St. Innocent Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir Shea Vineyards 2019 NO20231018 and Xarel·lo

and Xarel·lo

with a mineral spine running underneath the fruit and just enough barrel influence to give it texture without turning it into dessert

Aged 18–24 months in mostly older oak

or a day later

St. Innocent Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir Shea Vineyards 2019 NO20231018 and Xarel·loShea is one of Oregon's great vineyard names, and St. Innocent has been bottling it since 1998, long enough to know exactly what the site wants. It sits in the Yamhill Carlton foothills on shallow, quick draining ancient marine soil, which tends to give Pinot Noir darker fruit and a firmer frame than the valley's volcanic sites. This one already has several years in bottle, so the hard edges have softened and the earthy, savory register has arrived,