Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A jeweled magenta ruby color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Vineyard is from a coastally exposed site planted with vine cuttings from two Grand Crus in Vosne Romanée and sheltered to the north by redwoods. In the glass, the wine is highly expressive on opening, boasting a rich and refined perfume of violets, raspberry liqueur, pine, and pristine dark spices. Medium-bodied and elegant, it’s one of the richer wines in the range from this noble vintage and offers a ripe feel through the palate, with polished tannins and a hint of underlying mineral richness through its long finish.
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Wine Spectator
Waves of succulent black cherry and mulberry fruit drape over a subtly piercing mineral aspect, while a backdrop of red and black tea, dried anise and blood orange zest adds alluring range. Racy, finely beaded acidity provides a nearly invisible corset of structure, letting it all play out with confidence through the lengthy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth is powerfully structured and will be long lived in the cellar. Medium ruby-purple in color, the nose is bursting with pomegranate, rhubarb and blueberry, and as it opens in the glass, it reveals nuances of hibiscus, pipe tobacco and Earl Grey tea. On the palate, its iron-laced red fruit is structured by chiseled tannins and linear acidity, and it has a very long finish laced with botanical tones. It offers the same purity and expression as the 2019 but gives the sense that, once it closes down in bottle,. Rating: 95+
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.