At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Willamette Valley, Oregon
- Appellations
- Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills AVAs
- Main grapes
- Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
- Named wines
- Cloudline Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Dundee Hills, Roserock Pinot Noir, Chardonnay La Maisonnette
- Defining feature
- 130 acres of sustainably farmed, L.I.V.E. certified hillside vineyards
The Producer
Véronique Drouhin makes every wine at Domaine Drouhin Oregon, the Oregon operation of Burgundy's Drouhin family. She represents the fourth generation of the family's winemakers. The estate's densely planted hillside vineyards are farmed sustainably and carry L.I.V.E. certification.
The Oregon range centres on Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay also present. Its wines connect the family name with vineyards in two Oregon AVAs and with a cellar built for gravity flow.
Place
Domaine Drouhin Oregon's home estate is in the Dundee Hills of the Willamette Valley. The broader Oregon operation is associated with both Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills. Roserock is the family's Eola-Amity Hills estate range, distinct from the Dundee Hills estate bottlings.
The two AVAs give the range separate geographic addresses. Pinot Noir Dundee Hills comes from Dundee Hills estate plots, while Roserock is drawn from estate blocks in Eola-Amity Hills.
Story
The Drouhin family established its Willamette Valley winery in 1987. Véronique Drouhin made the estate's first vintage in 1988, and a gravity flow winery was constructed on the Dundee Hills property in 1989. The estate produced its first Chardonnay vintage in 1996.
These dates mark the Oregon operation's movement from land purchase to estate wine, a dedicated cellar, and a second grape variety. Véronique continues to make every wine today.
Wines
Cloudline Pinot Noir 2023 is a Willamette Valley cuvée made from fruit sourced from long time friends of the Drouhin family. It brings red cherry, red plum and warm spice to a fresh, fruit driven palate.
Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2023 is sourced only from the estate's Dundee Hills plots. Roserock Pinot Noir 2023 is selected from 35 separately fermented estate blocks in Eola-Amity Hills. Roserock opens with cacao, cola, crushed spices, bright red fruit and blackberry bramble, then moves through dried cherry, cranberry and plum, with silky tannins, a firm frame and a long finish.
Chardonnay La Maisonnette 2020 adds a Chardonnay bottling to the range. The estate's first Chardonnay vintage was produced in 1996.
Final Word
Domaine Drouhin Oregon is a Willamette Valley estate where Véronique Drouhin makes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay under the Drouhin family name, with Dundee Hills and Eola-Amity Hills wines kept distinct by their vineyard sources.
Sources
- domainedrouhin.com/our-story
- domainedrouhin.com/our-estate
- www.drouhin.com/en_US/presentation/pioneers-in-oregon
- dreyfusashby.com/domaine-drouhin-oregon
- www.oregonwine.org/wineries/domaine-drouhin-oregon
- www.oregonwine.org/discover/oregon-wine-history
- dreyfusashby.com/great-wines-of-oregon
- www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/drouhin-oregon-roserock-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills/2023
- www.drouhin.com/en_US/wine/domaine-drouhin-oregon-pinot-noir-dundee-hills/2023