Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of my favorites in the lineup (but we are splitting hairs), the 2017 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvee Elizabeth comes from the estate vineyard located around the estate, lying at 400 to 750 feet in elevation. Mostly potential at this point, its dense purple hue is followed by incredibly pure notes of black raspberries, mulberries, pine forest, spring flowers, and an almost iodine/seaside-like salinity and minerality. Medium to full-bodied, with bright acidity, it’s an energetic, racy yet brilliantly balanced, lengthy Pinot Noir that’s going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for a decade. This is another thrilling wine from Steve Kistler and family.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Cuvée Elizabeth has deep aromas of cranberry sauce, blood orange peel, charcuterie, saline, tar and licorice. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied with a bit more fruity flesh than its 2016 counterpart while still maintaining its pleasant core of bitterness. It has a crunchy, fresh fruit character with bright bitter sparks, a grainy frame and great freshness, finishing long and mineral driven.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.