The 2016 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Laurène Pinot Noir is the estate’s flagship cuvée from the Dundee Hills in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, made entirely from estate Pinot Noir and named for winemaker Véronique Boss-Drouhin’s daughter. Laurène is positioned as a best-barrel selection, built for extra depth and longevity, and it’s produced in modest volume for a top-tier Oregon Pinot: reviewers cite 2,786 cases (Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate) and 2,883 cases (Wine Spectator).

Across the major critics, the common thread is a polished, layered Pinot that balances ripe fruit with savory and spice detail. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (92+ points) highlights aromatics of “Earl Grey tea leaves and orange peel” over “black cherries, black licorice and potpourri,” describing a “light to medium-bodied” wine with “very fine, grainy tannins” and “juicy acidity,” finishing “long with warm black fruit.” Wine Spectator (92 points) similarly emphasizes energy and structure, calling it “vibrant and sleekly complex,” with “layered raspberry and cherry flavors” and notes of “orange-tinged tea, bay leaf and spice,” tightening into “polished tannins,” with a suggested window of “now through 2025.”

Wine Enthusiast (93 points) leans into the wine’s texture and oak integration, calling it “smoky” and “silky,” “loaded with ripe and juicy blackberry fruit,” and noting there’s “just the right amount of barrel toast,” adding that it “should age nicely over the next decade.”

The strongest review is James Suckling’s excellent 97-point score, praising a “savory stance” with “earthy and spicy forest-wood aromas,” a “long, smooth and elegant core of red cherries,” and concluding, “This is beautifully regal pinot. Drink or hold.” Wine & Spirits also rates it highly at 94, noting “sassafras and smoke,” a “plummy core of cherry flavor,” and an “elegant” finish that “need[s] years for peak expression.”