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St. Innocent 2011 Temperance Hill Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, $32

By on October 30, 2014

st-innocent-temperance-hill-vineyard-pinot-noir-2011-labelLongtime winemaker Mark Vlossak holds out as long as he can for this vineyard managed by Dai Crisp of Lumos Wine Co. It’s the coolest site in the St. Innocent portfolio, so during this cool vintage these Dijon clones were plucked just two days before Halloween. The yield was 1.9 tons per acre and made for a wine brimming with aromas of red currant, boysenberry and black cherry with hints of toasted almond and saddle leather. There’s a greeting of pleasing fruit flavors reminiscent of Bing cherry, dried plum, cranberry and pink raspberry. The piercing acidity and mild tannins set up a delicious finish. Vloasak projects a cellar life of eight years, but that acidity and low alcohol suggest more life than that. In the short term, he suggests decanting 1-2 hours and enjoying with filet mignon, lamb chops, pork tenderloin or salmon.

Rating: Excellent

Production: 1,089 cases

Alcohol: 12.5%

Winery website

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles authored by Great Northwest Wine are co-authored by Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

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