2022 Freedom Hill Vineyard, Pommard Clone Pinot Noir

97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

Site History: The vineyard was established in 1982 by the people who still own and manage it to this day: Dan and Helen Dusschee. While they may not have realized it at the time, they were settling onto a site destined to be one of the top Pinot Noir vineyards in the state of Oregon. Their rigorous and professional approach to the management of the vineyard has brought about that greatness, and even though the vineyard suffered through a scourge of phylloxera replantings, expansion of the site has shown that there is a distinct and indomitable terroir. Few non-estate vineyards in Oregon can reach as far back in history with regards to being bottled as a single vineyard designated wine as Freedom Hill Vineyard. Panther Creek Winery began designating the site in the late 80s. St. Innocent began doing so in the early 90s. In 2013 their son, Dustin, rejoined the farm and began taking over day-t0-day management operations. Even while expanding to slightly over 100 acres over the years, this vineyard remains a family owned, lived upon and operated venture, something that is becoming increasingly rare in Oregon.

Site Characteristics: Freedom Hill Vineyard lies toward the eastern edge of the Coast Range Foothills. While associated geographically with the Eola Hills, the site lies south and west of the border of the Eola-Amity Hill Appellation outside of the town of Monmouth. The vineyard is planted on a marine sedimentary type of soil known as Bellpine. The vineyard is also located just south of the Van Duzer wind corridor which allows for more consistent average temperatures due to a lack of afternoon and evening offshore breezes rolling through. This site is known for powerful or, at least, extremely intense Pinot Noirs. Wines tend to be very dark in color and operate on the blue, purple, black end of the fruit spectrum. Tannin structure can be impressive. This vineyard has the capacity to produce some of the most extraordinary wine made in the state.

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. The Pommard Block is a fascinating lesson in learning that a vineyard or section of vineyard does not have to be “dramatic” looking to produce extraordinary fruit. Many of the most heralded vineyards in Burgundy, including La Tache, Bienvenue-Batard Montrachet and Echezeaux are planted in areas that don’t “look the part” of being great vineyards. The Pommard Block in the Heritage section of Freedom Hill is exactly that. Lightly sloping down from a stand of trees (now logged) all the way down to the property line separating Freedom Hill from Croft Vineyard it is simply a normal looking plot. However, the Pommard thrives here. The thinner top soil in this part of the vineyard demands that the plants dig deeper and more quickly to find more productive sources of nutrients and water. Thus, what seems ordinary on the face is actually extraordinary because of what is happening in ways we cannot perceive. At least until the wine is made.

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 wines.

Picking Dates, Tonnages, Tons/Acre: Picked on October 8th. 5.88 tons at 2.89 tons/acre.

Vinification: There were 4 fermenters, all done in 1.75 ton containers, one with 100% whole clusters, 2 with 50% whole clusters and one completely destemmed.

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 2-3 days. Full fermentation from beginning to pressing was at 17 days, with the 100% whole cluster fermenter going 19 days. 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: The Freedom Hill Pommard was a top wine for us in 2022 and it has found homes in 3 places. The 100% whole cluster barrels make up the Perspicacious Cuvée, 2 barrels of the 50% whole cluster went to the Notorious bottling, leaving 11 barrels total for the Pommard bottling. Two of the barrels are new and both are from a cooperage called Tonnellerie O which is new to our cellar this vintage but produces extraordinarily good barrels that complement this bottling sensationally! Five barrels were one time filled. The rest of the barrels are neutral.

Notes: Freedom Hill Vineyard is the most fascinating example of the plants rebound from the April frost in 2022. The damage by the frost looked as extensive as any vineyard we received fruit from. However, the recovery and vitality of the secondary shoots was unprecedented. Freedom Hill not only experienced what ended up being their largest crop in the site’s 41-year history, they hit quality levels on par with the best vintages we have received from them (2012, 2106, 2021). The line-up of the 6 bottlings of Pinot Noir is always expected to be extremely high given the nature of the vineyard and the quality of farming and fruit we see there. In 2022 these wines run counter to the easier countenance that most of our Pinot Noirs show. These are especially darkly pigmented, densely textured, concentrated yet precise and structured in ways that most normal domestic Pinot Noirs simply cannot achieve without being drying or hollow. These are all exceptional examples of their respective bottlings and wines that should not be missed.

We have always said that this wine is the most “Freedom Hill-y” of all the Freedom Hill Pinot Noirs we produce. Historically this vineyard was known for producing dark, massive, large scale and highly structured wines. Perhaps. Certainly, the wines we produce from this site are bold and have a greater degree of largesse than most of our other Pinots but mostly we feel that degree is subtle and contained within the context of the site’s natural inclinations and proclivities. This bottling has always reached back into that history and pulled some of it forward. This is a combination of six 50% whole cluster barrels and five destemmed barrels. This finished with a TA of 5.7, a pH of 3.52 and was bottled with under 25 ppm free SO2 and less than 70 ppm total SO2.

Tasting Note: Please be aware that I am loathe to write tasting notes on our wines. Each person has an individual palate and therefore unique experiences with every wine. Also, what a person has tasted in their life and what they enjoy informs them on what a wine is like. If I tell you a wine tastes like cherries and you either have never had a cherry or don’t like cherries what I am saying is irrelevant information. That being said I have been asked to include my thoughts on each wine (since we have so many).

The 2022 Freedom Hill Vineyard, Pommard Clone Pinot Noir is, as usual, a darker version of all the other Freedom Hill bottlings save the Perspicacious. The 2022 relaxes some of the stem tannin by having a lower inclusion of the whole cluster barrels however this block is still a savory and structurally oriented beast of a wine. The 2013 and 2014 are really the only versions of this bottling, dating back to 2012, that are really drinking at this juncture. This, along with the Freedom Hill classic bottling, are true “steakhouse” style Pinot Noirs.