Wine Advisor
Occidental, Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvee Elizabeth Pinot Noir 2022
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Erin Brooks
The 2022 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth is deep and heady on the nose. Youthful pomegranate and rhubarb give way to cinnamon, red licorice, hibiscus and rooibos tea, plus the complex woodsy and spicy undertones characteristic of the Occidental wines. The palate offers concentration without weight, flooding the mouth with waves of crunchy, saline-laced red fruit. It’s structured by lacy tannins and vibrant acidity and has a long finish with a flourish of spicy accents. It will benefit from several years in the cellar.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Silky, aromatic and light on its feet, the 2022 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth is a wine of exquisite finesse and understated beauty. Bright acids lift a core of gentle red/purplish fruit in this classy, polished Pinot from Occidental. All the elements are so well balanced.
About the Producer
One of my jobs during the first harvest in 1975 was to drive a Ridge flatbed truck to a small zinfandel vineyard on Harrison Grade, west of Sebastopol, to pick up the zinfandel bins that had been picked that morning. Ridge named this site the "Occidental Vineyard" because it was Ridge's most coastal location. The Occidental Vineyard could be said to be Ridge's most precious zinfandel vineyard, very different from the zinfandels from Geyserville and Lytton Springs that grew in warmer conditions further inland. After working at Ridge for over two years, I developed a distinct preference for the coastal character of the zinfandel from the Occidental Vineyard compared to the other zinfandels in the cellar. In 1998, valuable comparative tastings were made between the coastal pinot noirs made from the Flowers and Hirsch vineyards, the first pinots made from the Taylor Lane and Occidental vineyards, and the Littorai pinot from next door. These tastings were invaluable in guiding the future development of the Occidental vineyards. In 1999, a 100-acre property in Bodega Headlands was purchased. In 2001, 20 acres of pinot noir were planted. In 2008, a 250-acre property adjacent to Bodega Ridge, located on the same ridge overlooking the Pacific, was purchased. In 2011, Occidental, a new Kistler family winery, was founded with a focus on producing world-class pinot noir from the Freestone-Occidental area.
