2011 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)

In Steve Kistler's view, "the biggest issue with 2011 was anxiety" as people waited and waited for the sun to come out and for things to warm up. "Having 70-degree afternoons in July, in California, makes you concerned, to say the least," he pointed out. That said, the vineyards that Kistler works with are on the cold side anyway, and as the wines here have moved decisively away from the opulent style of a decade ago he and co-owner Mark Bixler find that their '11s fit their model quite well. "Tension, texture and clarity" is the goal for their chardonnays, said Kistler. "If you could get your fruit ripe, which is a function of a lot of factors besides just heat, then elegant, balanced wines that have concentration were absolutely possible." Kistler, who has been making wines here since founding the winery in 1978, has embarked on a new venture called Occidental, which will produce pinot noir sourced from his vineyards on the Sonoma Coast in a new winery, near the town of Bodega. The first wines from this venture, which are being sold through the Kistler mailing list, are reviewed in this article as well, under the winery's name. He continues to oversee vineyard work and winemaking at Kistler and will be working with his daughters Catherine and Elizabeth at Occidental.

This is a brilliant set of wines from Steve Kistler and his longtime business partner Mark Bixler. According to Kistler, the cool 2011 vintage had little effect on the Chardonnays, all of which were picked at their levels of ripeness, which as I have written previously, are lower than was the norm up until a few years ago. Sugars were harder to come by in the Pinot Noirs, all of which have lower pHs and a little less ripeness than is typically the case. That may be why the 2011 Pinots were so slow to reveal themselves. All of the 2011s were made with native fermentations and were racked only in preparation for bottling, which was done without fining or filtration. The wines were aged in 50% new oak barrels, mostly from Francois Freres. Readers may be aware that Kistler has been partly owned by an investor group for the last six years. Steve Kistler remains CEO and in charge of day to day operations, but has also begun a new Pinot Noir project, Occidental, which is reviewed separately. Going forward, two of the flagship Kistler Pinots, the Cuvèe Catherine and Cuvèe Elizabeth, will be sold under the Occidental label, so Kistler fans will want to consult those reviews for more information on the wines and the project as a whole. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what Steve Kistler comes up with in the next phase of what has been a brilliant career.

It is always a pleasure to visit with Steve Kistler and his partner Mark Bixler. The 2011s and 2010s are excellent across the board, although today, I have a preference for the 2011s. Vintage 2011 is shaping up beautifully, for both the Chardonnays and Pinots. As was the case throughout the region, the season was cool and slow to develop. The 2011s were picked at lower sugars than is the norm here, but very much in keeping with the personality of the year. Steve Kistler commented that a poor set in 2011 resulted in the lowest crop loads here in years. Like a lot of his colleagues, Kistler noted that the experiences of 2010 had a huge positive impact in how he responded to similar challenges in 2011. The 2010 Chardonnays are beautiful across the board. Although solid, the 2010 Pinots aren't quite at the level of the superb 2009s and I expect, ultimately, the 2011s. It was a tough vintage for the Pinots. Yields were mercilessly low. Sadly, there is no Cuvee Elizabeth, as the little fruit that came in went into the Kistler Vineyard bottling.