St. Innocent Pinot noir Justice Vineyard 09
2009 Wine Advocate - 91 points - The 2009 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard (owned by nearby Bethel Heights) exhibits a particularly expressive nose of exotic spices, balsam wood, incense, and assorted red and black fruits. Smooth-textured, relatively forward, and built for pleasure, this nicely balanced, lengthy Pinot will provide optimum drinking through 2019. - Jay Miller
2009 Tanzer - 92 points - Bright red. Exotically perfumed, expressive aromas of fresh red berries and flowers, with Asian spice and potpourri notes and a deeper vanillin quality in the background. Silky, seamless and focused, offering lively raspberry and cherry flavors and notes of allspice and star anise. Clean and lithe on the finish, where the red fruit and floral notes repeat strongly. This puts on weight with air and has the balance to age. - Josh Raynolds
This pinot complements a wide variety of rich meat and vegetable dishes, especially those with grilled or spicy preparations. This wine will cellar well for eight years.
2008 Vintage Tasting Notes
The 2008 Pinot noir, Justice Vineyard has layered spice aromas of ginger and cloves with dark berries and hints of roasted chilies. The mouth is powerful and nuanced with red and black berries, fruit cobbler, rich pie spices and strawberry preserves. It has a signature viscosity, an almost creamy quality that extends and richens the mouthfeel and prolongs its finish.
It is a great match for chops, grilled meats, salmon, wild game, and a wide variety of risotto and pasta dishes. Drink over the next few years or age up to a decade and watch it evolve. - the winery
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
Justice Vineyard shows its promise with the supple nature of this beautifully textured Pinot. Hugely aromatic, juicy blackberry and blueberry dominate scent and palate. There's strength and body in the glass - the big black fruit flavors match a bit of muscularity in the tannins. Justice Vineyard is owned and managed by Bethel Heights Winery, just up the road from St. Innocent. - Avalon
Although only in its seventh leaf, this wine has a breadth of texture and flavor layers that indicate very great potential as the vines achieve maturity. This Pinot noir complements sweet meat entrees - salmon, lamb chops, pork tenDerloin and filet. When served young, this wine is best opened 1-2 hours before serving. It is drinkable at release and will benefit from aging up to 8 years. - the winery
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
The St Innocent Justice Vineyard Pinot noir 06 has ripe, fleshy wild strawberries flavors that burst on the palate, picking up a wave of fat black cherries. Flecks of crushed rose petal and truffled, creamy earth add a nice wild streak. The mouthcoating texture and rich, expressive fruit meld with the delicate nuances, making the 06 Justice the Sophia Loren of the bunch. It's straight up sexy.
2006 Wine Advocate - 92 points - The 2006 Pinot Noir Justice Vineyard has slightly darker fruit including black cherry and black raspberry. Sweet, complex, and savory, this nicely concentrated, well-balanced wine will provide pleasure over the next eight years. - Jay Miller
2005 Vintage Tasting Notes
We fawned over the new Justice. One taste and it’s easy to see why: the silky sweet fruit just plants itself on the middle of your palate. Blackberry balanced with high-toned red fruit and a ribbon of smoke and clove. The finish sails…and you’re still thinking of those flavors on your tongue. Justice Vineyard is the newest Estate vineyard of Bethel Heights. - Marcus
Mark Vlossak says: "It is unusual and very attractive for Pinot noir to have primary spice aromas. The 2005 Pinot noir, Justice Vineyard has clove and cinnamon aromas along with lush red fruits. The clove notes carry into the mouth along with raspberry and black raspberry fruits with concentrated fruit notes carrying into its finish. One of the most unique facets of Justice Pinot noirs is the way its flavors coat your mouth with an almost creamy texture that reaches into your cheeks. All of this is enhanced by a lovely backbone of fresh acidity."
2004 Vintage Tasting Notes
It is unusual and very attractive for Pinot noir to have primary spice aromas. The 2004 Pinot noir, Justice Vineyard has allspice, cinnamon and clove aromas along with bright red fruits. Its flavors coat you mouth and there is a lovely backbone of fresh acidity. This wine was so unique and wonderful that I decided to bottle it as a single vineyard wine. - Mark Vlossak
From the winery:
Justice Vineyard is located in the Eola Hills, 11 miles northwest of Salem, Oregon. The Pinot noir was planted in 2001 on a hillside of volcanic Jory soil in the NW corner of the vineyard, just over the ridge of the Eola Hills. It has a southeast exposure at an elevation of 550'.
The grapes were fermented in a small stainless tank after two days of cold maceration. The wine aged 33% new French oak barrels for 16 months before bottling. The six best barrels were selected for our initial offering from this site.
This Pinot noir complements sweet meat entrees - lamb chops, filet, grilled salmon. When served young, this wine is best opened 1-2 hours before serving . It is drinkable at release and will benefit from aging up to 5 years.
Normally, all of the wines receiving vineyard designation come from vines at least five years of age. In 2004 we received our first crop from Justice Vineyard, when the vines were 4 years of age. Justice is located just over the east ridge of the Eola Hills just below Bethel Heights winery. It is a high density planting and is farmed by one of Oregon's best grape growers, Ted Casteel.
