St. Innocent Winery
By Josh Raynolds
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Villages Cuvee Willamette Valley
($24) Deep red. Spicy redcurrant, cherry pit, herbs and woodsmoke on the nose. Offers an attractive silky texture, tangy red berry flavors and a light touch, with a bitter chocolate note gaining power with air. Finishes with tangy cut and refreshingly spicy bite, which will make it work with light or richer foods. A very good value.
89
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Momtazi Vineyard McMinnville
($36) Deep, bright red. Red berries and herbs on the nose, with a suave floral quality in the background. Dry and tightly wound on entry, offering zesty redcurrant and pomegranate flavors that gain weight with air. This linear, very young wine shows good balance and focus, and its brisk, mineral-driven finish shows a sneaky sweetness. Should be fun to follow.
90(+?)
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Vitae Springs Vineyard Willamette Valley
($32) Full red. Spice-accented aromas of raspberry and cherry, with subtle mineral notes and a hint of wilted rose. Fresh and precise in the mouth, offering open-knit red fruit flavors and a hint of peppery spice. Finishes clean and focused, with lingering notes of bitter cherry and raspberry. Ready to drink, and a good match with lighter dishes.
90
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Zenith Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills
($36) Bright ruby-red. Smoky red and dark berry aromas are complicated by cola, sassafras and allspice. Juicy, well-focused raspberry and bitter cherry flavors pick up smoke and spice notes in the middle palate, with a spine of zesty acidity providing focus and lift. Finishes with refreshing bitterness and an incisive quality, echoing the red fruit and spice notes.
90
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Eola-Amity Hills
($32) Vivid red. Fresh strawberry and raspberry on the fragrant nose, with a sexy floral quality adding complexity. Lively and precise, offering bright red fruit and floral flavors underscored by smoke and spice notes. Finishes with very good clarity, cut and spicy persistence. I like this wine's focus and balance.
91
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard Eola-Amity Hills
($50) Bright red. Exotically perfumed, expressive aromas of fresh red berries and flowers, with Asian spice and potpourri notes and a deeper vanillin quality in the background. Silky, seamless and focused, offering lively raspberry and cherry flavors and notes of allspice and star anise. Clean and lithe on the finish, where the red fruit and floral notes repeat strongly. This puts on weight with air and has the balance to age.
92
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard Yamhill-Carlton District
($45) Ruby-red. Complex, perfumed bouquet of raspberry and cherry compote, potpourri, allspice and anise. Sappy, gently sweet red fruit flavors gain flesh and heft with aeration, with an energetic undercurrent of minerals adding vivacity. The spicy, focused finish clings with impressive tenacity.
92
2009 St. Innocent Winery Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Willamette Valley
($42) Deep red. Sexy black raspberry and cherry aromas are complicated by sassafras, cola and dried rose. Deeply pitched cherry-vanilla and dark berry flavors are enlivened and nicely framed by a spicy quality. Fine-grained tannins add shape and grip to the long, sappy, appealingly spicy finish. This should reward at least another five years of patience.
92