2018 Head High Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is sold out.

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Pinot Steal from Top Sonoma Vineyards

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  • 92 pts Decanter
    92 pts Decanter
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2018 Head High Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

From Sonoma Terroir That Has Winemakers Lining Up

The 2018 Head High is the latest in legendary Sonoma vintner Bill Price’s string of spare-no-expense Pinot Noir ventures from the region’s top vineyards. Bill’s famed résumé includes leading icons like Kosta Browne, Gary Farrell, and Three Sticks—stellar Sonoma estates with prices to match.

If you find Gap’s Crown or Durell Vineyard on a label, chances are the wine's at least triple the price as Head High. The primary sources for this wine attract a who’s who of Sonoma’s biggest Pinot players, all eager to get their hands on top-tier Pinot Noir. Kosta Browne’s Gap’s Crown bottling has gone for $151, and Sojourn’s for $97. Three Sticks, Patz & Hall, and Ram’s Gate have harnessed the same terroir, all to the tune of more than $60 per bottle. 

That makes our price on Head High a load-up-the-cellar deal.

Those sites come together in a vibrant, elegant, ruby-cored classic, funneling cool Sonoma Coast terroir into its cornucopia of Bing cherry, eucalyptus, mint, and cola nut aromas, and the alluring fruit and spice notes that come across on the palate. In their 92-point review, Decanter lauded Head High’s “really quaffable style,” calling it “a delicious wine.” Jeb Dunnuck echoed the sentiment, saying the Head High has “plenty of charm.”

For Sonoma Pinot, it doesn’t get much better than the Gap’s Crown and Durell Vineyards. Gap’s Crown is a veritable Eden for Pinot Noir, with vines sitting above the fog line, slowly ripening in the steady sunlight while developing mouthwatering acidity from the maritime influence. Durell Vineyard, in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, enjoys cooling fog and rich volcanic soils, evoking complex aromatics and a backbone of spicy earth notes. Head High rounds out the wine with grapes from the sustainably farmed Deodora Vineyard along the Sonoma Coast. 

The long, moderate ripening season in 2018—which Wine Spectator called “an ideal year” for Sonoma—gave these grapes picture-perfect conditions to develop ample structure and an excellent balance of ripe fruit and bright acidity. Six months in 35% new oak added a touch of warmth while allowing the Pinot’s red fruit to shine.