- Certified Sustainable
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Occidental Station Vineyard was planted in 1998 by Steve Kistler
- North/South orientation
- Goldridge, iron-rich sandstone soils mixed with stony pebbles
- Hand-harvested at night
- Hand-sorted as clusters before completely destemming
- Each vineyard block is fermented separately in 2-4 ton fermenters
- Not cold-soaked prior to fermentation
- Native yeast fermentation
- Punch downs are used only as needed to distribute the heat of fermentation, ensuring a gentle extraction
- After fermentation is complete, the tanks are drained and only the free-run wine is transferred by gravity to Francois Freres barrels (25% new) to age 11 months
- Native malolactic fermentations
- Bottled unfined and unfiltered with a minimum level of SO2 (~50 ppm)
- 13.3% abv
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2022
Country:
United States
Region:
California
Appellation:
West Sonoma Coast
Variety:
Pinot Noir
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Sustainable
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | US-OCC-43-22 | 12/750ml |
Resources
Press & Reviews
Vinous
Score
96
Date
2025-01-30
"The 2022 Pinot Noir Occidental Station is the most overt of the Pinots in this lineup. Plush, deep layers shape the wine's frame. Wild cherry, cedar and pipe tobacco all meld together in a supple, creamy Pinot that is already absolutely delicious and ready to go. Time in the glass softens the contours nicely as the 2022 starts to blossom with air. Hints of blood orange, mint and cinnamon linger."
Wine Advocate
Score
96+
Date
2025-01-16
"The 2022 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Vineyard bursts from the glass with intense aromas of cranberry sauce, black raspberry, blood orange, iodine and mushrooms, becoming increasingly nuanced as it airs in the glass. The palate features powerful layers of crunchy fruit matched by vibrant acidity. It's structured by finely astringent tannins reminiscent of black tea and has a very long, layered finish. It will be long lived in the cellar."
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
2024-02-28
"This is super sleek in feel, with beautiful hibiscus, damson plum and black cherry puree notes that race through, flanked with a mouthwatering rooibos tea note and backed by a long minerally echo on the finish. A very pure, precise wine. Drink now through 2033. —J.M."
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2021
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
98
Date
2024-06-28
"The magenta-hued 2021 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Vineyard is ripe with notes of black raspberries, fresh violets, dark spices, and sweet herbs. It reveals a good deal of structure and has rich extract while retaining plenty of fresh acidity. Offering a deeper mineral profile of graphite and dark stones as well as a hint of warming earth spice, it's long and persistent and is going to show its best if cellared another several years. Drink 2026-2046."
2021
Decanter
Score
94
Date
2024-08-07
"From bottle #OC1880, the Occidental Station is on a 30-year lease, and they've been working with it since it was planted in 1998. Fleshy raspberries make way for gravelly, dusty, and ripe strawberries with aged balsamic. Loads of sweet red and black raspberries, dried herbs and gravelly dust mark the palate. Fleshy, fruit-forward and ripe, but maintaining the elegance of the Occidental house style."
2021
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
2024-02-28
"This is super sleek in feel, with beautiful hibiscus, damson plum and black cherry puree notes that race through, flanked with a mouthwatering rooibos tea note and backed by a long minerally echo on the finish. A very pure, precise wine. Drink now through 2033. —J.M."
2020
Wine Advocate
Score
97
Date
2023-06-15
2019
Wine Advocate
Score
98
Date
2022-07-14
2019
Vinous
Score
97
Date
2022-01-01