Winemaker Notes
The 2008 has red and black cherry aromas with dark floral, ground spices, pepper and a strong undercurrent of minerality. Dark red fruits on the palate and its signature clay-like earthiness, it finishes with a backbone of ripe tannins and balanced acidity. Perfect for that Porterhouse or T-bone as well as roasts and big pasta dishes. It is best if opened and decanted at least an hour before drinking. Given the ideal ripening conditions in 2008 and the inherent structure of this site, it will benefit from aging up to a decade.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
With hints of mint and thyme adorning forward plum and black cherry scents, this stylish wine, from one of the Valley's oldest vineyards, has a savory core of flavor and a texture that suggests a low center of gravity. It has a fine balance of fruit and savory elements, the sort of balance that would pair with herb-roasted chicken.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard is the first Vlossak has made since 2003 due to the replanting caused by phylloxera. It gives up aromas of pain grille, spice box, incense, black cherry, and black raspberry. Structured and a bit straightforward compared to its peers, even so it is a strong effort that will benefit from several years of additional bottle age.
91+ points. -
Wine Spectator
This tight red shows edgy tannins around a pulsing core of cassis and blackberry fruit, persisting into the long, savory finish. Best from 2012 through 2018
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Running north to south, adjacent to the Willamette River, the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has shallow and well-drained soils created from ancient lava flows (called Jory), marine sediments, rocks and alluvial deposits. These soils force vine roots to dig deep, producing small grapes with great concentration.
Like in the McMinnville sub-AVA, cold Pacific air streams in via the Van Duzer Corridor and assists the maintenance of higher acidity in its grapes. This great concentration, combined with marked acidity, give the Eola-Amity Hills wines—namely Pinot noir—their distinct character. While the region covers 40,000 acres, no more than 1,400 acres are covered in vine.