Fall
is always a happy time for Oregon Pinot noir lovers as wineries
release some of their best wines. This year is no exception,
with the first fall releases including Tony Soter's exceptional
flagship "Beacon Hill" and the three St Innocent
single vineyard Pinots Parker gave 94 points to for their last
vintage.
Soter
Vineyard Pinot noir "Beacon Hill" 03 $44.55/$49.50
Highly anticipated and quick to sell out, Tony Soter's small Oregon winery
only produces wine from his Estate vineyards. One thing you can count on about
Tony, if the wine is not up to par, he will not release it. It's doubtful that
he had a moment's hesitation with this beautiful Pinot.
This
2003 vintage "Beacon Hill" shows the continued improvement
of the vines with age, and Tony and crew's experience shows
in the beauty of the wine. Some wineries may have struggled
with the heat and its effects on the grapes, but the Soter
03 shows what a great winemaker can do with careful vineyard
management and ruthless culling of damaged fruit.
This
wine, along with the Beaux Freres Estate 03 and the Dusky Goose
03, would be a fascinating trio to cellar and taste together
over the next ten years. All are Estate wines made by winemakers
dedicated to Pinot noir. In time these wineries may become
known as some of the best producers of Pinot noir in the world.
From
the winery: "The 2003 Beacon Hill Pinot Noir is in a riper,
perhaps more powerful style than the 2002. With almost Burgundian
notes of dry leaves, underbrush, and game, it features bold
black cherries, Oregon blackberries, that ever-present cranberry
top-note, and a hint of marzipan. A gentle caress of tannin
on the back palate promises a very bright future in the cellar.
A wine for grilled lamb and assertive, washed-rind cheeses."
"Wines
from Beacon Hill typically express themselves with appealing
toast and baking spice aromas, highlighting copious dark fruit
elements, suggestive of Oregon blackberries and blueberries,
with lively top notes of raspberries and cranberries. Beacon
Hill Pinot Noir is a structured, dense version of the varietal,
built for medium to long-term cellaring. It is the "Grand
Vin" of the property, and any lots that do not enhance
its stature are declassified, in Burgundian fashion. The wine
will pair beautifully with beef and lamb roasts, not to mention
hearty game dishes and strong soft cheeses, such as reblochon
or epoisses."
St
Innocent 2003 Pinot noirs: Shea, Seven Springs, Freedom Hill
When
Parker bestowed 94 point ratings on three single vineyard wines
from St Innocent Winery last summer, he announced to the world
what Oregon Pinot lovers have long known- Mark Vlosak makes
delicious Pinots, and at quite reasonable prices. Mark has
a distinct style, developed over more than a dozen vintages.
St INnocent does not own any vineyards, sourcing fruit from
some of Oregon's best vineyard sites.
For
15 years, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate has tasted St Innocent's
Pinot noirs. Mark was named a "Wine Advocate Wine
Personality of the Year" for 2004, and Parker
said: ""Mark Vlossak, Willamette Valley, Oregon – A
Wine Advocate Hero in 2002, Mark Vlossak continues to grace
consumers with the finest Pinot noirs Oregon has fashioned
to date (one of his wines at Panther Creek earned the highest
score Robert Parker ever gave to an Oregon wine and his offerings
at St. Innocent Winery have received the highest scores I’ve
attributed to Oregon). As if that were not enough to earn high
praise, Vlossak also deserves thanks from all wine-loving consumers
for maintaining extremely fair pricing – many of his
2002s, for example, were the finest Pinots I tasted in that
highly successful vintage yet were some of the cheapest wines
in my report. Vlossak’s dedication to quality and his
commitment to delivering value to his customers is exemplary." The
Wine Advocate 12-27-04
The
2003 Shea, Seven Springs, and Freedom Hill Pinots from Mark
are all beautiful wines, wines made to take advantage of the
vagarities of weather conditions in 2003, wines with a tad
more structure and tannic backbone than the '02s, while maintaining
good balance and finesse. As in all vintages, quantities are
limited, and we suggest ordering as soon as you can. The Parker
ratings of these wines usually come out in late September,
and we suspect that any stock left will fly out the door then,
if not before.
St
Innocent Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard 04 $28.75/$31.95
From the
winery: "This
2003 Shea is a dark, almost opaque, ruby color. Its nose is still
very tight with lavender, dark flowers, and black fruits -- there
are hints of red fruit aromas underneath. Initially almost sweet
on the palate, it crescendos into a powerhouse of dark flowers,
dried berries, but still maintains a persistent sweetness around
its edges. Still young and a bit disjointed, I expect the '03 Shea
to develop into a heady, richly textured, very concentrated wine
full of red and black fruits. I tasted this wine after 5 days of
open time, the tannins had softened dramatically and the fruit
was bigger and sweeter than ever. It has all the markings of a
great Shea vintage. I expect it to peak in 8-10 years." -
Mark Vlossak
St
Innocent Pinot noir Seven Springs 03 $28.75/$31.95 A pure, feminine, fascinatingly complex Pinot noir, all sophistication
where the Freedom Hill is brooding and muscular, beautiful balance
of red fruits, floral notes of roses and violets, hints of milk
chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon, fine, fine tannins entwine the ever
changing flavors.
St
Innocent Pinot noir Freedom Hill 03 $28.75/$31.95
St Innocent's Freedom Hill Pinot noir is always an intense, masculine, muscular
wine, with dense black color, juicy black cherry flavors, and fine but quite
definite tannins. This is a great wine to cellar and to have with a Porterhouse
Steak or game meats.
Winemaker
Notes: For me, Freedom Hill Pinot noir is a wine with structure,
depth, and richness. The site is quite warm in the day which
develops rich skin tannins. Because of it proximity to Oregon
Coast range, the vineyard is quite cool at night, maintaining
good acidity in the fruit. This combination of tannin and acidity
produces a Pinot noir with great structure. Capturing that
intensity and revealing the nuances of the terroir (clay-like
earthiness, dried flowers, dark spices) without excess tannins
is the key to making great Freedom Hill.
Cherry
Hill Winery Pinot noir Estate $28 " Cherry Hill Winery produced its first vintage from
its new winery in 2003. The winery’s first Cherry Hill
Winery Estate Pinot noir 03 is made from Pommard clone grapes,
which make up 55% of the Cherry Hill 55 acre vineyard. The
fruit for this wine was hand picked from the best blocks
of this young vineyard, and yields were restricted to two
tons per acre. The grapes were fermented in small lots, and
was aged in neutral French oak for one year.
This Estate wine is not a big bruiser, but shows a delicacy
of fruit and complexity of flavor that belies the youth of
the vineyard. The wine has a light scent of cherry with a
hint of oak. The flavors are spicy blackberry, raspberry,
and a bit of bing cherry. There's a distinct Burgundian sweetness
to the wine, maybe partially from the choice of oak for aging?
The finish is moderately long and classic, with well integrated,
fine grained tannins artfully balancing lingering sweet fruit
notes.
Wine Spectator rating
91 points: "Relatively firm,
with lively, emphatic raspberry and plum flavors that sail
through the finish, lingering seamlessly. Best from 2007
through 2013." H.S.
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About Jean Yates
Jean Yates is owner of Avalon Wine,
and has worked to promote Oregon and Washington wine for over
19 years through her wine shop, web site, and articles.
Jean previously worked in the
computer industry and does most of the work on the Avalon website.
She is a passionate photographer and many of the images on this
site are hers
