A Ten Year Tasting: Wines of 2008 (Primarily Oregon Pinot Noir & Ringers) - Graciously hosted by Grinner:
Flight Two of Five - Wine 4:
A wine of power and verve. Seriously endowed, showing appealing tannins, a certain chewiness, particularly for Pinot Noir, and a layered finish. Still evolving, and likely to continue for five to seven years. Reminiscent of Corton.
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The Lyon 10 Year Tasting: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den): This one has pretty big fists for a PN. Deep and tannic, structure competing with the fruit just like my last one 5/17. Black cherry, spice, minerals, and a tiny forest floor hit. Fruit played Humpty Dumpty on day 2 and fell off, 87pts.
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J & K Anniversary Wine Night (Lyon Again): Hoping to find an old Anden or Seven Springs, we settled on this and were not disappointed. After PNP, this has a garnet color, an open nose and is nicely textured. Black cherry, forest floor, baking spices, minerals, some wood, and a hint o' mushroom. Better than 6/10 bottle. Tannins may have slight upper hand over the fruit on day two. Now-2018.
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Black cherry, earth and minerals on the nose. Medium bodied and nearly perfectly balanced between fruit, structure and acidity. Black cherry upfront with darker black raspberry behind and then adds tart red cherry and strawberry towards the finish. Excellent transition as it moves from the initial black fruit to the tart, more acidity driven notes in the background and then brightens right before the finish. The finish literally sailed with spice, earth and mineral notes and that wonderfully tartness from the acidity swirling and adding complexity. This wine has shown exceptionally well over the past three years that I have been drinking it and based on the last three bottles in particular, it feels like, while at peak or very close, it should be able to remain at this level for several more years. Wish I had more. I just love the longevity of St Innocent pinots.
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Beautiful fruit and rich smoothness throughout. Fruit notes remained consistent from prior bottle (Oct 2014) with black raspberry and black cherry backed with sour red cherry towards the finish. Beautifully structured and with excellent balance this wine continues to drink very well.
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Delicious, light well aged Burgundy--strawberries and rapberries-- very refined and well mixed. Fine aroma of berries and fruity- perfect with a peach pie
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Above medium bodied, showcasing beautiful bright fruit. Mostly black raspberry and black cherry with a hint of sour cherry and some red fruit on the back end. Ends with very good length and mineral notes, integrated tannins and good acidity. The balance and smoothness through the middle make this wine very enjoyable for current consumption. This wine has evolved very nicely over the years and this bottle showed noticeably better than my last one. Given the fruit and acidity, this wine has several years left. There’s no rush to drink it, but it’s showing extremely well now and while I expect it to evolve, I only expect modest improvements in the future.
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More Burgundian than Californian. Quite simple red fruit with a bit of spice and earth. Decent acidity. Everything was kind of here but not enough weight to balance the 13.5 pct alc. Going in right direction but maybe just needed the vines to mature. In terms of typicity will hold judgment.
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a wonderful oregon pinot classic. Not too strong or powerful, just right berries and fruit, well balanced and mixed with 6 years in the cellar, perfect for drinking now. Aroma of berries-
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Cherry and light spice notes, mixed with an earthiness; a classic Oregon pinot noir nose. Medium bodied wine with great balance between the tannins, acidity and fruit. Supple and rich mouthfeel with a strongly blackfruit based fruit profile. Open for two hours, the wine deepens and smoothes. Finish is good length and well integrated. Has the structure to easily go 4-5 more years.
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This is becoming my favorite botteling from St. Innocent. A real sense of place. The signature of this winery is the intense perfume that he is able to get in all the pinots. Cloves, spices and lovely strawberry and raspberry. Powerful but balanced mouthfeel with a touch of anise.
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This seems a bit lighter than most recent St. Innocent Pinot Noirs, but that's ok, as it's still a rather engaging wine. Red fruit, good acidity & an overall mid-palate freshness make it a delightful food partner. It's not an outstanding wine in the critical sense, but in the case of "what are we having with dinner" it's a great choice.
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This wine gives a similar impression to a previously tasted bottle; however, on this occasion the wine provides a little more focus and detail. This has the potential to improve with another year or two of bottle age.
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Cristom, St. Innocent, Johan Vineyards (Eola-Amity/Willamette Valley, OR): Lighter nose than the other St. Innocent wines, and I get this very strange helium balloon component. The palate shows larger fruits than the nose leads on, but there's still tart tannins building and it's quite sharp in texture. The finish shows impressive acidity, tart ripe tannins, and some red apples. Really pleasant fruit lingers.
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Opened and poured, this wine at times showed wonderful aromatics of clove, black cherry and earth notes. At other times the aromatics become more straight forward and monolithic with a tart cherry element dominating. The color is a medium ruby that is correct. The medium bodied palate shows good fruit concentration; however, acidity dominates on the finish making the wine disjointed and unbalanced at times. All the components are here for the wine to show better. Hopefully a couple of years of bottle age will bring them in better balance.
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K&L Pacific Northwest Tasting (K&L Redwood City): Nose is tight, hint of blackberries and earth. Black fruit on the palate, nice medium acidity, touch of cloves and tannic structure. Nice, but probably could use a couple of years to loosen up.
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Saw the big WS score on this wine but when I checked CT I saw I had never entered my note. So this is back from July and not much of a note. Aromatics were very ripe, dark and reductive. I enjoyed the wine but overall I found it aggressively ripe and a bit hot. I expect more out of this wine. I'll sit on my other bottle and hope that this one was just a little jumbled up.
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St. Innocent Private Tasting (The Wine Company, St. Paul, MN): Ruby red color. Nose is aromattic, black cherry, raspberry, spice, toffee, hints of cedar. The palate is leaner compared to the Temperance, but has strong acidity. Very nice fruit profile. Medium finish. I like this alot, but in this vintage, the TH is the much better value.
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Good, young, vibrant Pinot Noir color. Aromatically, soaring intensity here, wow, really amazing classic, spicy pinot noir aromatics. Great intensity. In the mouth, things are somewhat disjointed at this juncture, the wine seems to be made up more of its component parts at this point as opposed to a whole, come together type of wine experience. That said, all that is needed is time for the parts to come together to be a classic oregon pinot noir. The wine is NOT lacking fruit, in fact it has fruit in abundance but the fruit is fairly compact, dense and a little tough to break into right now. With the acids and tannin somewhat obtuse at this point, it is no surprise that this wine requires at least 6 months to come together and will likely benefit from extended cellaring. A very good wine today with big upside potential, my score does not account for anything other that what the wine is showing today and a healthy portion of that is based upon the killer aromatics.
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6/8/2021 - Jay Win Likes this wine:
Fruit has faded but still a good drink. Based on this bottle, I will drink my one remaining bottle soon. Grade of B/B+
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11/5/2018 - Motz wrote: 93 Points
A Ten Year Tasting: Wines of 2008 (Primarily Oregon Pinot Noir & Ringers) - Graciously hosted by Grinner:
Flight Two of Five - Wine 4:
A wine of power and verve. Seriously endowed, showing appealing tannins, a certain chewiness, particularly for Pinot Noir, and a layered finish. Still evolving, and likely to continue for five to seven years. Reminiscent of Corton.
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11/3/2018 - Grinner wrote: 91 Points
The Lyon 10 Year Tasting: 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (Lyon Den): This one has pretty big fists for a PN. Deep and tannic, structure competing with the fruit just like my last one 5/17. Black cherry, spice, minerals, and a tiny forest floor hit. Fruit played Humpty Dumpty on day 2 and fell off, 87pts.
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5/13/2017 - Grinner wrote: 91 Points
J & K Anniversary Wine Night (Lyon Again): Hoping to find an old Anden or Seven Springs, we settled on this and were not disappointed. After PNP, this has a garnet color, an open nose and is nicely textured. Black cherry, forest floor, baking spices, minerals, some wood, and a hint o' mushroom. Better than 6/10 bottle. Tannins may have slight upper hand over the fruit on day two. Now-2018.
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4/17/2017 - Dodo_Bellacourt Likes this wine: 89 Points
Drinking beautifully with complex dark fruit and a long finish.
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10/22/2016 - Chrisinroch wrote:
A bit tighter than the Shea vineyard bottling at this point, but opens up after a bit. I would give this more time.
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1/9/2016 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black cherry, earth and minerals on the nose. Medium bodied and nearly perfectly balanced between fruit, structure and acidity. Black cherry upfront with darker black raspberry behind and then adds tart red cherry and strawberry towards the finish. Excellent transition as it moves from the initial black fruit to the tart, more acidity driven notes in the background and then brightens right before the finish. The finish literally sailed with spice, earth and mineral notes and that wonderfully tartness from the acidity swirling and adding complexity. This wine has shown exceptionally well over the past three years that I have been drinking it and based on the last three bottles in particular, it feels like, while at peak or very close, it should be able to remain at this level for several more years. Wish I had more. I just love the longevity of St Innocent pinots.
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9/1/2015 - gaschief wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful rich bugundy red- With aroma of berries and depth of taste of fruits-- totally delicious
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7/29/2015 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful fruit and rich smoothness throughout. Fruit notes remained consistent from prior bottle (Oct 2014) with black raspberry and black cherry backed with sour red cherry towards the finish. Beautifully structured and with excellent balance this wine continues to drink very well.
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6/10/2015 - gaschief wrote: 92 Points
Delicious, light well aged Burgundy--strawberries and rapberries-- very refined and well mixed. Fine aroma of berries and fruity- perfect with a peach pie
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11/2/2014 - gaschief wrote: 92 Points
Superb Pinot. Rich in flavors of berries and fruit. Fine aroma of cherries. Perfect harmony. Drink now.
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10/11/2014 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 93 Points
Above medium bodied, showcasing beautiful bright fruit. Mostly black raspberry and black cherry with a hint of sour cherry and some red fruit on the back end. Ends with very good length and mineral notes, integrated tannins and good acidity. The balance and smoothness through the middle make this wine very enjoyable for current consumption. This wine has evolved very nicely over the years and this bottle showed noticeably better than my last one. Given the fruit and acidity, this wine has several years left. There’s no rush to drink it, but it’s showing extremely well now and while I expect it to evolve, I only expect modest improvements in the future.
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7/6/2014 - cortoncharlie wrote: 87 Points
More Burgundian than Californian. Quite simple red fruit with a bit of spice and earth. Decent acidity. Everything was kind of here but not enough weight to balance the 13.5 pct alc. Going in right direction but maybe just needed the vines to mature. In terms of typicity will hold judgment.
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6/25/2014 - gaschief wrote: 92 Points
a wonderful oregon pinot classic. Not too strong or powerful, just right berries and fruit, well balanced and mixed with 6 years in the cellar, perfect for drinking now. Aroma of berries-
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11/17/2013 - G-BEAR wrote: 91 Points
Nose of spice and tart cherries. Wonderful fruit like raspberry and strawberry. Great balance with the acid. Medium finish. Wonderful OPN.
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6/8/2013 - RGCM Gananda Likes this wine: 92 Points
Cherry and light spice notes, mixed with an earthiness; a classic Oregon pinot noir nose. Medium bodied wine with great balance between the tannins, acidity and fruit. Supple and rich mouthfeel with a strongly blackfruit based fruit profile. Open for two hours, the wine deepens and smoothes. Finish is good length and well integrated. Has the structure to easily go 4-5 more years.
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1/26/2013 - Snelson1154 wrote: 90 Points
Light in color. Nose is very Burgundian in style. Great purity of fruit.
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8/26/2012 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 90 Points
Juicy, very berry upfront, with a bright nose. Much more subdued on the palate, but smooth, rich nice.
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12/30/2011 - fdub wrote: 92 Points
This is becoming my favorite botteling from St. Innocent. A real sense of place. The signature of this winery is the intense perfume that he is able to get in all the pinots. Cloves, spices and lovely strawberry and raspberry. Powerful but balanced mouthfeel with a touch of anise.
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4/5/2011 - Rieslingfan wrote: 91 Points
This seems a bit lighter than most recent St. Innocent Pinot Noirs, but that's ok, as it's still a rather engaging wine. Red fruit, good acidity & an overall mid-palate freshness make it a delightful food partner. It's not an outstanding wine in the critical sense, but in the case of "what are we having with dinner" it's a great choice.
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4/2/2011 - sehill wrote: 89 Points
This wine gives a similar impression to a previously tasted bottle; however, on this occasion the wine provides a little more focus and detail. This has the potential to improve with another year or two of bottle age.
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2/19/2011 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
The Wine Club SF 2008 Oregon Pinot Tasting (San Francisco): Nose is nice, good acidity. Some red cherries, palate has good fruit. Very good to excellent. 88+
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10/9/2010 - David Paris (dbp) wrote: 90 Points
Cristom, St. Innocent, Johan Vineyards (Eola-Amity/Willamette Valley, OR): Lighter nose than the other St. Innocent wines, and I get this very strange helium balloon component. The palate shows larger fruits than the nose leads on, but there's still tart tannins building and it's quite sharp in texture. The finish shows impressive acidity, tart ripe tannins, and some red apples. Really pleasant fruit lingers.
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9/1/2010 - sehill wrote: 88 Points
Opened and poured, this wine at times showed wonderful aromatics of clove, black cherry and earth notes. At other times the aromatics become more straight forward and monolithic with a tart cherry element dominating. The color is a medium ruby that is correct. The medium bodied palate shows good fruit concentration; however, acidity dominates on the finish making the wine disjointed and unbalanced at times. All the components are here for the wine to show better. Hopefully a couple of years of bottle age will bring them in better balance.
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8/28/2010 - zscheiner Likes this wine: 88 Points
K&L Pacific Northwest Tasting (K&L Redwood City): Nose is tight, hint of blackberries and earth. Black fruit on the palate, nice medium acidity, touch of cloves and tannic structure. Nice, but probably could use a couple of years to loosen up.
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7/30/2010 - jasonh wrote: 86 Points
Saw the big WS score on this wine but when I checked CT I saw I had never entered my note. So this is back from July and not much of a note. Aromatics were very ripe, dark and reductive. I enjoyed the wine but overall I found it aggressively ripe and a bit hot. I expect more out of this wine. I'll sit on my other bottle and hope that this one was just a little jumbled up.
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7/16/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 91 Points
2008 St. Innocent Tasting plus a few More (St. Paul): Spice, truffles, forest floor and cherry. The palate picks up minerals. Overall a nice wine but not in the league of the Temperance.
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7/12/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
St. Innocent Private Tasting (The Wine Company, St. Paul, MN): Ruby red color. Nose is aromattic, black cherry, raspberry, spice, toffee, hints of cedar. The palate is leaner compared to the Temperance, but has strong acidity. Very nice fruit profile. Medium finish. I like this alot, but in this vintage, the TH is the much better value.
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7/12/2010 - Mattshank wrote: 90 Points
St. Innocent Private Tasting (Local Distributor): Nose: Sweet raspberry with some cedar and loam. Palate: Big acidity with raspberry. Good value SI Pinot.
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6/7/2010 - Grinner wrote: 89 Points
Enjoyable even with a cold and not much going on in my schnoz. Lots of potential/ agree w/ Sky King.
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5/29/2010 - Sky King wrote: 89 Points
Good, young, vibrant Pinot Noir color. Aromatically, soaring intensity here, wow, really amazing classic, spicy pinot noir aromatics. Great intensity. In the mouth, things are somewhat disjointed at this juncture, the wine seems to be made up more of its component parts at this point as opposed to a whole, come together type of wine experience. That said, all that is needed is time for the parts to come together to be a classic oregon pinot noir. The wine is NOT lacking fruit, in fact it has fruit in abundance but the fruit is fairly compact, dense and a little tough to break into right now. With the acids and tannin somewhat obtuse at this point, it is no surprise that this wine requires at least 6 months to come together and will likely benefit from extended cellaring. A very good wine today with big upside potential, my score does not account for anything other that what the wine is showing today and a healthy portion of that is based upon the killer aromatics.
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