2016 Occidental Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2016 Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard offers a strong sense of place and a chiseled structure that will allow it to be very long lived in the cellar. The nose is reminiscent of the forest and the sea, its wild cherry fruit accented by wafts of mushrooms, fennel, tobacco, saline and seaweed, and it becomes more floral as it airs in the glass. The palate is bursting with layer after layer of salty red fruit. It’s structured by powdery tannins and lip-smacking acidity and has a long, dynamic finish.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The only wine to see some whole clusters, the 2016 Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard is one of the more structured, backward wines in the lineup. It reveals a deeper ruby color as well as a complex bouquet of darker raspberries, earth, graphite, and smoky notes. Rich and medium to full-bodied, it has great balance and concentration as well as building tannins. It's another classy, age-worthy wine from Steve Kistler that's going to benefit from bottle age and keep for 10-15 years or more. It ranks with the top wines of the vintage.
The 2016 Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard emerges from the highest point of Steve Kistler's Bodega Headlands property. Vibrant and exquisitely beautiful, the 2016 is a striking wine that is going to need a number of years to come together. There is a lot here, but the 2016 is painfully closed at this stage. Dark red cherry, plum, blood orange, mint and rose petal all develop in the glass, with bright saline notes that give the wine shape and energy. Today, the SWK is utterly exquisite, but my impression is it will be an even better wine in a few years' time.
About the producer
Steve Kistler is a man who needs little introduction. He founded, and – for almost 40 years – made the wines at, Kistler. Since leaving his eponymous estate in 2017, Kistler has been focused exclusively on Occidental, his new, family winery on the outer edges of the Sonoma Coast.