Occidental Retrospective 2011 - 2023

2011 Vintage

Both Occidental pinot noirs were made at the Kistler Vineyards winery north of Sebastopol. Bodega Headlands was picked the first week in October, the latest harvest in forty years until 2023.

2011 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Ruby red to the rim. High toned red fruits, bright acidity, precise saline finish. Its secondary aromatics are just beginning to emerge. An impressive wine which has not reached its peak. Will drink well for years to come.

2011 Occidental Station Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

More dark fruited than the 2011 Cuvée Elizabeth, with some secondary characteristics developing. Combines both florality and spice notes in equal measure. Sweet seamless finish. Enjoyable now, and will drink well over the next five years or so.

2012 Vintage

Last Occidental pinot noirs made at the Kistler Vineyards winery. After the 2011 harvest, Kistler purchased new sorting equipment that enabled us to first sort the fruit as clusters and then as individual berries. The first vintage of SWK Vineyard pinot noir was produced in 2012.

2012 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Beautiful ruby red color to the rim. Lots of fresh acidity and spicy floral lift. Complex red and purple fruits supported by a firm mineral backbone. Beginning to reach a very attractive place and will drink well for years to come.

2012 SWK Vineyard

Bright red to the rim. A finely- etched, complex, mineral-rich wine that has begun to develop very pleasing secondary aromatics. The palate is beautifully balanced with just the right amount of tension and salinity on the finish. Beginning to reach a very attractive place and will drink well for years to come.

2012 Occidental Station Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

In a time capsule and still a very primary wine. Expressive aromatics. Brimming with layers of deep purple fruit and graphite. Persistent finish. Certain to have a long life ahead.

2013 Vintage

First pinot noirs made at Occidental’s new state-of-the-art winery on Bodega Highway, just five miles from the coast in the heart of the Running Fence/Bodega Ridge Vineyard.

2013 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Striking red hue to the rim. Very high toned primary red fruits, sour cherries, griottes. Focused like a laser with incredible precision. Full of nuance and detail. Has not yet reached its peak. Will drink well for years to come.

2013 SWK Vineyard

Deep red color to the rim. More soil-driven and earthier than the 2013 Cuvée Elizabeth. Just starting to develop interesting secondary flavors. Firm mineral backbone and linear structure. Enjoyable now but still has not reached its peak. Very impressive wine.

2013 Occidental Station Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

Purple to the rim. Sweet blackberry and boysenberry fruit tinged with iron and graphite. Well balanced for such an intense and concentrated wine with plenty of energy and fine-grained tannins. Enjoyable now and will drink well for years to come.

2014 Vintage

The 2014 pinot noirs have much in common with the 2013s but are generally more savory and broad-shouldered. At ten years old, they are impressive wines that will need more time to reach their peak than the 2013s. Patience will be rewarded.

2014 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Saturated ruby red to the rim. Rhubarb and cranberry fruits but darker toned than the 2013 Cuvée Elizabeth. Savory, irony, and more muscular. Its intense strawberry and raspberry flavors struck through with minerality. Enjoyable now, especially if opened an hour or two before serving. Will drink well for many years to come.

2014 SWK Vineyard

Ruby red hue to the rim. Has started to develop striking soil driven aromatics. Fresh red currants, red raspberry. Still tightly wound. Piercing minerality. A very impressive wine that is enjoyable now, especially if opened an hour or two before serving. Will drink well for many years to come.

2014 Occidental Station Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

Purple-tinged ruby color to the rim. Very purple fruited and primary with a lifted violet perfume and endless finish. Enjoyable now, especially if opened an hour or two before serving. Will drink well for many years to come.

2015 Vintage

Final year of severe drought in California. Incredibly small berries and tiny yields. Earliest harvest to date for our coastal vineyards. Our 2015 pinot noirs are tightly wound wines with low pHs, high acidities, and loads of extract. Both the Cuvée Elizabeth and SWK Vineyard wines will benefit from being stood upright for an extra day or two before opening due to the sediment that has formed.

2015 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Full red to the rim. Lots of high-toned red fruits and soil tones. Still lots of upfront acidity and fine-grained tannins that need to resolve. Prettier than the 2015 SWK Vineyard and more precocious. More approachable today if decanted an hour or two before serving and will drink well for years to come.

2015 SWK Vineyard

Dark red to the rim. Still a very primary, red-fruited wine with some savory tones beginning to emerge. With decanting, it becomes even redder and saltier, and seems to add a little weight and flesh to its bones. Will need more time to reach its peak than the Cuvée Elizabeth.

2015 Occidental Station Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

Bright purple to the rim. Vivid aromatics. Cassis, graphite, crushed stone. Still very primary. Long, persistent finish. Enjoyable now, especially if decanted and hour or two before serving and will drink well for years to come.

2016 Vintage

Crystalline, red-fruited wines that were picked at the early edge of ripeness and carry a strong coastal signature. At eight years old, they remain very primary wines that are just beginning to open and enter the next phase of their evolution. The 2016s show much promise and we look forward to seeing them develop over the coming years. Patience will be rewarded. 2016 was the first vintage of Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine.

2016 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Bright ruby hue. Chiseled red fruits, red raspberry. Shining, precise, a laser beam of red fruits with a salty edge. A hint of some savory aromatics beginning to peek through. Very young and years from reaching its peak.

2016 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

Gem-like ruby to the rim. Blood orange, cold sea water, red and black fruits are electric and just beginning to unfold. Great energy and length. Very promising wine in need of time.

2016 SWK Vineyard

Full ruby red color to the rim. Slightly more savory than floral with soil driven minerally tones and chiseled red fruits. Incredible lift and precision. Very promising wine in need of time.

2016 Occidental Station Vineyard

Beautiful red hue to the rim. Redder than the 2013, 2014, or 2015 vintages. Blood orange and Campari character, bright acidity and fine-grained tannins. The most approachable of our 2016 pinot noirs today, especially if decanted an hour or two before serving. Will drink well for years to come.

2017 Vintage

The final year Steve Kistler split his duties between Occidental and Kistler Vineyards, where he remained CEO and directed all the farming and winemaking activity. This was the first year that Catherine began working full-time at Occidental.

2017 Bodega Headlands Vineyard Cuvée Elizabeth

Full red color. Attractive, high toned red fruits with a saline element that emerges with time. More floral and pretty than the SWK Vineyard, with plenty of energy and fine-grained tannins. The most approachable of the 2017 pinot noirs, especially if decanted an hour or two before serving. Will drink well for years to come.

2017 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine

Beautiful ruby/purple color. Striking aromatics of red and purple fruits. Also savory, shiitake mushroom, iodine, sea water. A singular wine with fine-grained tannins and bright acidity in perfect balance. Enjoyable now, especially if decanted an hour or two before serving and will drink well for years to come.

2017 SWK Vineyard

Full red color. Chiseled red and black fruits, equal parts floral and savory. Lots of structure and fine tannins beginning to unfold. Salty, low pH, marine influenced. An impressive wine that needs more time.

2017 Occidental Station Vineyard

Bright purple color. Striking aromatics, intense purple and red fruits. Bright acidity and fine-grained tannins. More muscular than the 2016 vintage and will need more time to reach its peak. Enjoyable now, especially if decanted and will drink well for years to come.

2018 Vintage

In 2018, Steve Kistler finally stepped away from Kistler Vineyards and was able to focus all his attention on farming the Occidental vineyards and making the Occidental pinot noirs. He is so happy to be making wine again on a small scale and to be working alongside Catherine and the rest of the Occidental team each day. There is nothing he would rather do.

The 2018 pinot noirs are crystalline, red fruited wines that have a strong marine influence. There is no mistaking where these wines were grown. The 2018s feature an incredible purity, precision, and high-toned character. They have great concentration but no impression of weight. The Cuvée Elizabeth and SWK Vineyard are early standouts. At six years old, the 2018s are evolving at a glacial pace and promise to be very long-lived wines.

2019 Vintage

The 2018 and 2019 Occidental pinot noirs are the best back-to-back vintages we have produced to date. The 2019s have much in common with the 2018s. Both vintages are wonderfully transparent and complex on the nose, with palates that emphasize purity, finesse, and a satisfying degree of edginess and tension. 2019 was the first vintage of Bodega Ridge Vineyard produced.

While the 2018s will need patience and are developing slowly, the 2019s have always had a bit more exuberance and flesh on their bones, which will make them even more approachable and hard to resist as young wines. The 2019 Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine is a knockout. If decanted, the 2019s are certainly enjoyable now but will only get better with time.

2020 Vintage

We are proud of our 2020 pinot noirs. They are very precise, red-fruited wines with a bright, floral, lifted character. Vibrant raspberry and wild strawberry with a discreet salty edge. Still very fresh, primary wines that continue to put on weight with more time in bottle. Enjoyable now if decanted an hour or two before serving and will drink well for years to come.

2022 Vintage

Impressive wines in the tradition of 2018 and 2021 vintages. Vivid, red-fruited wines with a chiseled character and plenty of energy. Intense yet amazingly focused with superb persistence and drive on the finish. Picked at the early edge of ripeness. Alcohols are 13% or under. Very transparent expressions of site; there is no mistaking that these pinot noirs were grown close to the ocean.

2023 Vintage

The 2023 pinot noirs are now resting safely in barrel for winter, with malolactic fermentations just beginning. An unusually cool extended growing season has produced a remarkable vintage of pinot noirs. They are electric wines with bright beams of flavor and plenty of marine influence. We cannot wait to see how these wines develop in the months ahead. Alcohols are in the classic range, 13-13.5%.