Joseph Drouhin 2022 Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Les Petits Monts Pinot Noir 750ml

According to the local saying, at the Petits Monts, the whole world is at your feet. The sentiment is not merely poetic. Les Petits Monts — the little hills — sits on a small rocky promontory directly above the Romanée-Conti vineyard, looking down across the most celebrated hectares in all of Burgundy. The view from the vines is remarkable. The wine is more remarkable still.

Joseph Drouhin's parcel in Les Petits Monts covers just 0.39 hectares across two separate plots — less than an acre in total, farmed entirely by horse and plow because the site is too narrow and too steep for a tractor to navigate. There is no path. The horse and plow work goes in and out the same way, and the fact that Véronique Drouhin — who personally owns this parcel within the broader Drouhin portfolio — has maintained this commitment to the most labor-intensive viticulture possible is both a philosophical statement and a direct explanation of the wine's quality. Vines that are worked by hand and horse, on rocky clay-and-limestone soils above the world's most expensive vineyard, produce fruit of a character that no mechanized vineyard can approach regardless of how thoughtful the farming.

William Kelley of Wine Advocate captured the entire 2022 Drouhin lineup in a sentence that applies most directly to Petits Monts: "The Drouhin family remains committed to the ideal of elegance, and the 2022 vintage has played into their hands in that respect, producing a crop of sensual, charming wines that come warmly recommended." Neal Martin, reviewing the 2022 Petits Monts specifically, found "hints of white pepper and clove infusing the red berry fruit — medium-bodied, sappy, mainly black fruit, quite peppery in style, though it does not impede the terroir expression." A separate Wine Advocate note described "sweet red berries and plums mingled with exotic spices and rose petals — medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with good depth at the core, melting tannins and this cuvée's signature saline finish." Burghound Allen Meadows, at cask: "exuberantly spicy and quite floral — exotic tea, red and dark raspberry, soy and sandalwood" — awarding 92–95 Points and his "sweet spot outstanding" designation. Crush Wine & Spirits called it "strikingly regal with a beautiful mineral spine" and "one of my favorite bottles from Drouhin's vast lineup."

If you want to know what Vosne-Romanée feels like — the specific combination of spice, silk, mineral precision, and that saline, lingering finish that makes the village unlike any other in Burgundy — this is among the most accessible and most genuine expressions available in the market. The whole world, from above Romanée-Conti, in a glass.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Maison Joseph Drouhin was founded in Beaune in 1880 and is today managed by the fourth generation of the Drouhin family across 93 hectares of biodynamic estate vineyards in Burgundy. The Drouhin family's organic viticulture conversion began in the late 1980s and their biodynamic practices followed in the 1990s — among the earliest and most sustained commitments to holistic farming in the Côte de Nuits. Their Petits Monts parcel is personally owned by Véronique Drouhin, one of the four Drouhin siblings managing the estate, and is among the smallest and most precisely farmed estate parcels in the entire Drouhin portfolio.

Les Petits Monts is one of seven Premier Cru vineyards in Vosne-Romanée — situated on a small rocky promontory above Romanée-Conti at the northern edge of the commune's Premier Cru band, on clay and limestone soils that are notably rocky and very shallow. The shallowness of the soil forces the vine roots deep into the limestone bedrock, producing naturally low yields of concentrated, mineral-rich fruit. The average vine age in the Drouhin parcel is 51 years — old enough to produce the complexity and concentration that young vines cannot approach, and old enough to have developed deep root systems through the rocky subsoil that regulate water access independently of rainfall variation.

The 2022 harvest at Petits Monts took place in a single day — September 2 — with the grapes recently racked from tank into barrel at the time of Neal Martin's cask evaluation. The whole cluster inclusion for the 2022 was 35% — toward the higher end of the 20–50% range that Drouhin applies based on vintage character — a decision that adds aromatic complexity, structural tannin, and the white pepper and spice dimension that Neal Martin specifically identified in his cask note. Fermentation takes place in small open vats with indigenous yeasts only, punching of the cap once daily through the first half of fermentation, and pump-over once daily through completion — a restrained extraction approach that preserves finesse and prevents the over-extraction that would mask the site's natural mineral character. The wine ages for 14 to 18 months in French high-forest oak with 25% new barrels — less new oak than the Musigny's 30%, appropriate for a Premier Cru whose fruit character is more delicate and whose terroir expression benefits from minimal wood imposition.

Critics Reviews

Burghound (Allen Meadows) — 92–95 Points (2022, cask) · "Sweet Spot Outstanding" "This is also exuberantly spicy and quite floral as well with its blend of exotic tea, red and dark raspberry, soy and sandalwood scents. There is better vibrancy to the intensely mineral-driven and tautly muscular medium weight flavors that are very firmly structured on the impressively long finish. This is actually relatively robust and certainly more so than is usually the case with this wine. From two parcels that total 0.39 ha; worked by horse and plow because there is no path for a tractor. Drink from 2024+."

Wine Advocate (Neal Martin) — 2022 (cask) 94 Points: "The 2022 Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru, which had recently been racked from tank into barrel, was picked in a single day on September 2. This has a beguiling bouquet, the 35% whole clusters assiduously used, hints of white pepper and clove infusing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy, mainly black fruit, quite peppery in style, though it does not impede the terroir expression."

Wine Advocate (second note — bottled) — 2022: "The 2022 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts has also turned out nicely, exhibiting aromas of sweet red berries and plums mingled with exotic spices and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, ample and layered, with good depth at the core, melting tannins and this cuvée's signature saline finish, it will only improve with a second winter in barrel."

Wine Advocate (William Kelley) — 2022 Drouhin vintage assessment: "The Drouhin family remains committed to the ideal of elegance, and the 2022 vintage has played into their hands in that respect, producing a crop of sensual, charming wines that come warmly recommended."

Neal Martin, Vinous 94-96 Points: "The 2022 Vosne-Romanée Les Petits Monts 1er Cru, which had recently been racked from tank into barrel, was picked in a single day on September 2. This has a beguiling bouquet, the 35% whole clusters assiduously used, hints of white pepper and clove infusing the red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy, mainly black fruit, quite peppery in style, though it does not impede the terroir expression. There is very fine precision on the finish with impressive length; this is an excellent Petit-Monts."

Drouhin Estate House Description of Petits Monts character (across vintages): "A wine of great elegance — intense deep ruby colour. Characteristic aromas of wild cherry combining with fine spice and a subtle note of musk. On the palate, the first impression is of silk. Refined tannins of great breed; lively notes. Lingering aftertaste with a myriad of sensations."

Tasting Profile

Nose Intense deep ruby with youthful brightness — the 2022 vintage's impressive color depth present in a wine of this delicacy. The nose opens with the exuberant spice and floral complexity that Burghound identified as Petits Monts' most immediately distinctive aromatic characteristic — the 35% whole cluster inclusion's white pepper and clove contribution evident from the first approach, adding aromatic dimension above what a fully destemmed Vosne-Romanée would deliver. Red and dark raspberry lead the fruit register alongside wild cherry — the Petits Monts terroir's characteristic combination of bright red fruit and darker berry depth. Exotic tea and soy add the umami-adjacent, slightly savory dimension that the clay-and-limestone rocky soils consistently produce in this specific parcel. Sandalwood and a whisper of rose petal add aromatic refinement and a subtle perfumed quality. Sweet red berries and plum arrive as the nose develops alongside exotic spices and a barely detectable new oak thread. Musk and forest floor add depth and the beginning of the complex development that this wine will undergo over the next decade.

Palate Medium to full-bodied, ample, and layered — more structured and more robust than the house's Musigny in this vintage, as Burghound specifically noted. The entry is sappy and black-fruit-forward — the Petits Monts' rocky soils and old-vine concentration producing a depth and weight that the lighter-soiled Chambolle vineyards approach differently. White pepper and spice from the whole cluster inclusion build quickly through the mid-palate alongside red and black currant, plum, and the characteristic soy and sandalwood that make Petits Monts distinctly identifiable among Vosne-Romanée Premier Crus. Good depth at the core — the mineral backbone of the rocky limestone subsoil evident as a structural tension that holds every flavor in focused alignment. Melting tannins provide a velvety mouthfeel of impressive refinement — present, building, and entirely supportive of the fruit rather than imposing. The terroir expression is entirely unimpeded by the peppery spice — as Neal Martin noted — the mineral and fruit character carrying through the whole cluster contribution rather than being obscured by it.

Finish Long, saline, and impressively structured — the Petits Monts cuvée's "signature saline finish" that Wine Advocate identified as the wine's most consistently distinctive close. The saline quality — cool, slightly mineral, and entirely geological in origin from the rocky limestone subsoil — is the last thing to fade, carrying the finish well past the swallow in a combination with the taut, firmly structured tannins that confirms this wine's aging trajectory with complete clarity. Spice and a whisper of sandalwood persist alongside the mineral salinity before the whole experience resolves into a long, focused close of genuine Premier Cru stature.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Serve at 16°C in a large Burgundy bowl. Decanting 30–45 minutes will soften the firmly structured tannins and allow the rose petal and sandalwood aromatics to fully open — the whole cluster spice character integrating with air into something more harmonious and more complex than the first pour alone delivers. Drinking beautifully now through 2035 and beyond — Burghound's "drink from 2024+" indication confirms current accessibility, while the saline mineral backbone and firm tannin structure provide confident aging potential. Outstanding alongside roasted squab, duck with cherry or plum sauce, wild mushroom dishes, Burgundian braised beef, aged Époisses or Comté, and any preparation where earthy, savory, and slightly spiced flavors complement the wine's own character.