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2008 Chardonnay
Freedom Hill Vineyard, Dijon clone
Release Date: 2/1/2010
Retail Price $: 24.00
Availability: 231 cases
Production Notes
Freedom Hill Vineyard is located in the foothills of the coast range 10 miles southwest of Salem, Oregon. The Chardonnay block has a southeast exposure at an elevation of 350' and benefits from heat rising off the valley floor. Hills to the east protect the vines from strong coastal winds. The vineyard was planted in 1998 on well drained silty clay loam with Dijon clone 96. Dijon clones of Chardonnay ripen fully in Oregon's cool climate and are picked at the same time as Pinot noir.
The grapes were whole cluster pressed. After settling, the juice was barrel fermented using three yeasts. The wine finished malolactic fermentation and was aged sur lees for twelve months entirely in used French oak barrels.
Crop Level 2.6 tons/acre
Harvest 10/14/08
Bottled November 2009
This Dijon clone Chardonnay's flavors and texture will complement foods with rich flavors. It will benefit from up to 6 years of bottle age.
Mark Vlossak, winemaker
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Winemaker Notes
Eight years ago, we began replanting the 108 clone of Chardonnay originally planted in Oregon with French 'Dijon' clones. Experimental wines had been made in Oregon from these clones in the 1980's. I believed they would produce wines with fully ripened fruit and also have the rich textures found in white Burgundies. Since 1999, all of St. Innocent's Chardonnay vines are producing fruit exclusively from the Dijon clones. I am now convinced that the results were worth the huge effort it required.
The Freedom Hill Dijon clone Chardonnays are Meursault-like: darker fruit with a stony minerality and rich textures in the mouth. I struggled with the specific style for Freedom Hill Chardonnay until my visit to Burgundy and Chablis in 2003. There I tasted a grand cru Chablis fermented entirely in used barrels. The ripe fruit and intense minerality balanced perfectly with the lees component and textural enhancement derived from barrel fermentation. The lack of sweet, toasty components from the new wood meant that the minerality was able to show clearly in the wine. I finally feel that I have captured the terroir of Freedom Hill.
We have decided to increase production of this wine. In 2006 we planted 3 additional acres and 3 more in 2007. Total production will increase to 1100 cases by 2012. The first tiny crop from the 2006 planting is included in this bottling.
Tasting Notes
2008 was an exceptional vintage, made exceptional by being quietly ordinary. Bloom was very late in variable weather. The result was smaller clusters with fewer berries. The summer passed quickly with veraison occuring earlier than expected, leaving the false impression that there was more crop hanging in the vineyard than there really was. Final ripening took place in endless cool, sunny days in an atmosphere of calm that I have never experienced, but hope to again. The fruit was picked clean and perfectly ripe. The only downside was the very small crop, our smallest in ten years.
The 2008 Freedom Hill Chardonnay has an generous nose of white and yellow fruits, spice, orange blossom and stones that remind me of granite and marble. It enters your mouth with rich yellow fruit, citrus and melon flavors, stones, and hints of spice. The texture is full throughout the palate, with a solid backbone of acidity and the wine lingers into an extended finish. Richly layered, with complex flavors in the mid-palate, it reminds me a cross between well made Maconais and Chablis. Match this wine with shellfish, roasted birds, and cheeses. Drinkable at release, it will develop over 6 years.
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