Winemaker Notes
This 2022 Sonoma County Pinot Noir delights the senses with a bouquet of bright cherry and raspberry, intertwined with aromatic thyme and subtle clove notes. On the palate, it offers a harmonious blend of soft tannins and lively acidity, resulting in a silky texture and a clean, refreshing finish.
This Pinot Noir exudes elegance and balance, making it an ideal choice for pairing with a range of dishes, from grilled salmon to roasted chicken.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2022 Head High Sonoma County Pinot Noir is spot-on pure. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of ripe cherries, cloves, and dried earth. Serve with a slow-cooked lamb stew. (Tasted: June 16, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Tasting Panel
Immediately inviting and appealing, with a vibrant red color; medium density; and wonderful aromas of cranberry, pomegranate, and raspberry underlaid by notes of violet and earth. Ample acidity keeps things fresh and focused on the palate through the soft finish.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.