Winery - Domaine Drouhin
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Veronique Drouhin makes this estate chardonnay as she would make it in her native Burgundy. It’s a wine of breed and finesse, with crisp, detailed aromas that reward your attention with nuances of flowers, stone fruit, melon and spice. Precisely-detailed, sculpted and elegant, it is still rather young and unyielding. Unlike most New World white wines, this one definitely needs more years in the bottle.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is the best Pinot Noir yet from the Drouhin estate; immensely concentrated and rich. The fruit is complex and penetrating, focused and long, layered throughout a generous and extended finish. Cherries and chocolate linger on the palate, resonating long after the wine has been swallowed.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Tight and muscular, the new Laurene opens with a hard, earthy nose that shows more stem and leaf than fruit. Should open up and reveal its complexity as it ages.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is the best regular bottling of DDO Pinot Noir since 2001: It’s a nicely ripened, forward, juicy wine that puts the fruit front and center. Scented with cherry candy, cola and sweet brown sugar, it shows a sturdy core that goes well beyond the sweet strawberry flavors into tart berry, herb and a finish built upon beautiful, fine-grained tannins. Give this plenty of breathing time, and watch it blossom.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
DDO’s Chardonnay comes as close to white Burgundy as you will find in Oregon. Amazing finesse, with crisp, detailed aromas mixing flowers, peaches, melon and almonds. Impressive texture and a long, elegant and precisely-detailed path across the palate.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Unlike 1999, this year half of the wine was fermented in stainless steel. Stylish and truly “Burgundian” character, with bright flavors of citrus and stone, buoyant on lively acids, unencumbered by heavy oak. Young and seductive, with a finishing kiss of toast and butter.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The Laurene bottling has long been DDO’s reserve Pinot. In recent years, as the densely-planted estate vineyards have gained maturity, the wine seems to have become more austere. Although it is already three years past the harvest, it remains tight and unyielding, lightly herbal, perhaps a bit tannic and earthy. Hints of clay and mineral come through in the finish, and there is sharp-edged raspberry/cranberry fruit.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Review unavailable at this time
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Even in ripe, jammy vintages such as 1998, Domaine Drouhin keeps a sleek, polished profile. In 1999, everyone made tight, lean wines, and this one takes that ageworthy style to an extra dimension. Clear and bright, young and hard, it suggests rather than showcases layers of mineral, earth and red fruit. Firm and elegant, but give it lots of cellar time.
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