2024 St. Innocent - Pinot Blanc Freedom Hill (750ml)

St. Innocent was founded by Oregon wine pioneer Mark Vlossak, who made his first single-vineyard wine in 1989 from the O'Connor Vineyard. Mark's wines have a beginning, middle, and end, textural beauties that age gracefully, and his whites in particular have consistently earned top marks over the years.

Freedom Hill Vineyard sits in the foothills of the Coast Range, about 10 miles southwest of Salem, Oregon. During the day, warm air rises from the valley floor to ripen the fruit, while cool ocean breezes move in at night to retain acidity. The vines are planted on old sedimentary soils with a southwest exposure at 520 to 580 feet elevation. The Pinot Blanc here was originally planted in 1993. The 2024 growing season began with two frost events in April at both Freedom Hill and the estate's Enchanted Way Vineyard. This bottling is produced in a style meant to accentuate texture and ripe fruit flavors, with the must fermented 24% in an Acacia cask and 76% in tank, then aged eight months on the lees.

The finished wine is rich and fleshy, with just a kiss of sweetness on the palate. Peach and green papaya flavors parade alongside nutty nuances and copious minerals in a highly complex bottling.

This is a food-friendly white well suited to roast chicken, shellfish, or creamy pasta dishes, with the structure to develop further over several years in the cellar.