Retail $45. Heavy bottle (615g; 1lb 5.7oz). I bought two bottles of this over a dozen years ago and I drank the first a decade later. The second, I popped tonight. Like I said with that first bottle, I feared that I had waited too long and the faded color and muted fruit seemed to indicate that I was right. But a funny thing happened on the way to this wine's demise: it got better, even a lot better. Sure, the fruit is largely gone but the secondary and tertiary flavors and aromas: leather, tobacco, brown earth, even a touch of caramel (minus the sweetness, of course). Yowza. I dare say that this reminds me of an older Burgundy. I know that comparison is cliché, but it is apt here. Outstanding.
Retail $45. Another wine that I worried that I might have held a bit too long given that 2007 was not an other-worldly vintage (some have said it was actually horrible while others claim it to be a “typical” Willamette vintage). It does come off as rather austere with some dark fruit eventually emanating from this *very* dark wine. What is perhaps more prevalent is the menthol and eucalyptus bookending the subtle fruit notes. The palate continues along the same theme with secondary flavors of leather, black earth, and sage push the fruit almost completely out of the picture. Still, I *love* “older” wines like this as much for what they have become as for where they have been and the memories that they evoke.
Light-medium red color. PNP, drank 2+ glasses over 2 hours. This was a fine bottle to finish on. Certainly in fine form with a beguiling elegance and charm. Lovely as always on the nose with cherry, forest floor, dusty berries, and allspice. The palate is graceful with lighter body, nice acid, cherry and some berry fruit, nicely spiced, ample tannin remained , earth, dusty, and a medium finish. Very good still and holding.
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Nose: Nice loamy qualities showing and some earth with forest floor hints. Palate: Soft and ready to go on PnP. Black cherry, mature tannins and complex earth, sage, forest floor conclude with a medium length finish. While not quite as good as the last bottle (notes on 2/6/13) still a solid 90+ points. My last bottle and glad I drank up as this is perfect to slightly past due depending on personal perferences.
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Medium red color. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. Dried red fruits, allspice, cinnamon, earth on the nose. The palate has earth, red fruit, spice, briar and minerality with sofg tannins and a medium finish. Holding, but time to wrap these up.
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Mixed Wines Offline (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Medium red color. PNP, drank 1 glass plus over an hour. Another interesting disconnect of opinions on this wine tonight. I thought it was quite pleasant, not the best bottle of this I've had by any stretch, but certainly very enjoyable. Very similar to the note on 1/27/12. I like the nose with that earthy, smoky quality, lightly floral, raspberry and strawberry, with some underbrush. The palate is on the lighter side of medium body, raspberry, cherry, spices, dusty tannins, a bit tart. Medium finish.
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Barnett vs. Star Lane Merlot Challenge with mixed bag of other wines (Kevin's House (Minneapolis)): Terrible showing and the worst 07 St. Innocent I have tasted. Scorched earth dominates the nose and hard to get around. Some fruit on the palate but thin and tasted like eating stems from grapes. No balance and one of the worst wines I have tasted this year. Hopefully an off bottle but this is not the 07 White Rose.
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Easter Wines with Family (Our House): Dark red color. PNP. Followed several glasses over 48 hours. This was very good on day 1, but was significantly better on day 2 and day 3. The nose has lots of damp earth, a touch of funk, spice, and cherry, and mushroom. It starts off with this dark and brooding character but on day develops this floral violet quality along with distinct raspberry and strawberry notes with some vanilla bean. All of this translates very well on the deep and sultry palate showing lovely red fruits of sour cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, some brown spices, earth, and long finish. Best bottle to date, 92+ to 93pts.
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Very much on par with my notes on 5/15/10 and 7/26/11, but maybe even more intriguing. The rustic moss, and forest floor aromas are still present but everything is more integrated. This bottle was a pop and pour (Vinituried a small glass but preferred PnP). I'm always amazed at the talent of Mark Vlossak. This is one of his base bottlings and it is fantastic...the higher end SVD's are otherworldly. My good friend Kevin (rocknroller below) would seem to agree.
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A Couple of Burgs and a Pinot at Dinner (Phil's Tara Hideaway, MN): Medium dark red color. Pop and pour with aeration. Drank 1+ glass over an hour. Very fruit forward in comparison to the burgs, nose shows raspberry, cherry, vanilla, light earth notes, and a touch of spice. The palate is consistent, soft, medium finish.
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Medium red color. Popped and aerated, no decant. Drank 1 glass over 1+ hours. The nose is still really enjoyable, a little different character coming through on this bottle with some smokey, dustiness along with the raspberry, black cherry, and a little strawberry fruit, and spices There is almost a little sweet bubble gum quality on the nose too. The palate has nice feel, medium weight, consistent flavors and adds a coffee note. The acid seems to be dominating a little too much on this bottle and it came off a little too tart at times. Approached this again on day 2 and 3 and have the same impressions. This was a different source for this bottle. Held up very well over 3 days.
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Thanksgiving Dinner (Our House): Medium garnet color. Aerated, no decant. Drank over 1 hour. Nose shows lovely florals, raspberries, strawberries, earthy. The palate is elegant, medium-lighter body, crisp, consistent fruit, long finish. This was really nice tonight.
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Garnet red color. Revisited this wine for dinner at Acqua. It's been about 5 months since I've had it. I would say that it still in about the same place on the whole. This still needs at least an hour decant as is. The acidity is still crisp and the red fruits are promient on the nose with some nice vanilla, earthiness and light florals. Very consistent. Better yet on day 2. Just a solid wine. I look forward to future vintges as these vines age.
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St. Innocent Wine Dinner (Luci Ancora/ St. Paul): Nice overall. Earth, mineral, cranberry and spice on the nose. The palate picks up coffee and strawberry. Medium finish but lacks concentration of some of the other St. Innocent 07s.
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An Evening with Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent (Luci Ancora): Garnet Red. This really is drinking nicely right now. Bright cherry, raspberries and strawberries, light earth and floral elements on the nose. the palate has a lighter body with good acidity and a nice finish. This is an elegant pinot that I really love. Side by side with the '08 Freedom Hill, tonight I preferred the Zenith stylistically.
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Now this is what I'm talking about. This was the bottle that I had at the Artisan tasting last year, this was the profile that made me buy this wine. I don't know if it was me or the last bottle I had, but this was night and day different. Nose was brimming with red fruit, perfumed, and with a wonderful smokey quality, spices emerge and earthiness as well. The wine evolves in the glass and continues to show new elements. The palate is gorgeous with good fruit, balancing acidity and a long finish. This is killer at the price point.
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Nose: Rustic with moss, forest floor and spice. With additional air loamy/chalky aromas join in. Palate: High acid front end with red fruits and a clean linear finish. While not as complex or volumptuous as the other SVD St. Innocent offerings this is a nice food wine and a steal at under $20/btl. With the high acidity and their reputation for aging this could be a real winner in 1-3 years. Glad I have 3 more. Went well with thick cut pork fillets on the grill.
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One-hour decant. Nose: fresh sourdough bread, butterscotch, incense, and wet clothes from the beach. The fruit seems smokey. The initial palate has grippy tannins and tangy acidity. The midpalate opens into warm, smokey fruit, some oak (butterscotch). The finish is fresh, but short. There's enough fruit to handle the acidity (but barely). However, there's a tartness and angularity to the fruit that could be either bracing or annoying, depending on your fancy. This isn't a stand alone bottle, it needs food to give it a little help up. S'alright, but not great.
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Nice wine, good QPR at 20. A little softer than the first bottle I had. This wine is a bit lighter in style, but it has a nice nose of perfumed red fruit, cherries, and a hint of butterscotch. The body is light, a bit of spice on the palate with the red fruit, soft tannins, moderate acidity. Decent finsih.
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Good wine here but nothing more than that. Certainly reflects the characteristics of the vintage, lighter in style and ready to go. No need to wait here. A success in the context of the vintage but nobody will forget the better wines made by Mark in vintages where Mother Nature gives him more to work with. I believe this is predominantly young vines and the character of the wine reflects that. A success considering the messes made by other vintners during this vintage.
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2/22/2024 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 93 Points
Retail $45. Heavy bottle (615g; 1lb 5.7oz). I bought two bottles of this over a dozen years ago and I drank the first a decade later. The second, I popped tonight. Like I said with that first bottle, I feared that I had waited too long and the faded color and muted fruit seemed to indicate that I was right. But a funny thing happened on the way to this wine's demise: it got better, even a lot better. Sure, the fruit is largely gone but the secondary and tertiary flavors and aromas: leather, tobacco, brown earth, even a touch of caramel (minus the sweetness, of course). Yowza. I dare say that this reminds me of an older Burgundy. I know that comparison is cliché, but it is apt here. Outstanding.
www.thedrunkencyclist.com
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5/9/2021 - The Drunken Cyclist Likes this wine: 91 Points
Retail $45. Another wine that I worried that I might have held a bit too long given that 2007 was not an other-worldly vintage (some have said it was actually horrible while others claim it to be a “typical” Willamette vintage). It does come off as rather austere with some dark fruit eventually emanating from this *very* dark wine. What is perhaps more prevalent is the menthol and eucalyptus bookending the subtle fruit notes. The palate continues along the same theme with secondary flavors of leather, black earth, and sage push the fruit almost completely out of the picture. Still, I *love* “older” wines like this as much for what they have become as for where they have been and the memories that they evoke.
http://www.thedrunkencyclist.com
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10/16/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Light-medium red color. PNP, drank 2+ glasses over 2 hours. This was a fine bottle to finish on. Certainly in fine form with a beguiling elegance and charm. Lovely as always on the nose with cherry, forest floor, dusty berries, and allspice. The palate is graceful with lighter body, nice acid, cherry and some berry fruit, nicely spiced, ample tannin remained , earth, dusty, and a medium finish. Very good still and holding.
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7/20/2014 - Mattshank wrote: 90 Points
Nose: Nice loamy qualities showing and some earth with forest floor hints. Palate: Soft and ready to go on PnP. Black cherry, mature tannins and complex earth, sage, forest floor conclude with a medium length finish. While not quite as good as the last bottle (notes on 2/6/13) still a solid 90+ points. My last bottle and glad I drank up as this is perfect to slightly past due depending on personal perferences.
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6/11/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
Medium red color. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. Dried red fruits, allspice, cinnamon, earth on the nose. The palate has earth, red fruit, spice, briar and minerality with sofg tannins and a medium finish. Holding, but time to wrap these up.
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10/19/2013 - rocknroller wrote: 89 Points
Mixed Wines Offline (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Medium red color. PNP, drank 1 glass plus over an hour. Another interesting disconnect of opinions on this wine tonight. I thought it was quite pleasant, not the best bottle of this I've had by any stretch, but certainly very enjoyable. Very similar to the note on 1/27/12. I like the nose with that earthy, smoky quality, lightly floral, raspberry and strawberry, with some underbrush. The palate is on the lighter side of medium body, raspberry, cherry, spices, dusty tannins, a bit tart. Medium finish.
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10/19/2013 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 83 Points
Barnett vs. Star Lane Merlot Challenge with mixed bag of other wines (Kevin's House (Minneapolis)): Terrible showing and the worst 07 St. Innocent I have tasted. Scorched earth dominates the nose and hard to get around. Some fruit on the palate but thin and tasted like eating stems from grapes. No balance and one of the worst wines I have tasted this year. Hopefully an off bottle but this is not the 07 White Rose.
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3/31/2013 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Easter Wines with Family (Our House): Dark red color. PNP. Followed several glasses over 48 hours. This was very good on day 1, but was significantly better on day 2 and day 3. The nose has lots of damp earth, a touch of funk, spice, and cherry, and mushroom. It starts off with this dark and brooding character but on day develops this floral violet quality along with distinct raspberry and strawberry notes with some vanilla bean. All of this translates very well on the deep and sultry palate showing lovely red fruits of sour cherry, raspberry, and strawberry, some brown spices, earth, and long finish. Best bottle to date, 92+ to 93pts.
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2/6/2013 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Very much on par with my notes on 5/15/10 and 7/26/11, but maybe even more intriguing. The rustic moss, and forest floor aromas are still present but everything is more integrated. This bottle was a pop and pour (Vinituried a small glass but preferred PnP). I'm always amazed at the talent of Mark Vlossak. This is one of his base bottlings and it is fantastic...the higher end SVD's are otherworldly. My good friend Kevin (rocknroller below) would seem to agree.
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6/2/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
A Couple of Burgs and a Pinot at Dinner (Phil's Tara Hideaway, MN): Medium dark red color. Pop and pour with aeration. Drank 1+ glass over an hour. Very fruit forward in comparison to the burgs, nose shows raspberry, cherry, vanilla, light earth notes, and a touch of spice. The palate is consistent, soft, medium finish.
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1/27/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 89 Points
Medium red color. Popped and aerated, no decant. Drank 1 glass over 1+ hours. The nose is still really enjoyable, a little different character coming through on this bottle with some smokey, dustiness along with the raspberry, black cherry, and a little strawberry fruit, and spices There is almost a little sweet bubble gum quality on the nose too. The palate has nice feel, medium weight, consistent flavors and adds a coffee note. The acid seems to be dominating a little too much on this bottle and it came off a little too tart at times. Approached this again on day 2 and 3 and have the same impressions. This was a different source for this bottle. Held up very well over 3 days.
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11/25/2011 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Thanksgiving Dinner (Our House): Medium garnet color. Aerated, no decant. Drank over 1 hour. Nose shows lovely florals, raspberries, strawberries, earthy. The palate is elegant, medium-lighter body, crisp, consistent fruit, long finish. This was really nice tonight.
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7/26/2011 - Mattshank wrote: 90 Points
On par with notes on 5/15/10 but more integrated with some additive leather aromas. Remains a solid SI offering and a great price point.
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2/17/2011 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Garnet red color. Revisited this wine for dinner at Acqua. It's been about 5 months since I've had it. I would say that it still in about the same place on the whole. This still needs at least an hour decant as is. The acidity is still crisp and the red fruits are promient on the nose with some nice vanilla, earthiness and light florals. Very consistent. Better yet on day 2. Just a solid wine. I look forward to future vintges as these vines age.
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11/7/2010 - Melissa+Josh wrote:
90 points, delicious
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11/3/2010 - douggator wrote: 91 Points
Nicely balanced Pinot with nice fruit and the Earthy, mineral notes found more in Burgundies. A little more to the Earthy side than the fruit side.
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10/30/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 90 Points
St. Innocent Wine Dinner (Luci Ancora/ St. Paul): Nice overall. Earth, mineral, cranberry and spice on the nose. The palate picks up coffee and strawberry. Medium finish but lacks concentration of some of the other St. Innocent 07s.
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9/27/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
An Evening with Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent (Luci Ancora): Garnet Red. This really is drinking nicely right now. Bright cherry, raspberries and strawberries, light earth and floral elements on the nose. the palate has a lighter body with good acidity and a nice finish. This is an elegant pinot that I really love. Side by side with the '08 Freedom Hill, tonight I preferred the Zenith stylistically.
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8/12/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Now this is what I'm talking about. This was the bottle that I had at the Artisan tasting last year, this was the profile that made me buy this wine. I don't know if it was me or the last bottle I had, but this was night and day different. Nose was brimming with red fruit, perfumed, and with a wonderful smokey quality, spices emerge and earthiness as well. The wine evolves in the glass and continues to show new elements. The palate is gorgeous with good fruit, balancing acidity and a long finish. This is killer at the price point.
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6/15/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 87 Points
Chalk, bitter, wood, and some fruit trying to emerge. Not my style of wine and the weakest of the lineup.
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5/15/2010 - Mattshank wrote: 90 Points
Nose: Rustic with moss, forest floor and spice. With additional air loamy/chalky aromas join in. Palate: High acid front end with red fruits and a clean linear finish. While not as complex or volumptuous as the other SVD St. Innocent offerings this is a nice food wine and a steal at under $20/btl. With the high acidity and their reputation for aging this could be a real winner in 1-3 years. Glad I have 3 more. Went well with thick cut pork fillets on the grill.
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4/3/2010 - oldgrowth45 wrote: 86 Points
One-hour decant. Nose: fresh sourdough bread, butterscotch, incense, and wet clothes from the beach. The fruit seems smokey. The initial palate has grippy tannins and tangy acidity. The midpalate opens into warm, smokey fruit, some oak (butterscotch). The finish is fresh, but short. There's enough fruit to handle the acidity (but barely). However, there's a tartness and angularity to the fruit that could be either bracing or annoying, depending on your fancy. This isn't a stand alone bottle, it needs food to give it a little help up. S'alright, but not great.
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3/28/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 88 Points
Nice wine, good QPR at 20. A little softer than the first bottle I had. This wine is a bit lighter in style, but it has a nice nose of perfumed red fruit, cherries, and a hint of butterscotch. The body is light, a bit of spice on the palate with the red fruit, soft tannins, moderate acidity. Decent finsih.
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12/10/2009 - Sky King wrote: 87 Points
Good wine here but nothing more than that. Certainly reflects the characteristics of the vintage, lighter in style and ready to go. No need to wait here. A success in the context of the vintage but nobody will forget the better wines made by Mark in vintages where Mother Nature gives him more to work with. I believe this is predominantly young vines and the character of the wine reflects that. A success considering the messes made by other vintners during this vintage.
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10/21/2009 - Grinner wrote: 87 Points
S'ok. A little better than the Momtazi for texture, but still pretty light w/o the requisite complexity for a higher score.
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