2019 Occidental Pinot Noir Occidental Station Cuvée Catherine

The 2019 Pinot Noir Running Fence Vineyard Cuvee Catherine has a more grounded nature. with a darker profile of five-spice, incense, and red plum. The palate is mineral-rich, with salty earth, ripe cherry, and an umami richness of dried shitake. A compelling wine, I only wish I had more time to watch it unfold. Drink 2024-2037. The estate of Steve Kistler and his family in the Bodega Headlands, Occidental is exclusively devoted to the production of coastally influenced Pinot Noir. Kistler was initially drawn to the area after tasting a bottling of Summa Vineyard that expressed a vivid and more cool climate style. Though Occidental was officially founded in 2011, Steve has been planting vineyards and purchasing property in the area since the 1990s and has retained his original cellar team from the past 30 years. His daughter, Catherine Kistler, has been the assistant winemaker since 2017. They are members of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association, which was approved as the newest AVA of Sonoma in May of this year.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine is a taut, finely-sculpted wine. Blood orange, chalk, mint, white pepper and crushed raspberry give the Cuvée Catherine its distinctive aromatic signatures and brightness. The 2019 will need a few years in bottle to fully come together, as is pretty tense at this stage. All the elements are very nicely woven together. Even in the early going, it’s a stunner, a statuesque wine of the highest level.

The 2019 Occidental Pinot Noir Running Fence Vineyard Cuvée Catherine is every bit as magnificent as it has always been. Soft, plush contours wrap around a core of dark-toned fruit in a ravishing, deep Pinot endowed with tons of character. The Cuvée Catherine, from the Kistler family’s vineyards in Bodega, captures the magic of the West Sonoma Coast, namely the ability to deliver intense fruit richness and flavor are relatively modest alcohol levels. What a wine!