Freedom Hill Vineyard

Freedom Hill Vineyard was planted by Dan and Helen Dusschee in 1982. For the past 30+ years they have lived on and farmed this historical and great Oregon vineyard. Their son Dustin works with them now on the 100+ acre site. Only a handful of vineyards in Oregon could claim to have produced as many excellent wines from a wide diversity of winemakers dating back into the 1980s. Freedom Hill Vineyard would be on the very short list of great, recognized and historical vineyards in Oregon. The fact that the Dusschee family keeps working to grow better grapes on a yearly basis is a tribute to their dedication to the Oregon wine industry and the wineries they have carefully selected to work with over the years.

Freedom Hill Vineyard is the only Pinot Noir vineyard Patricia Green Cellars sources fruit from that is not in one of the smaller sub-AVAs of the Willamette Valley. It sits solely in the larger Willamette Valley AVA. While technically located in the Eola Hills, this site is just outside of the southwestern border of the Eola-Amity AVA in the town of Dallas. Historically, Freedom Hill Vineyard was known on labels like Panther Creek Cellars, Ken Wright Cellars, Bethel Heights Vineyard and St. Innocent Winery. It has a reputation for producing some of the largest scale and most structured Pinot Noirs in the valley. As phyloxera grabbed hold of the original plantings, the re-plantings and additions to the vineyard were put in on the common single-wire vertical trellis system that is most common in the Northern Willamette Valley. This has allowed for wines that still possess great intensity born from the Marine Sedimentary soil known as Bellpine. The finished wines currently flourish with tannin structure that is richer and more complex than wines from the early years.

We source fruit from close to 9 acres of Pinot Noir spread across five different sections of the site planted to Pommard Clone, Dijon 115 Clone and Coury Clone. This has allowed us a very unique approach to this vineyard. We get so much fruit that we are able to create a Freedom Hill Pinot Noir bottling that encompasses all five sections and all three clones which shows the depth, breadth, power, intensity, structure and even grace that are the natural hallmarks of the vineyard. In addition we also bottle each one of the Pinot Noir clones individually. The single clone bottlings allow us to express the differences between the three clones. In the Dijon 115 Clone, you find the savory mid-palate working with the incredible aromatics that lead to a firmly structured finish. In the Pommard Clone, the wild, gamey, explosive and dense character shines on the top of the wine. In the Coury Clone which is only grown in Oregon, there is a subtle, nuanced, violet-laden character that pulls the graceful notes forward while still having a firm backbone. All three of these wines have their own personalities even while sharing a common theme. Again, the range and beauty of the Pinot Noir’s versatility is on full display from this amazing vineyard site.