The 2025 releases from St Innocent are impressive and come most from the excellent 2023 vintage in Willamette Valley where Mark Vlossak, his family and the Team at St Innocent produced a delightful and impressive set of wines. I reviewed his earlier release wines for this feature and look forward to tasting his single vineyard Pinot Noirs, which are aged longer in cask, and weren’t included in this set of wines. Stay tuned, I’m seriously looking forward to what will surely be an impressive set of bottlings!
2019 St Innocent, Willamette Valley Sparking Wine, Blanc de Blancs, Freedom Hill (RT93+) With its light straw gold hue, this lovely expression of Chardonnay reveals notes of Golden apple, fresh apricot, lemon pith, honeysuckle and a wisp of brioche. The palate is mid-weight with delicious ripe fruit and fresh, bright acidity, an excellent effort, this should soften up in the next few years and hit its peak, but it’s awfully delicious now. Drink now-2032 Tasted July 2025
This 100% Chardonnay sparkling wine is crafted from grapes grown at the Freedom Hill vineyard and is produced using the méthode traditionnelle. The hand-picked grapes are picked early at a time when acidity is high, then pressed gently, indigenously fermented in acacia cask and rests on its lees for 9 months. During secondary fermentation it is hand riddled, aged for 51 months and then disgorged with 3 g/l dosage. 141-12 bottle cases were produced, typically available at the winery and through their website, $70 directly from the winery.
2020 St Innocent, Willamette Valley Sparking Wine, Crémant Rosé (RT92+) Showing a deep, strawberry hue, the bouquet is equally dark and richly endowed with red raspberry, ripe strawberry followed by notes of Ranier cherry, wet gravel and damp forest floor. The palate is built on finely balanced, gob-smacking fruit and soft acidity, which supports its delicioso factor. Drink now-2030 Tasted July 2025
A blend of 90% Pinot Blanc and 10% Pinot Noir, the single vineyard fruit is sourced from the Freedom Hill cru. Crafted in an Alsatian style, grapes are fermented to complete dryness in stainless, then it rests on lees for 9 months. During secondary fermentation it is hand riddled, aged for 39 months and then disgorged with 1% dosage. 148-12 bottle cases were produced, typically available at the winery and through their website, $60 directly from the winery.
2023 St Innocent, Pinot Blanc, Mount Pisgah, Polk County, Oregon AVA, Freedom Hill Vineyard (RT93) In the impressive 2023 vintage the St Innocent Pinot Blanc shows a pale straw hue with an appetizing aromatic bouquet. Notes of Babcock peach, under ripe Seckel pear, alpine white flowers, and mineral notes jump from the glass. This leads to a fruit filled palate with succulent ripeness, excellent acidity that maintains the fresh palate texture, and a lip smacking finish. An excellent vintage for this bottling, if you like lighter styled whites this is an excellent choice and a fine food wine. Drink now –2030 Tasted July 2025
Located 10 miles southwest of Salem in the foothills of the Coast Range. With its southwest exposure, the Freedom Hill Vineyard, positioned at 475 ft elevation, is subject to high diurnal swings making it ideal for ripening with high acid retention while preserving freshness. These vines were planted in 1993 and 2008. This wine is crafted in a style designed to emphasize ripeness and textural richness, it was fermented in 24% Acacia casks and 76% in stainless tanks, with 8 months aging on lees. Yields were down in 2023 with 3 tons per acre. 523 cases were produced.
2023 St Innocent, Riesling, Eola-Amity Hills AVA, Temperance Hill Vineyard (RT92+) Old world in its styling with a slightly sweet finish (ala Kabinett style bottling with .9% residual sugar), the 2023 Riesling reveals generous crisp fruit, both in the bouquet and palate. Classic notes of citrus pith, white currant, under ripe Ranier cherry, a pinch of fresh herbs and dusty minerality segue to a a classic palate layered with delicious fruit and vibrant acidity. This is another beautiful vintage for the Temperance Hill Riesling and should age well with proper cellaring. Drink now-2033 Tasted August 2025
Crafted with fruit sourced from the Certified Organic Temperance Hill Vineyard where the Riesling grapes are planted on the highest point of the Postes Verdes block. Thin volcanic soils are prevalent here and combined with the altitude and exposure to the elements the vines struggle through severe stress, creating a strong sense of terroir. Grapes are harvested in the first week of October and fermented in stainless with the fermentation halted just shy of completion. This is a tiny production bottling with just 241-12 bottle cases produced, alcohol in this vintage is 11%. Mark Vlossak has worked hard to bottle a terroir driven styling with this wine and to that end, he has achieved success.
2023 St Innocent, Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Villages Cuvée (RT92) A lighter expression of Willamette Valley chardonnay, the 2023 is an excellent introductory wine to the style of St Innocent where Mark Vlossak employs a classic style of “less is more”. Notes of Anjou pear, honey dew, golden apple, chamomile and a hint of white flowers lead to a palate of balanced fruit and excellent, fresh acidity. The finish is mid-length, and this will age for the short-to-early midterm. Drink now-2030 Tasted July 2025
This bottling is a crafted from estate grown fruit mainly from the Freedom Hill vineyard blended with fruits sourced from other estate owned sites. Mark Vlossak’s goal is to display a broad array of Willamette Valley nuances. Whole cluster pressed and barrel fermented with native yeasts, it goes through complete malolactic fermentation on its own and is aged sur lie for 11 months in used French oak. 372-12 bottle cases were produced.
2023 St Innocent, Chardonnay, Willamette Valley, Enchanted Way Vineyard (RT94) The 2023 Enchanted Way Chardonnay is a beauty revealing loads of depth, dimension and an excellent finish. Profiling the classic side of Chardonnay with layers of white melon, ripe Golden Delicious apple, Ranier cherry, lemon, biscuit and wet mineral dust. The palate is generously built with full flavored fruit, the acidity is present but much of it is neatly packed away behind the ripe wall of fruit. The finish is sustained, bringing one back to the glass for another whiff and sip. This is a wine to lay down in your cellar for at least a few years to realize it at its finest. Drink 2027-2035+ Tasted July 2025
Enchanted Way, which is a Willamette Valley AVA, is a vineyard where St Innocent has 15 acres of estate-owned plantings. This site best expresses Chardonnay, where they currently have it planted with Dijon Clones 76 and 95. They also have a significant amount of Pinot Noir planted here. This site is adjacent to the winery and was the most recently planted of their vineyards. The vines are just now coming into ideal age for producing high quality grapes. Elevation at this site varies between 360-490 feet, and Enchanted Way receives cooling winds in the afternoon and evening. This wine is crafted from whole cluster pressed and fermented in casks with native yeasts, going through complete malolactic, followed by aging in used French Oak barriques for 11 months. Yields were tiny in this vintage yielding .9 tons/acre. This wine was produced in miniscule quantity with 216-12 bottle cases produced.
2023 St Innocent, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Villages Cuvee (RT91+) An intriguing foundational Pinot Noir blend by winemaker and St Innocent Founder Mark Vlossak, this wine is a mix of fruit from four different Northern Willamette Valley vineyard sites: 14% Shea Vineyard, 24% Freedom Hill, 28% Enchanted Way and 34% Temperance Hill. The blending has produced a wine that exemplifies Pinot Noir in its youthful exuberance and is intended to be enjoyed on the young side. Showing a light pinot noir-esque hue, notes of soft strawberry, red raspberry, dusty earth and a pinch of damp forest floor mark the bouquet, while the palate is light, airy and elegant with ample fruit, soft acidity is equally soft tannins. Drink now-2032 Tasted August 2025
St Innocent’s Villages Cuvée is produced from Pinot Noir grapes grown in Oregon’s northern Willamette Valley. For the first time ever, they have included fruit from their Enchanted Way Vineyard. Production used de-stemmed grapes which were fermented in small stainless steel and Burgundy oak fermenters and utilize natural (no inoculation) fermentation. The wine is aged in French oak barrels with a mere 8% being new. Aging lasts for 12 months before bottling by gravity flow without fining. 966 cases were bottled in September 2024.