Dynamic, indeed

I'm not a big fan of certitude. So when Philippe Drouhin told me that when it comes to organic/biodynamic grape-growing,  “we are still in the unknown,” it got my attention.

After all, Philippe's family, at both Oregon's Domaine Drouhin and the Burgundy-based Joseph Drouhin operation, has been at the forefront of "green" practices" for years. In fact, Philippe has been moving in that direction since his father Robert handed him the viticultural side of the business in 1988.

"My father said I could do it the way I wanted as long as there is a crop at the end of the year," Philippe said as we toured the winery last week in Beaune. "He said 'the vineyards are too good, too beautiful, for the crop to be no good, so do what you want.' ”

This year's product would have been the winery's first entire crop to be certified organic -- if such a thing were possible. "There is no 'organic' in Europe, no designation," Philippe said with a grin and a shrug.

The family's vineyard holdings, in Chablis and Cote D'Or (mostly premier and grand cru), were converted to organic slowly, over several years. The biodynamic practices followed suit.

The family had been paying attention to such details for a while. In the mid-1970s, Robert Drouhin began buying white oak trees and storing the staves on Drouhin property, the better to control the pre-barrel aging process.

Much of Burgundy, by the way, is on board with the whole biodynamc thing, which includes the burying of cows' horns and other unusual practices. The long-term effects, as Phiilippe noted, are still "in the unknown."

Drouhin's wines mostly come from other folks' vineyards in the negociant system, but its high-end stuff is almost entirely homegrown. And all of it is delicious.

I agree wholeheartedly with Philippe that the $25 Drouhin Choray-Les-Beaune 2007, clean and pretty and balanced, is "a very good first step for people who do not know Burgundy." Drouhin's signature red, the $70 Clos des Mouches 2007, is a deep, dark beauty. The blanc rendition goes for over $100 and is well worth the investment. Alas, they're basically unavailable here but can be found at Wine Searcher and other websites.

The 2008s show a ton of promise as well, especially the gorgeous Bonnes Mares and the lovely and complex Chassagne-Morgeot. 

But our most sublime tasting experience out of barrel was the '08 Grand Cru Le Montrachet, with the early- and late-picked juice emanating from different barrels. The early-picked had some lemon notes, while the late-picked and bigger and more tropical. Bothe were stupendously flavorful.

Nectar of the gods, truly. And a good argument for putting cow horns in the ground.

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