Winemaker Description
Bethel Heights' Pinot Noir Estate is always the best place to start when evaluating their growing season and winemaking intent in any given vintage. It incorporates nearly all sections of their three estate vineyards in various amounts, and as such provides an honest evaluation of the year.
The 2022 Estate Pinot Noir reflects the multifaceted nature of the vintage: the abundance of fruit, the acidity from a relatively cool growing season, and the effusive fruit from harvesting in the warmest October on record. Blending the Estate is often their most difficult task because it is their largest bottling each vintage, and thus spans nearly 214 barrels. They approach this wine like they do their others, with the singular goal to make the best, most transparent wine they can.
Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022
Decanter Magazine 94 Points |A delightful wine that punches so far above its price point. Black tea aromatics are married to freshly churned topsoil, dried lavender and sun-baked blackberries. The palate is distinguished in this well-priced wine. Chinese five spice, black tea and white pepper make room for ripe black bramble fruits and red plum skin. This wine is distinguished and complex, so refreshing to see such deference paid to a wine priced under $40.
Vinous Media 93 Points |More savory than sweet, the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate wafts up from the glass with a blend of shaved cedar, rose, ground cloves and dried black cherries. This is lifted and refined with juicy acidity and crisp red fruits, taking on a crunchy, tart cranberry concentration toward the close. Well-formed tannins frame the finish as violet inner florals resonate throughout. This is not only a spectacular entry point to the Bethel Heights style, it's also a fantastic value.
James Suckling 93 Points | Bright cherries, raspberries, orange peel and rose hips on the nose. Some walnuts. Racy and vibrant on the palate with a medium body and vivid, electrifying acidity. Refreshing, minty undertones at the end. (2022).
Robert Parker 93 Points | The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate is bursting with strawberry, raspberry and orange peel aromas, and with time it reveals touches of cinnamon, bitters and wildflowers. The light-bodied palate is finely astringent and refreshing with complex, bitters-laced flavors and a long, spicy finish.
Wine Spectator 92 Points | Taut and vibrant, with a steely core of acidity and tannins that drives the flavors of raspberry, cranberry and dusky spices toward the firm finish. (2022).
Wine Enthusiast 91 Points | What an impressive Pinot Noir value. The wine has a ripe black-cherry aroma to go along with a wisp of loamy soil. The fruit flavors are a mix of dark raspberry, tart and tangy cranberry and orange zest. The wine feels rich and full on the palate, with sturdy tannins. (2022).