2022 Freedom Hill Vineyard, Dijon 115 Clone

94 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

The Block: Since 2012 when we initially began sourcing fruit from Freedom Hill Vineyard we have chosen a sub-set of the different blocks to bottle based upon the clone within the block. Not all blocks in this (or any vineyard for that matter) are equal. In the case of this bottling, for instance, we get Dijon 115 from three separate parts of the vineyard but the Dijon 115 bottling comes entirely from just this one section in a portion of the vineyard called East Liberty. Like many great vineyards in the world Freedom Hill is not especially dramatic to either look at or look out from. It in modestly hilly and modestly sloped and in conjunction with the topography around it. This part of the vineyard inches up to its highest point and rolls both to the south and the east. This block, along with the nearly 3.5 acres of Wadensvil we get that is adjacent, produces fruit that sings the Freedom Hill song of darker toned-fruit but also brings in a level of red fruit and acidic vibrancy that sets it apart in our minds from the other Dijon 115 blocks lower down the hill in the Heritage section of the site. This block has always provided 100% of the fruit for this particular bottling.

Farming Practices: Since 2013 Freedom Hill Vineyard has been moving diligently and consistently from conventional farming practices to organic farming. While not 100% turned to organic practices it is closer to that than it is to so-called “sustainable farming.” Great attention has been paid to specific cover cropping, foliar feeding and cultivation. The result is a healthier vineyard with a greater range of blocks producing single vineyard quality style wines.  

Picking Dates, Tonnages, Tons/Acre: 14.15 total tons harvested October 12th and 14th; 4.22 tons/acre.

Vinification: From this highly prolific block there were 10 fermenters, all done in 1.75 ton containers with six being 100% whole cluster and the remaining four done 40% whole cluster.

Winemaking: Fermentations were managed by a combination of pumpovers early in the process and exclusively prior to fermentation beginning as well as pigeages to ensure gentle handling, extraction and delicate tannin construction. Cold soaks were generally 3-4 days for the 40% whole cluster ferments and 4-5 days for the 100% whole cluster. Full fermentation from beginning to pressing was at 18 days for the 40% whole cluster and 20 days for the 100%. 24-48 hour settling prior to being racked to barrel. All wines on full lees until assemblage for bottling. Bottled without fining or filtration.

Barrels: For this 20-barrel bottling, 2 new barrels were used both of which were Tonnellerie Billon. As is the case with many wines seeing new barrels in 2022 there is a greater than usual spread of new barrels including Cadus, Francois Freres, Segiun Moreau, Tonnellerie Sud Ouest and Chassin. Past that the wine was a combination of la8 once-used and 10 neutral barrels.

Notes: Dijon clones were initially planted in Oregon to be earlier ripening and have more “fruitiness” to them at the same time. Many of the opulent, fruit-driven Pinots coming from Oregon are entirely or largely Dijon clone-based. We feel that this site and block, in particular, transcend that paradigm and be a complete, nuanced and complex Pinot Noir while still having a wonderful, ripe fruit character. Over the years this wine has been 50% whole cluster, even 100% whole cluster in 2018 and that has served this bottling very well. This is about as close to 100% whole cluster as one can be without quite getting there. 19 of the 20 barrels came from the 100% whole cluster fermentations with one lone 40% whole cluster barrel sneaking into the mix. This, like nearly every 2022 we made, has a uniquely sumptuous quality to it in its youth. This has always been the most forward of the Freedom Hill bottlings, even more so than the Freedom Hill classic bottling and in 2022 that attribute definitely stands out. This wine will age beautifully but for those drinking it young there is hardly a price to be paid at all! Red and black fruits fill up the fore palate and work all the way to the back of the wine where the tannins provide the necessary definition and texture to elevate this wine to the lofty standards it has had since our first bottling of it in 2012.

This finished with a TA of 5.9, a pH of 3.46 and was bottled with under 25 ppm free SO2 and less than 70 ppm total SO2.