2012 Kistler Pinot Noir Cuvée Natalie Silver Belt Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Another Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, the 2012 Cuvée Natalie Silver Belt exhibits more beet root, red sweet and sour cherries and berry fruit, earth, spice and incense. Very Côte de Beaune-like, round and lush once it hits the palate, it should be drunk over the next 4-5 years. As usual, these wines from Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler are top-flight efforts and have been so for nearly three decades.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A wine of real intrigue and finesse, the 2012 Pinot Noir Silver Belt Cuvée Natalie boasts marvelous detail and nuance. Sweet red cherry, plum and spice open up gradually, but the 2012 is not showing a lot of near-term accessibility at this stage. Instead, it is the wine's energy and tension that are front and center. A brilliant, crystalline finish rounds things out very nicely. Readers should give the 2012 at least a few years in bottle to fully come together.
The Pinot Noir Silver Belt Cuvée Natalie is the most powerful and broad shouldered of the Kistler/Occidental Pinots, partly because of the greater presence of Swan clone Pinot in this parcel. Dark red cherry, plum, game, savory herbs and wild flowers inform the deep, layered finish.
About the producer
Kistler’s Chardonnays are some of the world’s most sought-after. This cult Californian producer crafts small volumes of exceptional, rich and generous, yet mineral and precise wines. With almost the entire production sold directly to their mailing list, the wines are also incredibly hard to find.