2020 Bodega Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Pale ruby in colour. Reduced and earthy but much more floral and lifted than the previous three Pinot Noirs in the portfolio. Orange zest and pomegranate. Grips through the mid palate and into the finish. Lovely and structured with high, bright acidity. Long and lingering florals, orange zest and a bit more sweetness to the fruit than the rest of the portfolio. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A deep jeweled ruby color, a gorgeous perfume unfolds in the 2020 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge Vineyard with layers of pure eau de vie, with rosemary, pine, and crushed rocks. Medium-bodied, with fresh acidity in its notes of orange peel and spices, it has good structure and a vibrant and pure nature. Give it another few years and drink 2026-2046. The family estate of Steve Kistler in the Bodega Headlands, Occidental is exclusively devoted to producing 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 for the past 30 years. His daughter Catherine Kistler has been the assistant winemaker since 2017, and they are members of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association. Looking toward the estate's future, they have acquired a new ranchland property two and a half miles from the coast and will begin planting Pinot Noir vines on Goldridge soils next year at this even cooler temperature site. The following wines were tasted at the winery in May. For each of the single-vineyard sites, they hold the wines back an additional year, so this tasting focused on the 2020 vintage (with the exception of the 2021 Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental).
The 2020 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge Vineyard is the second iteration of this 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 (it also borders Joseph Phelps's Quarter Moon Vineyard). It's bursting with vivid aromatics—blueberry and lavender—and are supplemented by wafts of forest floor, blood orange, licorice and stony streaks. The palate is delicate and ethereal, framed by chalky tannins and shimmery acidity, although it still offers a generous core of nuanced fruit, and it finishes with a fan of spicy accents. Normally, I would say to give it a few years in the cellar, but because of the challenges of the vintage, there's no reason not to enjoy it in its youth.
The 2020 Pinot Noir Bodega Ridge is bright and effusive. Floral and mineral notes give the 2020 tons of lift and a good bit of energy, too. Blue/purplish fruit, gravel, spice, lavender and dried herbs all run through this vibrant, linear Pinot Noir. The purity of the fruit is striking. Like all of these wines, the Bodega Ridge is a bit linear, but it's a style that works well, and that is typical of the wines this year. (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.