St. Innocent Winery
By Condé Cox
Just north of Salem and west of the Willamette River, near the hamlet of Lincoln, longtime St. Innocent Winery winemaker Mark Vlossak is handcrafting some of Oregon’s best wines. And now that Vlossak has moved from his former space in Northeast Salem’s industrial warehouse district to this 17,500-square-foot facility (on the grounds of Zenith Vineyard), he finally has a showplace that’s as impressive as his product. Sourcing grapes from some of Oregon’s oldest and best vineyards, St. Innocent is producing age-worthy pinot noirs that connoisseurs consider some of the best not only in the Northwest but also in the world. Here are three to consider.
—Condé Cox
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2006 St. Innocent ‘White Rose Vineyard’ Dundee Hills Pinot Noir $48 Stunningly complex, long on the palate, floral scented, and perfectly balanced. The many layers of flavors in this red-berry-styled wine demand the company of rich foods like lamb chops or mushroom lasagna or organic burgers topped with blue cheese. |
2006 St. Innocent ‘Justice Vineyard’ Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir $48 With flavors both complex and earthy, this wine’s persistence on the palate is a pleasure. After another six or eight years of storage in a cool cellar, it will be indistinguishable from the great wines of Burgundy. |
2006 St. Innocent ‘Temperance Hill Vineyard’ Willamette Valley Pinot Noir $32 This vineyard, now almost twenty-eight years old, gives this wine a dimension that younger vineyards cannot offer. Its raspberry and blackberry flavors stretch across the middle of the palate as they do in all wines made from old-vine fruit. |
Published: April 2009
