Occidental Pinot Noir, Freestone-Occidental | 2023

In 2011, winemaker Steve Kistler founded Occidental. His mission was simple — create world-class Pinot Noir in Sonoma’s Freestone-Occidental area. Renowned for his opulent and age-worthy Kistler Chardonnays, it was the Kistler Pinot Noirs, to me, which were supreme. Now, Catherine, his daughter who joined the winery in 2017, is leveling up the vision of, “Intensity without weight.” The 2023 Freestone-Occidental is a blend of vineyards from the Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge sites and shares the same winemaking philosophy as the pricier vineyard-designate wines: fully destemmed fruit, tiny pristine berries that look like “caviar,” no cold soak, ever gentle macerations, and aging in François Frères barrels. In the glass, you have a Pinot which supersedes purity. Perfectly California ripe, crunchy flowers and black tea spices glide along, followed by those long, cold breaths of salt-lick foggy air. Easily one of the most delicious expressions of Pinot Noir under $100, your choice doesn't have to be Burgundy when it’s Catherine Kistler. ~Allegra Angelo