Drinking the 2002 Domaine Drouhin Classique Pinot Noir and Arthur Chardonnay
I spent part of the Memorial Day weekend at my mother’s house in Hillsboro, Oregon. My wife and I had a great time, especially with their new puppy, who is extremely cute. We also enjoyed sitting outside in the heat (on Saturday, anyway) underneath the roof of the new gazebo that my mother and stepfather built. Of course, all that sitting and sweating made us thirsty. I tried a couple of good beers and lambics, such as the venerable Lindemans Cassis and an oak-aged amber ale called La Roja. I thought La Roja was decent, but it’s hard not to love that Lindemans Cassis lambic, which might be one of the best vegan beverages I’ve ever had.
Just in time for Memorial Day, Costco had Copper River salmon on sale for $12.99/pound, which is absurdly cheap for this particular type of fish. Copper River salmon, in my opinion, is extremely good because of its high natural fat content. A fillet of Copper River salmon is marbled with fat in the same way as an excellent porterhouse steak. When you cook this fish, all of that fat melts and keeps the meat quite juicy and flavorful. That’s my theory, anyway, as to why I end up eating as much Copper River salmon as I can every year.
For dinner on Saturday, we had some grilled Copper River salmon, fresh green beans, bread, salad…the works. We all agreed that the 2002 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (AKA Classique) would be an excellent pairing. I also spotted the half-bottle of 2002 Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay in the fridge, so we opened that as well. I do not have detailed tasting notes this time around, so I will instead give you my impression of each wine:
- The 2002 Domaine Drouhin Classique Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine, rich with black cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors. The texture is smooth, with acidity and tannins that tasted well integrated after 30 minutes of decanting. As a pairing with salmon, this wine remains the champion in my book, bested only by DDO Laurène.
- The 2002 Domaine Drouhin Arthur Chardonnay is terrific, with lots of nice peach, apricot, and citrus flavors. We opened this half-bottle straight out of the fridge, where it had been for quite some time. After letting the wine warm up a bit, mild aromas of almond and lemon wafted from the glass. Plenty of crisp acidity made this wine quite tasty with the balsamic vinegar salad dressing.
I have never had a chance to try a lightly-aged Arthur Chardonnay. I am now inspired to save my bottles for several years. I wonder if Central Market still has that bottle of 2001 Arthur sitting in their special wine room….
As for the Classique, I was reminded again why I love Domaine Drouhin wines, particularly as they age. Each bottle has its own character, and while the Classique releases tend to have a more homogeneous character from bottle to bottle, this particular bottle exhibited a lot more black cherry flavor than others I have tried. I wonder if it’s the age of the wine that causes this flavor profile to emerge. Whatever it is, I liked it.