0

2013 Occidental, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California, USA

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Medium Bodied
  • Pinot Noir
Ready - mature
Jancis Robinson MW
16.5/20
Antonio Galloni
93/100
Product: 20138107446
2013 Occidental, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, California, USA

Description

Occidental’s 2013 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) is a superb appellation-level wine that approaches the quality found in the vineyard designate bottlings. Sweet, perfumed aromatics and bright, chiseled fruit are two of the signatures in a Pinot endowed with a striking interplay of energy and finesse. The Sonoma Coast Pinot is the hidden gem in the Occidental range.

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (February 2016)

Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2013
Maturity Ready - mature
Grape List Pinot Noir
Body Medium Bodied
Producer Occidental

Critics reviews

Jancis Robinson MW 16.5/20
Pale cherry red. Very pale rim. Savoury/vegy nose. A little smudgy on the nose. Marked acidity and fruit reminiscent of red hard candy/Spangles. A little simple and lightly sweaty but quite pretty. jancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2017)
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (Feb 2017)
Antonio Galloni 93/100
Occidental’s 2013 Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast) is a superb appellation-level wine that approaches the quality found in the vineyard designate bottlings. Sweet, perfumed aromatics and bright, chiseled fruit are two of the signatures in a Pinot endowed with a striking interplay of energy and finesse. The Sonoma Coast Pinot is the hidden gem in the Occidental range.A detour to Steve Kistler's new Occidental winery and Bodega Headlands vineyard was a welcome break after a full day of tastings. The new, small winemaking facility is now operational, while ambitious vineyard development continues. As always, a maniacal attention to detail underpins everything that happens at Occidental, and Kistler, for that matter. There are now four wines in the Occidental range; a vineyard designate from Occidental Station, two vineyard wines from Bodega Headlands (Cuvée Elizabeth and SWK) and a Sonoma Coast bottling. All of the sites have been chosen for their ability to achieve full ripeness at lower sugar levels, which is one of the basic concepts that underpins Occidental.antonio_galloni, Vinous.com.com (February 2016)
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (Feb 2016)

About this wine

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Find out more

Occidental

Occidental is dedicated exclusively to the production of world class Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast.  The state-of-the-art winery is just east of the town of Bodega on a ridge top, next to the Bodega Headlands Vineyard, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Following a hugely successful career at eponymous winery Kistler, Occidental is very much Steve Kistler’s family led project to make the best Pinots California has to offer. The Occidental Station vineyard lies 15 miles further inland than the estate’s other vineyards. It was planted in 1998 by Steve Kistler, who has farmed the plot himself every year thereafter. It is the one wine in the range that is from a completely different ridge, on a site that is picked two weeks earlier than everywhere else. It is therefore a riper style yet one that is still undeniably ‘Occidental’. The Freestone-Occidental Pinot noir includes a blend of fruit from Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge vineyards. It also shares the same winemaking techniques as the vineyard-designated Pinot, the only difference being that the provenance is wider.
Find out more

Need help?

Delivery and Quality Guarantee