1998 Domain Drouhin Laurene

Dark ruby, stinky earthy nose with notes of red fruit, cherry and pomegranate.
Would have picked this as Nuit St. George or something like that based on the nose.
Very nice red fruit on the palate, ripe sweet cherry, and raspberry and nicely done oak that I suspect was a high proportion of new but very nicely integrated.
Acids and tannin very nicely matured here too but in contrast to the Ken Wright, the fruit is holding on well and this will likely mature and develop further IMHO.
Happy to have more!

Dain

I haven't been a big fan of DDO's more recent efforts (from 98 on). They do age exceptionally well. When Board-O came out a couple years ago, we opened a 1989 DDO that was muted at first but opened up and became an incredible wine after about an hour. I still think that DDO's best wine ever was their 1993 Laurene.

Thanks for the notes. I'll probably open one sometime this summer.

I did not discover DDO til about the 1998 vintage.
Wish I had a 93, if it is better than the 98, likely a wonderful wine.

Dain

A wonderful Pinot Noir. Plenty of ripe fruit on the palate well integrated with earth. I did get that "intense" flavor that reminds me of that vintage. Still a medium weight Pinot Noir that can easily cellar for another 5 years.

Had a 1992 DDL about 2 years ago. I was not expecting much, but it turned to be nice. I have a small stock of DDL from 97 on.

Doc

Drinking another bottle of my stash tonight, consistent report with the previous post. Very fond of this wine. I am just as fond of John Thomas wines and St. Innocent but in different ways. Nice expressions of terroir in Oregon.

Dain