Domaine Drouhin Oregon Laurene Pinot Noir (375ML half-bottle) 2015
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Named after Véronique Drouhin's elder daughter, Laurène is the wineries flagship wine, and is produced entirely from Pinot Noir grown on the family's estate in the Dundee Hills. All of the fruit is handpicked into small totes, destemmed, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and then placed into barrels (French oak, never more than 20% new). Once the vintage is safely in the cellar, Véronique begins the process of selecting barrels which have an extra complexity, length and depth — barrels which will work together as Laurène.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Thick with ripe black fruits that are streaked with cola, this substantial vintage of the winery's middle-tier bottling also brings notes of toasted hazelnuts. The overall balance is spot-on, with ample acidity lending a suggestion of wet stone as the flavors resolve into the finish. Delicious already but quite ageworthy for a decade at least.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2015 Pinot Noir Laurene is intensely scented of cranberries, wild strawberries and raspberry leaves with nuances of underbrush, wild thyme and yeast extract. Medium-bodied, fine, fresh and tightly wound at this youthful stage, it delivers plenty of depth and expression and the long finish is beautifully framed with a commendable texture.
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Wine Spectator
Refined and expressive, with harmonious cherry, black tea and spiced cinnamon flavors that take on richness toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2024.
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Established in 1987, Domaine Drouhin Oregon is owned by famed Burgundy producer, Maison Joseph Drouhin. Hand-crafted by fourth generation winemaker, Veronique Drouhin-Boss, the distinctive Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Domaine Drouhin are prized for their elegance, balance and finesse, as well as their ability to age. Philippe Drouhin, Veronique's brother, is in charge of viticulture and has earned an international reputation for his work both in Burgundy and Oregon. Ninety acres of the 225-acre estate are now planted, with over 3100 vines per acre. Domaine Drouhin Oregon's landmark 4-level gravity flow winery is nestled into the heart of the Dundee Hills.
Robert Drouhin’s vision of an Oregon estate winery that could rival the great vineyards of Burgundy has been realized at DDO. From what began as test plantings of cloned Pinot Noir rootstock, Domaine Drouhin now encompasses 124 acres of hillside vineyards. Interspersed with the Pinot Noir vines are 11 acres of Chardonnay, planted at various elevations and, like in Burgundy, planted right alongside rows of Pinot Noir.
The Drouhin Family’s winemaking roots run deep, having taken hold in Burgundy’s best vineyards more than a century ago. Through the years, there has been a very clear link, a continuum, that inhabits Maison Joseph Drouhin, and now Domaine Drouhin Oregon.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home of the first Pinot noir vineyard of the Willamette Valley, planted by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyard in 1966, today the Dundee Hills AVA remains the most densely planted AVA in the valley (and state). To its north sits the Chehalem Valley and to its south, runs the Willamette River. Within the region’s 12,500 acres, about 1,700 are planted to vine on predominantly basalt-based, volcanic, Jory soil.