of Burgundy grapes sourced from thoughout the region
Premier Cru (1st Cru)- A specific vineyard site within a specific town.  A site designated for higher quality fruit
Grand Cru- The top of the top, Burgundy doesn't get better than a Grand Cru.  Some of the most expensive and highest quality wines in the world are Grand Cru Burgundies.  A fun experiment is to try and track down a bottle of DRC (Domaine de la Romanee Conti) to buy.

Joseph Drouhin is a negociant.  He is a buyer producer who owns vineyards all throughout Burgundy and pulls fruit and bottles wines from all over the region.  This is the life of a Burgundy producer because most growers do not actually have enough land to produce their own wines and so they sell their fruit to negociants who can. 
Chorey Les Beaune (Sho-ray Lay Bone)

Very pale in color, very light transparent ruby, notice the difference between a Burgundy and a California Pinot.  The rim is showing some variation, which is to be expected from a thin skinned grape after 5 years.
2005 was a great vintage for Burgundy, so I was expecting a powerful wine, but I found this bottling to be a bit reserved, almost tight still.  The fruits were tart red berries and cherries, the earth was subtle, but I did not get the level of complexity I was expecting.  I enjoyed the wine, don't get me wrong, but I honestly think its just in a bottle funk stage in its life.  Ultimately it is a decent representation of Red Burgundy, but like Califronia Pinot Noir its a wine where higher prices usually do translate to better wines, but for under $20 a bottle its better than many other value Burgundies.  I would suggest a more youthful vintage if you are searching this wine out. 

http://www.drouhin.com/

I love Burgundy with Pork and Game, this style also goes pretty well with fatty fish like Salmon or Sea Bass.
Salute!