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Our wines
Domaine Drouhin Oregon
Pinot Noir Dundee Hills
Service
-
Cellaring
Optimum consumption: 1 to 6 years
Ageing potential: 10 years
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Tasting temperature
16°C (61-62°F)
Grape variety
Pinot Noir
Vineyard
The classic 1988 Pinot Noir was the first wine produced by the Drouhin family in Oregon. The grapes are harvested only on the estate's plots in the Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, and are vinified in the style of Maison Joseph Drouhin with an emphasis on elegance, balance and finesse. Domaine Drouhin Oregon is certified « Low Input Viticulture Environment » for sustainable viticulture.
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Tasting
by Véronique Boss-Drouhin
Our Pinot Noir Dundee Hills is youthful and bright, deftly downplaying the topsy-turvy growing season that ended with gentle, ideal harvest conditions. On the nose, the wine is bursting with black cherry and ripe sour cherry tones, with hints of dried violets and lightly roasted coffee beans. The palate confirms the nose with added notes of fresh raspberry, cranberry, and a decidedly earthy touch. This wine is lovely, vibrant, and elegant.
Vintage
While winter temperatures were slightly warmer than average, and drought conditions continued across the west, February 2021 was defined by an ice-storm unlike anything seen in the Willamette Valley for 40 years.
The growing season started out relatively cool but continued dry. The Willamette Valley saw mild to moderate early to mid-April frosts, followed by an early season heat event at the start of May. At the end of June, we experienced the warmest days ever recorded in the Valley, and yet the vines remained healthy and resilient.
At the end of this dramatic growing season, the vines delivered grapes with complex flavours, incredible balance, and layers of elegance. As winemakers and grape growers, we couldn’t have asked for a better gift from the vineyard.
Winemaking
Our Pinot Noir is handpicked into 25-pound crates, then hand-sorted and de-stemmed in our four level gravity flow winery. Fermentations are long and careful; by November, all of our Pinot was safely resting in barrel. Our barrels are custom made in Burgundy, using oak from France’s best forests, allowing the character of the soil and vintage to show through.