St Innocent Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill 2007

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Bill Averett

Bill Averett
St Innocent Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill 2007- Beautiful nose of white flowers, orange zest, gravel, honeydew. Medium weight, soft acid. Lemony, limey, with lots of lavender.

I have enjoyed many Pinot Blancs from Oregon in the last year. Two others to track down: Cameroni Pinot Bianco and Ayres Pinot Blanc. They are less expensive than the St Innocent, and just as enjoyable. Probably around $15. The St Innocent retails for $20-24.
 
originally posted by Bill Averett:
St Innocent Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill 2007St Innocent Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill 2007- Beautiful nose of white flowers, orange zest, gravel, honeydew. Medium weight, soft acid. Lemony, limey, with lots of lavender.

I have enjoyed many Pinot Blancs from Oregon in the last year. Two others to track down: Cameroni Pinot Bianco and Ayres Pinot Blanc. They are less expensive than the St Innocent, and just as enjoyable. Probably around $15. The St Innocent retails for $20-24.
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Thanks for the note... Enjoyed the '07 Chehalem this evening...also very nice.. promising for the vintage.
 
It may be just a divergence of overall palate, but I almost always find Pinot Blanc from anywhere a little soft and pillowy for me. Am I merely addicted to thin and sour wines, or is there something I'm missing about particular examples that I should taste with more care?
 
Joe - It's a bit tougher as there's typically some Auxerrois, but I've enjoyed Boxler's in the past. Josmeyer's H is particularly good for pure Auxerrois.

Can't say I've enjoyed it much outside of Alsace, but I've not had many from Oregon. The German wines have been uninspiring, and none of the Antipodeans stuck in my mind.
 
Joe, while you very may well show signs of addiction (though I doubt it; you like chenin blanc, which is never thin nor sour from the names in your cellar) you should look to the Alto Adige for any evidence to the contrary; I like a lot of pinot blanc from Austria and Germany, but I don't think the best of those will convince you otherwise, whereas in northeastern Italy there can be some striking minerality and precision. That said, it's not like it is or can be an important grape. It's pleasant but inherently limited, like chardonnay. That's why they fatten it up with auxerrois in Alsace.

That said, the St. Innocent Pinot Blanc is my favorite of their whites, year-in and year-out.

Bill, $20 XC.
 
Joe - It's a bit tougher as there's typically some Auxerrois, but I've enjoyed Boxler's in the past. Josmeyer's H is particularly good for pure Auxerrois.
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This, of course, is part of the point I was making: Joe asked for pinot blanc recommendations, and you gave him a handful that are 50% auxerrois and one that's 0% pinot blanc. (Implied emoticon goes here.)

I think highly of JosMeyer, and think Boxler makes the best wines labeled pinot blanc in the world. For pure auxerrois, though, I slightly prefer Kientzler's "K" in non-blowsy years.
 
Of the Oregon wines that I suggested, John Paul of Cameron adds some auxerrois to his, and also tries to make a northern Italian style, hence the Italian usage (Pinot Bianco). The Ayres, of the three mentioned, has the most acid and is atypical for Pinot Blanc. If you like thin and sour wines (I do too), this is a Pinot Blanc for you. Mark Vlossak at St Innocent makes good wine. The Freedom Hill Pinot Blanc comes from the Coastal Range and is typically a cooler AVA. He achieves good acid balance, and makes a nice round wine from this vineyard. I wouldn't describe it as pillowy, but it is certainly perfumey. And they don't seem to be great food wines, unless served with shellfish, particularly mussels.
 
Why would Oregon be a good spot for Pinot Blanc.

What type of Pinot Blanc do they have there. Multiple or mono-clones. Do they have a species that is grown in any other area.

What type of terroir do they plant their Pinot Blanc in?
 
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