Expensive Pinot Noir From Domain Drouhin and Jacky Truchot

This blog recently recorded its 5,000th page view and to celebrate, we decided to try two wines made from the pinot noir grape that cost substantially more money than we are normally willing to spend. They are the:

Domaine Drouhin 2003 “Laurene” Pinot Noir ($65), Oregon, and the
Jacky Truchot “Vieilles Vignes” Gevrey-Chambertin 2004 1er Cru “Aux Combottes” ($60) from the Burgundy region of France.

Domaine Drouhin, the Oregon outpost of France's Maison Drouhin, produces three pinot noir, the least expensive of which normally retails for about $40 a bottle. The ”Laurene” is the middle of the three with the top-of-the line “Louise” generally available only by special order.

While Domaine Drouhin wasn’t the first producer of pinot in Oregon, its arrival there in 1988 served to put the state on the international winemaking map. Since then, a host of new producers have appeared to the point where it has become difficult for consumers to keep up with the offerings of even the most prominent of them. In contrast to many others who seem to be constantly experimenting, Drouhin has kept its Oregon portfolio remarkably straight forward and well defined.

Our panel was very favorably impressed with the “Laurene.” In fact, my only complaint about it is that it is so expensive most consumers will probably never be able to try it. That is a shame because this is what I would describe as a benchmark wine – one against which others should be measured. I say that for one reason: balance.

The wine is concentrated as one would expect from an expensive pinot, but not to the degree where one might consider it to be too dense – what some would call “extracted.” The tannins are well integrated with the fruit adding complexity without tasting overtly like tannin. That is in large part because the wine was aged at the winery until it was ready for consumption. The vintage we tried – 2003 – is the current release.

An appropriate amount of aging also means this wine comes across as very smooth right out of the bottle, unlike some other expensive pinots that are a little rough on the palate because the winery has left it up to the consumer to cellar the wine for a couple of years – not something everyone wants to do.

Lastly, this wine is properly balanced between fruit and alcohol and it has sufficient acidity to properly accompany food.

A wine with those attributes would normally get a rating of Recommended, but because of the high cost, it is instead being placed in the Worth Considering category.

In contrast to the “Laurene,” Jacky Truchot’s Gevery-Chambertin has a lighter body and more of a raspberry flavor. On the plus side it is ready to drink in the sense that the wine is smooth on the palate and devoid of unresolved tannin. But while our panel members found the flavor interestingly different compared with the various red-fruit Oregon pinots we have tried, the acidity level of this offering was too high for comfort, even with the food we happened to be eating that night. As such and especially given the price, I rate this one Not Recommended. Consumers can do better for less money.

However, Jacky Truchot recently announced his retirement, with the 2005 vintage apparently to be his last. These wines apparently have something of a cult following in the U.S. so if you want to see what the fuss is all about, you may want to try one before they disappear from retail shelves and become collectors’ items.