This Sultry 2023 Drouhin Pinot is a Double 95-Point Showstopper!
Since 1987, the Drouhin family of Burgundy has been rooted in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. Under the perfecting-touch of Véronique Boss-Drouhin, their Pinot Noirs have gone from strength to strength.
Today, we bring you their core 2023 bottling. Simply put, it is a showstopper. There's never been such an immediately showy, irresistible edition of this beloved bottling. It encapsulates everything we love about the Dundee Hills, providing validation to David Lett’s pioneering efforts here 60 years ago.
The 2023 vintage is the buzz of the region, and we jumped on this bottling early. While it has yet to be assessed by some of our favorite writers, it has already earned a pair of 95-Point reviews.
Perhaps its biggest endorsement so far, however, comes from the notes of one of the more close-to-the-vest tasters on our panel, who wrote this four word summary: "Could Not Stop Drinking!"
Read on for the reviews of Véronique's irresistible 2023, and her premium 2022 "Laurene" Pinot Noir, then hit the Big Green Button while supplies last!
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2023 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
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A perfect encapsulation of the Dundee Hills, this seductively-hued wine drew us in with its ripe red fruit and spice, then sealed the deal with layer-upon-layer of darker soil tones and palate-staining volcanic minerality atop a very silky, long finish.
Flavors of ripe raspberry, loam, bergamot tea, grenadine, rhubarb and dried cherry are in perfect balance. We paired our bottle with a simple duck breast, and it was heaven.
In some years, we’ve noted how tightly wound the young Pinots from Drouhin Oregon can be. No such experience here. The full breadth of flavors and texture are available very early, with decanting bringing even more positive evolution. This is a great wine, and you'll know it from the moment you pop the cork!
“A deep, serious and structured wine that’s quietly powerful and age-worthy at a reasonable price. Tightly woven tannins, black fruit, bracing acidity and an elegant mouthfeel. Reserved in a good way.”
- 95 Points, James Suckling (3/14/2025)
“Well-sculpted and elegantly dynamic, with lilting raspberry and pomegranate flavors laced with green tea, rose petal and savory spice accents. Ends with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033.”
- 93 Points, Wine Spectator (6/30/2025)
"The 2023 Pinot Noir from Domaine Drouhin presents a luminous medium ruby core with a soft pink rim, showcasing its vibrant youthfulness. The nose is beautifully layered, offering aromas of wild raspberries, red plum, crushed slate, fresh peonies, and subtle notes of cedar and clean linens. Crafted with 80% fermentation in French oak to build complexity and 20% in stainless steel to retain freshness, this wine strikes an impeccable balance between refinement and vibrancy. On the palate, it delivers a harmonious blend of juicy red fruit and earthy undertones, with moderate-plus acidity providing lift and energy. The tannins, while firm and youthful, are well-integrated and promise to soften with time. The finish is long, polished, and elegant, leaving lingering impressions of fruit and savory spice.”
- 95 Points, International Wine Report (5/2025)
Winery price is $48. Median online retail is just over $44. For the sheer silkiness and balance alone, this is worth either of those amounts. You'll find yourself going back to this oh-so-beautiful red over and over again!
Vin Chicago Price: 39.99
The 97-Point Domaine Drouhin Oregon "Laurene" 2022!
2022 Domaine Drouhin Oregon "Laurene" Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon
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A selection of the domaine’s best barrels, this serious and complex wine is named after Véronique’s daughter Laurene. As you would for a great bottle of Premier Cru Burgundy, you'll want to give this structured red a few years in your cellar to develop to its full potential. If you want to dig in now, an hour or two in the decanter will be well rewarded.
Check out these heady reviews from the press...
“The medium ruby-colored 2022 Pinot Noir Laurene is more layered and complex, with a cologne consisting of cedar, leather, black cherries, wild raspberries, umami savory notes, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it has more structure and slightly broader shoulders, with ripe tannins and evenly balanced, ripe acidity. It’s only going to improve with time and will drink well over the next 20 years. Maturity: 2024 - 2044.”
- 97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck (8/6/2024)
“The 2022 Pinot Noir Laurène is spicy, revealing an intense burst of crushed cherries and strawberries complemented by hints of clove and a cascade of dusty rose. This is juicy in style with ripe red berry fruits that saturate as saline minerals amass toward the close. Violet and lavender tones linger through the lightly structured finish, leaving a pleasant tart blackberry tinge that slowly fades. Drinking Window: 2026 - 2036.”
- 94+ Points, Vinous - Eric Guido (5/2024)
“Poised and silky in texture, with elegantly layered flavors of raspberry and cherry highlighted by rose petal, spice and forest floor tones as this gathers richness toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2033.”
- 94 Points, Wine Spectator (11/15/2024)
"The 2022 Pinot Noir "Cuvée Laurène" bottling from Domaine Drouhin is another stunning young wine and a beautiful follow-up to the exquisite 2021 version. The wine this year comes in at 14.1 percent octane and shows stunning precision and purity on both the nose and palate. The youthful bouquet is gorgeous, wafting from the glass in a mix of black cherries, plums, raw cocoa, gamebird, woodsmoke, a complex base of soil tones, a touch of black tea and a deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, nascently complex and impeccably balanced, with a great core of black fruit, superb soil signature, lovely acids, fine-grained tannins and great length and grip on the vibrant and very, very promising finish. As this is always a barrel selection that Véronique Drouhin-Boss makes in the cellars to craft a very ageworthy cuvée, this wine is going to be a stunning long distance runner in 2022.”
- 95 Points, John Gilman’s "A View From the Cellar" (12/2024)
Wine Spectator quotes a release price of $80. Below all but four of the 170 nationwide listings, our price is very hard to beat. When you think how much a 97-Point barrel selection from a top estate in Burgundy would cost, the price of this bottling comes quickly into perspective.
Vin Chicago Price: 68.99
