Kistler Cuvée Natalie Pinot Noir 2021

Kistler Cuvée Natalie is a Pinot Noir from AVA Sonoma Valley, made by the winery Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler established in 1978. Kistler built its reputation on a Burgundian approach to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, working site by site to make wines of restraint rather than weight. Sonoma Valley draws cooling fog and air off San Pablo Bay, and the long, even ripening that follows lets the grapes hold acidity while flavour develops, the freshness that marks a classic, savoury style of Pinot over a jammy one. The wine is aged 12 months in French oak, a measured regime that softens tannin and adds a light vanilla and toast frame through gentle oxygen exchange without covering the fruit. The colour is bright ruby. The nose leads with red cherry and small red berries over rose petal, with an earthy, undergrowth note and sweet spice from the wood. The palate is medium-bodied, the tannins fine and silky, the acidity keeping it fresh through a long finish. Serve at 14 to 16 degrees in a wide glass, with roast duck, herb-roasted chicken or mushroom dishes.