2025 Spring Release Newsletter

We are proud to announce the Occidental 2025 Spring Release which includes our five single-vineyard pinot noirs from the 2022 vintage.

2022 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth
2022 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine
2022 SWK Vineyard
2022 Bodega Ridge Vineyard
2022 Occidental Station Vineyard

The weather in 2022 was cooler than normal for most of the growing season. Significant rainfall over the winter months refilled many of the reservoirs in the Freestone-Occidental area. Our vineyards started the season with their soil profiles at full field capacity – a promising start to the growing season.

However, after an early bud break, April and May were especially cold. This poor, blustery weather during flowering resulted in painfully low yields with some blocks producing less than half of their normal crop. Loose, small clusters with plenty of millerandage were the predominant feature across all our vineyard blocks.

The summer months were relatively calm with the usual pattern of fog along the coast - clearing by midday followed by afternoon temperatures in the upper 60s-70s and on rare occasions in the 80s. During this period, our dry farmed vineyards were especially vigorous, and we worked hard to keep up with the fast-growing canopies in order to make sure that there was enough reflected light and air movement through the fruiting zone to keep disease pressure to a minimum.

Even though temperatures remained mild in August for the most part, we did see ripening begin to accelerate by mid-month. This wasn’t surprising since our crop loads were so light – the lightest crop since 2015 – and ripening is driven by tall, healthy canopies.

We began picking our coastal vineyards on August 22 and finished on August 29, a week before the severe heat arrived on September 5 and dramatically changed the tenor of the vintage.

Our 2022 pinot noirs are vibrant, fresh, red-fruited wines with bright acidity and fine tannins. They are very precise wines, with great energy, length, and persistence. They have a strong coastal signature along with alcohols in the classic range of 12.8 – 13.2%.

The 2022 Pinot Noirs: Our brief tasting notes

2022 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Very pretty red raspberry, crushed stone, and rose petal aromatics. Marries tart red fruit flavors with a delicate saline quality. There is harmony between its softer notes (hibiscus, cranberry, rose) and bracing sea salt. This is an elegant, effortlessly balanced wine with a long, mouthwatering finish.

2022 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

A striking nose unlike any other of the Occidental pinot noirs. An array of red and black fruit aromas is accented by violets and blood orange. Underpinning the highly defined fruit flavors is a distinct briny element; there is no mistaking this is a marine-influenced pinot noir. Finishes with great energy and focus – salinity and red berry flavors linger on the palate in a captivating way.

2022 SWK Vineyard

The interplay between lift and intensity defines the 2022 SWK Vineyard. Its brilliant bouquet opens with tiny alpine strawberries, red currants, and crushed flowers before more savory notes of fresh thyme, salt crystals, and sea water appear. Chiseled wild berry flavors build in intensity and unfold in the glass. Pure, precise, piercing.

2022 Bodega Ridge Vineyard

Everything about the 2022 Bodega Ridge shimmers. Ultraviolet ruby in the glass; the hue, aromatics, and palate of the 2022 Bodega Ridge are all hyper-defined in equal proportion. High-pitched aromatics of glossy black raspberry and black cherry are echoed on the palate. A discrete iodine note, like cold brackish water, drives the sleek finish.

2022 Occidental Station Vineyard

A stunning bouquet of purple fruits, cassis, and boysenberry leaps from the glass. Grounded by a gravelly minerality and elevated by a violet floral perfume. Highly detailed on the palate and bursting with purple and dark berry flavors. Silky tannins are enveloped by the fruit. Superb persistence and drive on the finish.

We encourage members to begin enjoying our 2022 pinot noirs soon after they arrive. We find that decanting them an hour or two before service will enhance their compelling primary aromas and flavors. We believe that although they have much to offer soon after release, they will be long-lived wines and will certainly reward extended aging. Over time, these wines will develop complex tertiary flavors and character in bottle and will age gracefully for two decades.

Looking Back

It wasn’t until we started to pick our vineyards at the early edge of ripeness that we began to fully appreciate just how different the wines from our coastal vineyards could be from each other. Even more impressive is that within each vineyard, the expression of one block can be so wildly different from that of another. Take Running Fence Vineyard for instance. Some blocks are typically more red-fruited while others more purple-fruited. Some have pretty red floral tones, alpine strawberry, blood orange zest, while some have a violet flower, neon-purple hue. Some show more base notes (savory, mushroom, umami), while others are more minerally and soil-driven (wet stones). Some are distinctly briny, salty, or iodiney. Some expressions jump from the fermenter after only a few days of fermentation, while others develop more slowly with time in barrel.

Deciding the best time to pick each block is one of the most important decisions we make all year. In 2012, we set up a small trial to compare the wines produced from different picking dates. We divided a block of Bodega Headlands into two sections and picked one half at the early edge of ripeness and the other half 10-14 days later with riper fruit and several degrees more sugar. Both lots were fermented separately and then aged in one year old Francois Freres barrels for twelve months.

During barrel aging, we tasted the two wines blind on multiple occasions and always preferred the early-picked wine. For us, it was brighter, more expressive, and had a stronger coastal signature. The extra ripeness and alcohol in the later picked wine was more of a distraction than anything else.

Today we are continuing to refine our farming and winemaking to produce pinot noirs that are as unmistakably coastal in character as possible. Meticulous care in the vineyard is bringing our fruit to maturity earlier than we ever thought possible, and earlier than many of the vineyards in the Freestone-Occidental area. This will be a great advantage when we begin to farm our newest property which is a colder site closer to the ocean.

Looking Forward

In December, we bottled our 2023 pinot noirs, including magnums of Running Fence Vineyard Cuvee Catherine and Bodega Ridge Vineyard – truly electric wines with the lowest pHs since 2016 and alcohols of 13.0 – 13.5%.

Our 2024 pinot noirs are now resting safely in barrel over the winter. Ideal conditions during flowering led to healthy crop levels in 2024, a rare sight indeed. We enjoyed a long picking window with temperatures moderating just as our vineyards reached the optimum level of maturity. These are bright, crystalline pinot noirs with alcohols of 13%. We find our 2024s exciting in every way and are looking forward to seeing how these wines develop in the months to come.

We are making good progress in developing our newest property on a ridge west of the town of Bodega, just two miles from the ocean. In 2024, the first eight acres were planted, and the remaining acres were ripped, laid out, and staked. These blocks will be planted in March-April of this year.

Your Allocation

Allocations are based on your length of time on our list, purchase history, and the production level of each wine.

The Occidental pinot noirs are offered on a first-come basis, which likely means that the release will proceed at a fast pace. Once again, we have been conservative with our initial allocations to give all members an opportunity to purchase our wines. If you wish to purchase additional bottles, please make a Wish Request. We will grant as many requests as possible at the end of the release.

In this release, we will be offering a small number of magnums of 2022 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine and 2022 Bodega Ridge Vineyard. These magnums will be Wish Request Only for all members.

Please take a moment to review and update your personal information before the release starts. If you have any questions, please contact us by phone 707-827-1655 or email info@occidentalwines.com. We will be happy to assist you with your order or any special requests.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year. We appreciate your support of our family winery.

Steve, Catherine, Cassie, and Elizabeth