Wine & Spirits - Winter 2020 - 29

Domaine de la Côte
CALIFORNIA | STA. RITA HILLS
Domaine de la Côte's ﬁve vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills are the
pinot noir ﬁeld lab of Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr.

RAJAT PARR AND
SASHI MOORMAN

SASHI MOORMAN AND RAJAT PARR FARM ﬁve vineyards on the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills.
A cool and windy coastal climate, impoverished
soils, organic farming, close vine spacing and
low-vigor rootstocks produce very low yields of
California heritage pinot noir clones (Mt. Eden,
Calera and Swan). These vineyards are, without
exaggeration, some of the most distinctive sites
in California. Parr and Moorman do little in the
cellar to get in the way of vineyard expression.
The wines are fermented with ambient yeasts,
ﬁnished in mostly used barrels and bottled with
minimal sulfur inputs. The partners are generous in their use of whole clusters in their fermenting bins-for all but one wine, they use 100
percent. This is partly to build structure and tannins, but it's also inspired by the traditional red
Burgundies that both Moorman and Parr have
revered for most of their wine-drinking lives.
"We're sentimental for that older style of wine.
It's what we grew up on; those are benchmarks
for us," says Moorman. -P.J.C.

Domaine
Drouhin Oregon
OREGON | DUNDEE HILLS
The Drouhin's Burgundian roots and 30 years of Oregon
experience culminate in cellar-ready pinot and chardonnay.
HIS INTEREST PIQUED BY A 1975 Eyrie Vineyards
pinot noir, Robert Drouhin purchased a property in the Dundee Hills in 1987. At the time,
he was managing Maison Joseph Drouhin, the
family business in Beaune, and he charged his
daughter, Véronique, with the management
of the Oregon estate. She and her brother,
Philippe, a viticulturist, began planting Dijonclone pinot noir, adding 11 acres of chardonnay
in 1992, interspersed in the Burgundian mode,
between the rows of pinot. Decades on, Philippe
still manages the vineyards, now 130 acres, all
high-density plantings farmed sustainably (LIVE
certiﬁed); many are on rootstock the Drouhins
grow themselves, allowing them to tailor their
plantings to a site's soil and climate. And Véronique still makes the wine, assistant winemaker
Arron Bell tending to the four-story gravity-ﬂow
winery while she's in Beaune. In France, her official title is "Guardian of the Drouhin Palate," a
mandate she applies equally to the Oregon properties, producing wines that combine New World
richness with Burgundian elegance. -C.W.

2018 Sta. Rita Hills Bloom's Field Pinot Noir
($75, 95 points) Composed of fruit from heritage
pinot clones at a west-facing windswept vineyard,
this wine is perhaps the most savory of the Domaine
de la Côte pinot lineup in 2018. It offers herbal bayand-olive-leaf scents, but the fruit isn't shy-a kind of
smoky strawberry compote with impressive balance
and concentration. A dusty, mildly herbal tinge carries through to the end, the wine leaving an impression of sanguine energy. This is built to age.

FOUNDED:

2013
OWNERS/
WINEMAKERS:

Sashi Moorman,
Rajat Parr
VITICULTURIST:

Chris King
ACRES OWNED:

25
ANNUAL
PRODUCTION:

2,200 cases
ESTATE GROWN:

100%

2018 Sta. Rita Hills La Côte Pinot Noir ($90, 93
points) La Côte in 2018 has a powerful set of aromas, including a seductive and dramatic marine
character, with scents of smoke and dried seaweed
overlaying tense dark-red fruits in the strawberry and
pomegranate vein. Smokiness currently shrouds the
wine, and yet it's clearly full of character. Cellar it
to tame that whole-bunch savor; it will reward your
patience.
2018 Sta. Rita Hills Memorious Pinot Noir ($75,
92 points) In its young wines, Domaine de la Côte's
whole-cluster expression is never subtle. This one
smells like bergamot and violet petals crushed in a
bowl. All that spice doesn't prepare you for the depth
of ﬂavor, the dark, sweet, succulent berry fruit that
centers the wine. Earth, mushroom and amaro spices
emerge on the ﬁnish. It's got a lot to say, needing cellar time to fully express itself.

FOUNDED:

1987
OWNERS:

The Drouhin
family
WINEMAKER:

Véronique
Boss-Drouhin
VITICULTURIST:

Philippe Drouhin
ACRES OWNED:

2016 Dundee Hills Laurène Pinot Noir ($70, 94
points) This is the twenty-ﬁfth release of Drouhin's
ﬂagship pinot noir bottling, named after Véronique
Drouhin's eldest daughter. A selection of the estate's
best barrels-all custom-crafted in Burgundy from
French oak-this iteration is rich, with layers of bright,
complex fruit, spice and earth, the wine's youthfulness suggesting a long life ahead.
2018 Dundee Hills Edition Limitée Chardonnay
($75, 94 points) This is a barrel-fermented chardonnay from Drouhin Oregon's oldest vines. In 2018, a
cool, wet winter led into a warm, consistent summer,
ripening this to an opulent degree. And yet the wine
still reads as elegant, with delicate apple-blossom
scents and long, lasting ﬂavor. (125 cases)

130
ANNUAL
PRODUCTION:

24,000 cases
ESTATE GROWN:

100%

2018 Dundee Hills Arthur Chardonnay ($35, 93
points) Oaky richness girds this chardonnay's apple
and marzipan ﬂavors while lemon-blossom ﬂorals
from the stainless-steel portion make it feel balanced
and immediately appealing.
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