Today’s wine of the week and Wine Wednesday post is dedicated to Domaine Drouhin Oregon wine, Laurene. I tasted this extraordinary Pinot Noir at the New York Wine Experience in October, held by the Wine Spectator. While I had been in Oregon for the first time last summer, I did not get to visit this particular vineyard in the Dundee Hills.

The wine was beautiful with bright red fruit, a spicy, forest undertone, and a long layered finish with waves of tertiary aromas and flavors. Elegant and complex yet not overpowering, this is a perfect wine to grace any Thanksgiving table. The wine is named for the winemaker Véronique Drouhin’s oldest daughter, Laurène.

Made from hand harvested, estate fruit, the wine ferments on its native yeasts and is placed into barrels. Of course, they use French oak but only 20% of it is new oak. The wine is a Cuvée of different barrels that the winemaker blends.

In terms of the year, 2013 was a pretty good vintage with warm, dry days right before harvest which is essential. However, while harvesting, they had some inclement weather but we able to get a good crop despite that.

The winery is owned by the famed Drouhin family from Burgundy house Joseph Drouhin. It was started in 1987. Winemaker Véronique Drouhin has made all of the vintages while Philippe Drouhin manages the vineyards. They own vineyards in the Dundee Hills and the Eola-Amity Hills. Furthermore the vineyards are all L.I.V.E.-certified sustainable. The winery is also certified by the same standard.

I had never heard of LIVE so I looked it up. Apparently, “LIVE stands for ‘Low Input Viticulture and Enology’ and is a member-governed not-for-profit program that uses third-party certification to verify what they publicly claim about their sustainable practices. LIVE promotes the use of environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing in the vineyard and winery,” according to the wine tour Oregon website.

As if the great taste, good practices and perfect match for Turkey weren’t enough reason to drink this wine, an additional one is that it is made in the United States. It is not an inexpensive bottle, far from it, retailing at around $59, but it worth it for a special occasion such as the Thanksgiving feast.

Happy Thanksgiving and Santé! Or as their tag line says, French Soul, Oregon Soil.