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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.
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
The 2022 growing season began with great optimism. After a reasonable winter, bud break started in early April, right on schedule. Then, an unprecedented arctic air mass swept in, bringing snowfall, below-freezing temperatures, and the first-ever frost to impact our vineyards. Subsequent cool and damp conditions over the next few months caused sluggish vine growth, putting us 2-4 weeks behind by June. Mercifully, Mother Nature bestowed abundant sunshine and higher-than-average temperatures on us as harvest approached, resulting in a gentle conclusion to the season and excellent fruit ripeness. While the Pinot Noir crop volumes were lower than usual, the quality of the fruit was exceptional - a compromise that we gladly accept!
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.