Occidental Pinot Noir, Freestone-Occidental | 2022

In 2011, beloved winemaker, Steve Kistler, founded his new family winery, 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 always the Kistler Pinot Noirs, to me, which were supreme. A blend of vineyards from the Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge, the Freestone-Occidental bottling shares the same winemaking techniques as the vineyard-designate wines. In the glass, the wine is pristine with wild berry fruits, crunchy flowers, and black tea spice. Moderate in alcohol, the quality of fruit is not a degree above ripe on the palate lifted by crystal-like minerality and Sonoma-Esque foggy earth. Easily one of the best American Pinot Noirs, your choice doesn't have to be Burgundy, when it's Steve Kistler. ~Allegra A