2019 Bodega Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
This is the first vintage produced as a vineyard designated wine for this steep hillside site, having previously been an addition to the Freestone-Occidental blend. The 2019 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge Vineyard jumps from the glass with red cherry and plum, fresh roses, and dried herbs. The palate is forward, with poppy red fruit of pomegranate, raspberry seed, and baking spice. It has a bit more of an angular structure, with tension and nerve, and will benefit from 2-3 years of cellar aging before drinking over the following 10 or more years. The estate of Steve Kistler and his family in the Bodega Headlands, Occidental is exclusively devoted to the production of coastally influenced Pinot Noir. Kistler was initially drawn to the area after tasting a bottling of Summa Vineyard that expressed a vivid and more cool climate style. Though Occidental was officially founded in 2011, Steve has been planting vineyards and purchasing property in the area since the 1990s and has retained his original cellar team from the past 30 years. His daughter, Catherine Kistler, has been the assistant winemaker since 2017. They are members of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association, which was approved as the newest AVA of Sonoma in May of this year.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge Vineyard is a brand-new single-vineyard cuvée from Occidental. It comes from the Bodega Ridge property, where Steve Kistler began developing 65 acres of Pinot Noir in 2012. The first single-vineyard cuvée from this property was the 2016 Running Fence Vineyard. The Bodega Ridge comes from 25 acres at the top of the property, planted mainly on southwest-facing slopes behind the tasting room, overlooking the Running Fence Vineyard. Medium ruby-purple in color, it offers a broodier expression than the red-fruited Running Fence, with scents of blue and blackberry jam, fir needles, seaweed, salted licorice and soaring violet—a set of aromas that Catherine Kistler aptly calls "ultraviolet blue." The medium-bodied palate has an abundance of finely grained tannins and excellent concentration without losing its purity and detail, and it boasts a tremendously energetic, lengthy finish. It's an incredible first iteration that will develop savory complexity over the next decade or more in bottle. As the vines mature, Steve hopes to be able to make about 1,000 cases a year.
A new wine in this range, the 2019 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge is incredibly reticent. In fact, it needed a whole day to open. There is terrific energy and depth to the red/purplish berry fruit, but all of that richness needs time to emerge. I imagine the 2019 will always remain a bit nervous. It will appeal most to readers who enjoy taut Pinots. (AG)
About the producer
Steve Kistler is a man who needs little introduction. He founded, and – for almost 40 years – made the wines at, Kistler. Since leaving his eponymous estate in 2017, Kistler has been focused exclusively on Occidental, his new, family winery on the outer edges of the Sonoma Coast.