2012 Occidental (Kistler) "SWK Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

“As good as the Cuvée Catherine is, there is another Occidental Pinot that is also profound. The 2012 Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard also comes from his 65 acres planted in Occidental. This is a 1,000-case cuvée from a site that sits above the Bodega Headlands Vineyard. With a dark ruby color like its siblings, it is made from 100% Calera and sees only about 30% new French oak. This wine offers a copious mouthful of red, blue and black fruits, medium to full body, terrific acidity, and intense black raspberry and black cherry fruit along with spring flowers, forest floor and spice box. This is a stunning, super-complex, compelling Pinot Noir... (RP)” (01/2015)

“The 2012 Pinot Noir SWK Vineyard, from a parcel just above Bodega Headlands, is the wine where all of the concepts Kistler is developing at Occidental converge. Vertical, structured and explosive on the palate, the SWK is built on a serious core of minerality. Graphite, smoke, violets and a host of mineral-inflected notes hit the palate in an intense, saline Pinot that is going to need time to fully come together. Today, the SWK is totally crystalline and nuanced, but it is also very, very young and in need of time in bottle. (AG) 97+” (01/2015)