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Reviews/Commentary
My goal is to produce wines that are balanced, complex, and ageworthy that reflect the nuances of their terroir. My wines to made to enjoy 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, they are different. 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 sulfer levels will promote greater access to the wine's fruit and aromatics in the short term. These wines show well when young. 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 sell to persons who enjoy my Pinot noir, gris, and blancs, as well as my Chardonnays and sparking wines. I generally do not enter competitions or submit my wines for review.
I have a long relationship the writers of the Wine Advocate. For fifteen years, Robert Parker, then Pierre-Antoine Rovani, and now Dr. Jay Miller have annually tasted my wines. Their analysis only begins with my young wines. They have followed the evolution of my Pinot noirs and have tasted St. Innocent wines more than a decade old. There reviews frequently include tasting notes of older vintages. I am grateful for their interest.
I have strived to produce the top quality wines in every vintage, especially the difficult ones. This 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 Wine Advocate
says about St. Innocent Winery:
Wine Advocate Review of the 2007 vintage (click to view)
About 2007 - "...there are many excellent wines that are charactorized 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, particularily 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, particularily 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
"Mark Vlossak, Willamette Valley, Oregon – A Wine Advocate Hero in 2002, Mark Vlossak continues to grace consumers with the finest Pinot noirs Oregon has fashioned to date (one of his wines at Panther Creek earned the highest score Robert Parker ever gave to an Oregon wine and his offerings at St. Innocent Winery have received the highest scores I’ve attributed to Oregon). As if that were not enough to earn high praise, Vlossak also deserves thanks from all wine-loving consumers for maintaining extremely fair pricing – many of his 2002s, for example, were the finest Pinots I tasted in that highly successful vintage yet were some of the cheapest wines in my report. Vlossak’s dedication to quality and his commitment to delivering value to his customers is exemplary. The Wine Advocate 12-27-04
2002 Wine Personalities of the Year
“Mark Vlossak (Proprietor and Winemaker, Saint-Innocent Winery, Salem, OR) – From his barn-shaped winery located in an industrial park on the outskirts of Salem, Mark Vlossak consistently produces some of Oregon’s finest wines, both red and white. Mark works assiduously with growers to ensure low yields and well-ripened fruit. His winemaking, which has been heralded in The Wine Advocate for years (he was formerly at Panther Creek), seems to improve with each passing vintage. Not only are Mark’s wines fabulous, but they are reasonably priced. Unlike most of his Oregonian and Californian colleagues, Mark is committed to providing the consumer with top-flight wines at fair prices.” The Wine Advocate 12/31/2002
About 2000:
"Consumers should pay particular attention to Saint-Innocent's offerings. Not only are
they some of the finest wines made in Oregon, but they are among the most reasonably priced."
“Medium-bodied, forward, and sexy, the medium to dark ruby-colored 2000 Pinot noir Shea Vineyard offers cherry, spice, strawberry, cassis, and violet aromas. This feminine wine has lovely intensity and elegance. It is pure, sultry, packed with cherry as well as blackberry fruit, and has a long, supple finish. Projected maturity: now-2009." 91 pts.
"The restrained 2000 Pinot noir Seven Springs Vineyard needs air to reveal itself. Perfume, black raspberries, violets, and cherries gradually unfold in its delightful nose. Medium to full bodied, it has admirable concentration, depth, and refinement. Brambleberries, black cherries, and flowers dominate its flavor profile and extensive finish. Projected maturity: 2005-2012." 91 pts.
About 1999:
"The 1999 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is medium to dark ruby-colored and displays a darker fruit as well as a more present structure than is generally associated with this vineyard. It bursts from the glass with loads of blackberries, black cherries, and brambleberries. This is a medium to full-bodied wine with a gorgeously sappy character, copious quantities of fruit cake, blackberry syrup, dark cherry flavors, and a marvelously long finish. It's tannin is ripe yet present, giving it the backbone that many wines from this vineyard have lacked. Projected maturity: 2004-2012. - 92 pts.
The slightly darker-colored 1999 Pinot Noir Freedom Hilll Vineyard is a hugely endowed wine. It bursts from the glass with loads of cherries, red flowers, and sweet earthy spices (Vlossak compares this last scent to clay). On the palate, it reveals powerful boysenberry, blackberry, and cassis fruit flavors in a more delineated and civilized style than generally found from wines from this vineyard. It has outstanding focus, copious ammounts of ripe tannin, and an impressively long finish. Drink between 2005-2012. -91 pts.
I am enthralled with the aromatics of Vlossak's Pinots from the Seven Springs Vineyard. A magnum of the 1991 served at this year's International Pinot Noir Celebration was super, causing Burgundy's Claude Dugat, unquestionably a maestro of Pinot, to exclaim, 'ce nez est magnifique!' (This nose is magnificent!). A bottle of the 1992, which I served a week before to a chef visiting from Paris, was equally lovely. In its youth, this wine reveals hints of its complex aromatics and tends to be tight and backward (the 1998, tasted three months ago, remains an exception). With cellaring, Vlossak's Pinot Noirs from Seven Springs typically blossoms into one of Oregon's real stars. Aromatically, the medium to dark ruby-colored 1999 Pinot Noir Seven Springs displays wild flower, berry, cinnamon, and a myriad of spices, It is rich, juicy, and extremely elegant. Loads of candied red fruits, mostly raspberries, and cherries, are found in this ample, structured wine. It is fresh, bright, beautifully concentrated, and has a long, toasted oak and cherry-flavored finish. Projected maturity: 2005-2014. - 93+ pts."
About 1998:
“While many of Oregon’s best-known estates appear to be in a horse race to see who will have the state’s most expensive Pinot noirs, St. Innocent has maintained an intelligent, honorable, and consumer-friendly policy of fair pricing.
In a manner typical of Pinot Noirs from the Freedom Hill Vineyard, St. Innocent's 1998 offers a boisterous, red fruit-packed nose. The big, dense, chewy-textured, meium to full bodied wine is well structered, and crammed with red and black cherries. While presently firm, this wine has copious quantities of fruit as well as well-rippened tannins. Projected maturity: 2004-2010+. - 90+ pts.
Vlossak believes his 1998 Pinot noir Seven Springs Vineyard is the finest wine he has fashioned to date. I agree. Possessing a nose reminiscent of a Romanèe-St.-Vivant, this wine expresses complex aromas of perfume, flowers, red berries, and spices. Medium to full-bodied, satin-textured, and lush, it possesses great focus, refinement, and complexity. Silky layers of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries can be found in this intricate and exceptionally long-finishing wine. Projected maturity: 2002-2010+ .... Wow!” - 94 pts. (highest score of the vintage, second time this score was ever awarded)
About 1996:
“The 1996 Pinot noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is medium to dark ruby-colored, and reveals black currant and Asian spice aromas. The most powerful of St. Innocent’s 1996s, this wine’s personality is dense, medium to full-bodied, chewy textured, and structured. Road tar, black cherries, and cassis can be found in its intense flavor profile. It is certainly one of the stars of its vintage.”
About 1995:
“A recently purchased bottle of his 1995 Seven Springs Vineyard Pinot noir once again drove home the point that Vlossak is crafting some of Oregon’s finest Pinots... Had I not been the one with the corkscrew, I could have been convinced that it had been crafted by Maurice Ecard of Savigny-Les-Beaune fame! This superb wine, particularly in light of the difficulties faced by Oregon producers in 1995, is a testimony to Vlossak’s superb skills.”
1995 Pinot noir, Seven Springs Vineyard - 90 pts. (highest score of the vintage)
About the 1994’s:
“Winemaker/proprietor Mark Vlossak has turned out four superlative efforts in 1994......Kudos to St. Innocent, which can boast an enviable track record over the last few years.”
Note: Mark Vlossak became Panther Creek's winemaker in 1994 and continued through the harvest of 1999.
1994 Panther Creek, Pinot noir, Shea Vineyard - 94 pts (highest score of vintage, highest score to date by WA for an Oregon wine)
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