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French Winophiles explore American Outposts of French Wineries
This month, our French Winophiles are exploring French winemakers and their New World endeavors. We had a similar assignment back in 2020, where I highlighted Louis Jadot in Bourgogne and Oregon . This time, I’m taking a look at another Bourgogne house, Maison Joseph Drouhin. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a set of links to all my fellow Winophiles’ discoveries. My exploration took a number of twists and turns as you’ll see below.

Maison Joseph Drouhin History
Maison Joseph Drouhin was established by Joseph Drouhin in 1880 as a négociant business, buying grapes and newly finished wines from local vineyards and growers. They vinified grapes, aged the young wines, bottled and established the commercial contacts to sell the wines in France and abroad. They grew into one of the most important Bourgogne (Burgundy) négociants and producers. They survived World Wars, depressions, a changing world wine environment and remain a historic and important Bourgogne producer/négociant today.

Joseph’s son, Maurice, began working in the business in the early 1900’s. He started purchasing vineyards to allow the business to produce their own wines with important acquisitions in top vineyards. Maurice was an important figure in the Bourgogne wine environment in World War II, as chronicled in the book “Wine and War” (a compelling read). During World War II, Maurice held an important role as representative to the occupying Germans in the region. The German representative was not a fan of the Nazi regime and was trying to get along with his Bourgogne counterparts as best he could. Surprisingly Maurice was arrested in August 1941 and taken to prison near Paris. Secretly, Maurice was deeply involved with the Resistance, which the Germans suspected but couldn’t prove. During the war, he was released from prison to return to Beaune, under close scrutiny. On June 7, 1944 the Gestapo knock on the door came, and Maurice knew he was the target. He had packed a suitcase long before and quietly escaped through the “freedom door” in the Drouhin cellars beneath Beaune. Maurice escaped detection by the Nazis by hiding out in the nearby Hospices de Beaune.

The winery survived those turbulent times and remains an important producer/négociant in Bourgogne today. Maison Joseph Drouhin has adopted organic viticulture practices since the late 1980s and biodynamic viticulture since the 1990s.

Domaine Drouhin in the New World
Maison Joseph Drouhin began exploring outposts in the new world and established Domaine Drouhin in the Dundee Hills of the Willamette Valley in Oregon in 1987. Domaine Drouhin has 130 acres planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyards are LIVE certified, vineyard work and harvesting are all done by hand as is typical in higher quality vineyards in Bourgogne. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit Domaine Drouhin yet, maybe in my next trip to Oregon!

Maison Joseph Drouhin Comparo
This is where the twists and turns start in my tasting of Domaine Drouhin. I knew I had purchased a Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir some time ago, so I decided to pick up a similarly priced more recent vintage Domaine Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne example for a “new vs. old” world comparison. When I dug out the Domaine Drouhin wine, I found it was 2011 vintage; nice but difficult to compare against a 2019 French wine. I also wondered about an Oregon to Oregon comparison, so I looked for a good quality Dundee Hills wine I had on hand. How about Knudsen Vineyards? Voila! What started out as a “new world vs. old world” comparison turned into a look at a crazy sort-of vertical high quality Pinot Noir exploration. Still, I had fun and I hope you’ll give ANY of these wines a try!

Disclosure: The Knudsen Vineyards wine was a sample. The Drouhin Family wines were both purchased at retail. I included the Knudsen Vineyards wine as it is a high quality Oregon Pinot Noir made with restraint, a good choice to compare to the French influenced wines. All opinions expressed are my own.

Blind Tasting But Not So Much…
While the photos don’t show it, the wines looked quite different to the eye and showed their age clearly. So, my tasting turned into an appreciation of how high quality Pinot Noir ages gracefully, even across continents and producers.

Our youngest wine was wine #1, the Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages at 2019. On sight the pale ruby color had definite elements of blue while not making it all the way to purple. In the glass, the flavors were fresh and the tannins were refined but not yet fully integrated. No worries, they will meld with the wine over a bit more time.

Wine #2 was the Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills from 2011. The pale color had evolved over to garnet. Aromas and flavors mixed red and blue fruit along with fresh and dried fruits. Everything had knit together beautifully.

Wine #3 was the Knudsen Pinot Noir from 2017, in between our Drouhin wines. The color was a perfect pale ruby, showing neither blue nor garnet inclination. Fruit aromas and flavors included both red and blue fruits, in common with the Domaine Drouhin wine. Perhaps due to climate and soil in common and different from the Côte de Nuits. This wine gave a touch softer impression compared to the Drouhin wines, only noticeable in direct comparison and not at all bad, just very slightly different.

Wine 1 – Joseph Drouhin Côte de Nuits-Villages 2019 ($38 at Surdyk’s) 14.5% abv
Eye: Pale ruby
Nose: medium plus aromas of ripe red cherry, strawberry, red plum, subtle clove, brie cheese, warm dusty earth. Nose is a bit hot (alcohol).
Mouth: Dry, high acidity, medium minus fine-grained tannins, medium plus body, high alcohol, medium plus intensity flavors, medium plus finish. Flavors follow the nose closely.
Observations: Lean but not austere, the fruit and non-fruit flavors are evenly balanced. There is a touch of oak influence still integrating. Not overdone, just not fully meshed yet. This wine showed its youth through a pure, cool ruby color.

Wine 2 – Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2011 ($48 current vintage) 13.9% abv
Eye: Pale garnet
Nose: Medium intensity aromas of fresh red cherries and strawberries, also dried cherries and strawberries. A bit of blueberry and black plum also present along with tobacco and forest floor.
Mouth: Dry, high acidity, medium minus fine-grained tannins, medium body, medium flavor intensity, long finish.
Observations: This wine shows it has some age, all in a good way. The flavors are very nicely integrated including both fresh and dried fruits. The tannins are fine-grained and only medium-minus yet they are still firm. This appears to be a perfect spot in this wine’s drinking window. The color of this aged wine had evolved toward garnet, it was easy to spot in our trio.

Wine 3 – Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir Dundee Hills 2017 ($55 current vintage) 13.8% abv
Eye: Pale ruby
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of ripe strawberry, blueberry, black plum, hints of cardamom, cinnamon, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, hints of rosemary, cedar,
Mouth: Dry, medium plus acidity, low fine-grained tannins, medium plus body with a creamy texture, medium alcohol, medium plus flavor intensity, medium plus finish. The flavors follow the nose very closely.
Observations: Friendly and approachable, fruit and non-fruit notes are very harmonious and well integrated. A few years out from release, this wine just started to show its color, being a solid ruby without the purplish edges of the younger wine in the tasting.

Knudsen Vineyards
Established in 1971, Knudsen Vineyards is one of the pioneers in Willamette Valley. I chose their wine for our comparison in part due to their location in Dundee Hills, as well as knowing their wines for high quality and restraint; likely to be a good comparison with Domaine Drouhin. Not for choosing better or worse but for comparing similarities and differences in style.

Winophiles Discoveries of French Outposts in the New World
Take a look below at my fellow Winophiles posts regarding French winery explorations in the new world. You’ll be sure to find something intriguing so link to that post for more info!

• For the Love of Pinot Noir: An American-French Partnership in Oregon by Always Ravenous
• French Roots in Dundee Hills: Drouhin Reds with Lacquered Baby Back Ribs by Culinary Cam
• La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir and Les Cadrans de Lassegue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru: Two Jackson Family Wines from Two Countries Paired with Pork Roast by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley
• Maison Joseph Drouhin: From Beaune to the Dundee Hills by Food Wine Click!
• Southeast Asian Flavors  Sizzle at Domaine Carneros by Wineivore
• Tablas Creek Patelin De Tablas Blanc + a Recipe by Tablas Creek Vineyard by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• The Sun Never Sets on Chandon by Side Hustle Wino