Pinot Noir 'Bodega Freestone-Occidental'

Score

99

"Purple fruit with lavender and seaweed. Hints of volcanic salt and peaches. Full-bodied yet tensioned and very focused. Muscular and very, very long. Flexing with form and beauty. Uniquely Occidental. Mind-blowing sophistication with its own personality. Drink after 2028."

Score

97

"The 2022 Pinot Noir Bodega comes from the smallest vineyard they work with, a western-facing vineyard of 1.8 acres, on the oldest meter-by-meter farmed vines on the coast in Freestone Occidental. In the glass, the wine is expressive and high-toned, with a light reductive note that gradually blows off, revealing notes of spiced cherries, alpine herbs, forest floor, and anise. It has the most serious and chiseled structure of the Pinot Noir offerings from Raen, with ripe tannins and a long, mouthwatering, mineral persistence, notes of dark stones, and ripe acidity. If opening soon, I would recommend decanting this one, but it's certainly deserving of another year or more in a cool cellar. Drink 2026-2046."

Score

95

Score

93

"Grapes for the 2022 Pinot Noir Freestone Occidental Bodega Vineyard were harvested on September 7. It's bursting with a mélange of wild strawberry, raspberry and blueberry, plus accents of black tea leaves, mushrooms, woodsmoke and cola. The medium-bodied palate is generous and silky with bitters-laced flavors and a long, seamless finish. 300 cases were made."