St Innocent Freedom Hill Pinot Noir
St Innocent Freedom Hill Pinot Noir
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Freedom Hill Vineyard is located in the foothills of the Coast Range, 10 miles SW of Salem, Oregon. During the day warm air rises from the valley floor ripening the skins. At night, cool ocean breezes act to retain acidity. Planted on old sedimentary soils, the vines have a SW exposure at an elevation of 520’ to 580’. St Innocent's Pinot noir comes from two blocks, one planted in 2004 with Pommard and Wädenswil and one planted in 2008 with 777.
Richly flavored entrees like hearty pasta dishes, steak, chops and chocolate match well with this dark-red fruited, earthy nuanced and solidly structured Pinot Noir.
Burghound 90: This plays right on the edge of reduction and it's enough to blur the nuance of what are clearly ripe aromas of plum, dark berries and earth. The succulent, round and delicious middle weight flavors possess a suave and quite rich mid-palate before terminating in a sappy, lingering and balanced finale. This could use a bit more depth, but I like the delivery and potential.
Vinous 92: Vivid garnet. Boysenberry, cherry liqueur, exotic spice and floral scents are energized by a building mineral quality. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering concentrated red and blue fruit, spicecake, lavender pastille and licorice flavors that turn livelier with air. Gently chewy tannins frame the long, juicy finish, where the floral and spice notes return.
Burghound 90♥: There is an appealing spiciness to the layered dark berry fruit aromas of plum, briar, underbrush and a whiff of exotic tea. The supple, refined and vibrant middle weight flavors possess a beguiling mouthfeel while displaying good power on the dusty, linear and ever-so-mildly tangy finale.
James Suckling 93: Notes of chocolate-coated red berries with ground spices, dried citrus rind and raw mushrooms. It’s full and creamy on the palate, with tight tannins and dense, fleshy dark fruit on the mid-palate. Meaty and muscular and little chewy at the end. Try after 2025.
Wine Enthusiast 94: I have rarely encountered such a spicy nose filled with za'atar-like spices ranging from dried sumac and cumin to marjoram and sesame seeds. If all of that isn't enough for you, the wine's sandalwood and blackberry aromas are also pretty nifty. Bright cherry and lemon flavors flanked by crispy acidity bring it all home.