My goal is to produce wines that are balanced, complex, and age worthy that reflect the nuances of their terroir. My wines are made to be enjoyed with food, so acidity is important. Unfortunately, blind tastings and wine competitions are not generally designed to highlight these types of wines.
In competitive tastings, wines that are restrained and balanced are at a disadvantage. When comparing 50 different Pinot noirs, the differences in a flight of wines become the focus. Heavier oak treatment, lower or higher acidity, bigger or riper fruit all stand out as distinct and different. Those wines receive higher scores because they deviate from the norm. Subtile nuances are often overlooked. These nuances are the essence of terroir and are the focus of my winemaking.
Reviewers often prefer to taste wines when they are very young. When a wine is bottled, the winemaker must choose whether the bottling techniques will emphasize early drinkability or long term ageability. Oxygen exposure, aeration racking, and low sulfur levels will promote greater access to the wine's fruit and aromatics in the short term. These wines show well when young, but can age more quickly and often lack the details associated with their site.
The opposite choices: minimal racking, anaerobic bottling techniques, and balanced sulfur additions, promote longevity, but make it more difficult to evaluate a young wine. These are the techniques I choose to use. My Pinot noirs will almost always improve with several hours of open time. The last glass is usually the best glass.
The wines I make at St. Innocent are made to reflect my vision. I choose to focus my marketing efforts on customers who enjoy nuanced wines with a meal, on retailers that hand sell what they enjoy, and on sommeliers who understand the way individual wines work for their restaurant's cuisine. I generally do not enter competitions or submit my wines for review.
I have a long-standing relationship the writers of the Wine Advocate. For fifteen years, Robert Parker, then Pierre-Antoine Rovani, and now Dr. Jay Miller have annually visited me at the winery and tasted my wines. They have followed the evolution of my Pinot noirs and have tasted St. Innocent wines more than a decade old. There reviews have included tasting notes of older vintages. I am grateful for their interest.
I also send wines to Allen Meadows of Burghound, Patrick Comiskey of Wines and Spirits, Josh Reynolds of the International Wine Cellar, Ray Isle of Food and Wine, and the Wine Spectator. The tasting parameters of Burghound are particularily interesting to me as he specifically looks for terroir expression, not just the most hedonistic wines.
I strive to produce the top quality wines in every vintage, especially the difficult ones. This is where the experience and vision of the winemaker, the quality of the site and viticulture, and the attention to detail rise to the challenge of the vintage. I am also committed to producing wines of value. The breakdown of the high scores and average price are provided to see where our wines fit into the price/quality spectrum.
Thank you,
Mark Vlossak, winemaker
What the writers say about St. Innocent Winery:
Our 2009 vintage wines have gotten amazing press from a wide variety of sources. Check out what they said.
SUNSET MAGAZINE held its second Western Wine Awards, with its award banquet October 1st, 2011 at Pizmo Beach, CA. Wines produced on the west coast were divided by color, red or white, and by price at five price levels. A large group of writers nominated 3 finalists in each of the ten categories, then blind tasted to determine the winners. Of the 30 finalists, 6 were from Oregon (20%). Since Oregon produces only 0.2% of the wine made on the west coast, Oregon wines were selected 100 times more often than statisitics would suggest. What a great statement for the Oregon wine industry.
Our 2009 Pinot noir, Zenith Vineyard was selected in the $26-40 Red Wine category... and we were the one Oregon wine that actually WON!
Burghound review of the 2008 and 2009 vintage (click to view)
This is quite an amazing review when examined in detail. He picks 53 wines as a top group. The highest score is 93 points (one wine) and it is for a 2008 vintage Pinot noir. There are seven 92 point wines, however five of them are also 2008 vintage. There are only two 92 point 2009 vintage wines, both of them St. Innocent. In fact six (11%) of the 53 wines are St. Innocent, all from the 2009 vintage. Allen Meadows' Statement of Principles (note the last paragraph), vintage overview and St. Innocent review are all attached.
International Wine Cellar review of the 2009 wines by Josh Raynolds (click to view)
Wine Advocate review of the 2009 vintage (click to view)
About 2009 - "The style of the vintage is forward with plenty of ripe, succulent fruit, attractive spicy red fruit aromas, and generally good balance. Most of the wines are approachable now but have the balance to drink well for 5-7 years. In short, the 2009's are wines to drink now while you are waiting for the 2008's to fully blossom."
Statistics: 530 wines reviewed, highest score 96pts - 1 wine, price $90
95 pts - 2 wines (0.2%), average price $93, range $85-100
94 pts - 12 wines (1.5%), average price $70, range $35-100
93 pts - 31 wines (4%), average price $66, range $32-150
Wine Advocate review of the 2008 vintage (click to view)
About 2008 - "The wines are characterized by fragrant perfumes of spicy red and black fruits, medium body... and densely packed fruit just waiting to burst free with time in the bottle, ripe tannins... and impeccable balance... but with fat more fruit and terrific volume on the palate. In short, these are wines that can be approached in their youth because of the succulent nature of the fruit but the best of them should routinely achieve age 12-15 in fine form and the very best should see their 20th birthdays. What more can you ask?"
Statistics: 307 wines reviewed, highest score 96pts - 1 wine, price $82
95 pts - 2 wines, average price $63, range $55-70
94 pts - 19 wines, average price $75, range $42-150
93 pts - 27 wines, average price $66, range $42-100
92 pts - 80 wines, average price $56, range $36-100
About St. Innocent - "Mark Vlossak continues to turn out some of Willamette Valley's finest wines in his new digs in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. He has seemingly always had a way with white wines and the three new releases are no exception"
Wine Advocate review of the 2007 vintage (click to view)
About 2007 - "...there are many excellent wines that are characterized by their elegance, spicy aromatics, savory red fruits, and balance." "... all of these recommended wines can be enjoyed upon purchase."
Statistics: 288 wines reviewed, highest score 94pts - 1 wine, price $82
93 pts - 11 wines, average price $69, range $40-125
92 pts - 31 wines, average price $63, range $39-100
91 pts - 51 wines, average price $55, range $30-150
90 pts - 66 wines, average price $45, range $28-100
About St. Innocent - "Mark Vlossak, ensconced in his new winery, seems to be taking St. Innocent to new heights even in the challenging 2007 vintage. Do not overlook the excellent values, particularly the white wines, that are produced here and which were recommended in the value report."
Wine Advocate Review of the 2006 vintage (click to view)
About 2006 - "...the 2006 vintage which provided excellent quality as well as generous quantity of easy-going, easy-to-understand wine for early to mid-term consumption.""... the pricing of Burgundy makes Oregon Pinot noir look like a deal. Its a rare wine that is over $50 and there are many superb wines in the $30-50 range."
Statistics: 352 wines reviewed, highest score 95pts - 1 wine, price $75
94 pts - 13 wines, average price $69, range $42-100
93 pts - 22 wines, average price $57, range $39-125
92 pts - 41 wines, average price $56, range $33-100
91 pts - 53 wines, average price $45, range $30-100
About St. Innocent - "Mark Vlossak, partner/winemaker of St. Innocent Winery, was in a pleasant mood when I saw him in late July of 2008 and why not? He has moved into a splendid new facility where he can take full advantage of his winemaking talents. Futhermore, his 2006 Pinot noirs are very successful and his 2007's in barrel might be even better."
Wine Advocate Review of the 2003 and 2004 vintage (click to view)
About 2003 - "The 2003 vintage produced many successful wines, as the following notes will demonstrate. The finest Pinot noirs have magnificent depth of fruit, loads of concentration, and excellent cellaring potential."
About 2004 - "My advice is to acquire the 2004 Pinot noirs recommended in the following pages but to not store them too deep in the cellar. The overwhelming majority of these wines need to be drunk over the next 3-5 years."
Statistics: 216 wines reviewed, highest score 94pts - 3 wines, ave. price $38, range $32-45
(one was St. Innocent at $36)
93 pts - 5 wines, average price $45, range $32-60 (Two were St. Innocent, at $32 and $36)
92 pts - 10 wines, average price $58, range $39-75
91 pts - 22 wines, average price $46, range $25-80
90 pts - 25 wines, average price $46, range $27-90
About St. Innocent - "It is heartening to see that Mark Vlossak, St. Innocent's winemaker and co-owner, has maintained reasonable prices even after having received considerable praise for his wines over the years."
Wine Advocate Review of the 2002 vintage (click to view entire review)
About 2002 - "Overall, 2002, a year of superb weather conditions, offered Oregon wineries the opportunity to craft the finest wines they had made to date, particularly Pinot noirs."
Statistics: 148 wines reviewed, highest score 94pts - 4 wines, ave. price $33, range $30-40
(Three of these were St. Innocent wines priced at $30)
93 pts - 8 wines, average price $44, range $35-50
92 pts - 7 wines, average price $40, range $28-49
91 pts - 9 wines, average price $38, range $26-48
90 pts - 13 wines, average price $43, range $16-75 (The $16 was a St. Innocent wine)
2004 Wine Personalities of the Year