Joseph Drouhin Aloxe Corton

When Maurice Drouhin began acquiring Côte de Beaune parcels in the early 20th century, the house's guiding conviction was already fixed: terroir transparency over extraction. Aloxe-Corton sits at the northern tip of the Côte de Beaune, where the Hill of Corton's iron-rich clay-limestone soils — heavier and more structured than the lighter gravels further south — push Pinot Noir toward darker fruit and firmer tannin architecture than a typical Beaune village wine.

All estate vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically (ECOCERT-certified from the 2009 vintage), with horse ploughing and cover crops between rows — an extraordinary commitment across 100 hectares. In the cellar, 100% Pinot Noir undergoes total destemming at village level, with 2–3 weeks maceration in small open vats using indigenous yeasts and both pigeage and pumping-over. Élevage runs 12–18 months in 228L French high-forest oak barriques at 15–25% new wood, seasoned approximately three years before coopering.

The 2018 vintage delivered excellent phenolic maturity in Burgundy reds, with increased whole-cluster vinification across the range — though at village level, destemming remains standard — producing wines of notable depth and structural grip. Drink from 2024 through 2030.