93pts Vinous

The 2024 Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental is fabulous. Brisk and energetic, the 2024 is so expressive in the early going. Crushed red berry fruit, blood orange, spice and pomegranate are some of the tones that run through this beautifully translucent Pinot. Pretty floral top notes and brisk saline accents extend the clean, bracing finish. The stars clearly aligned for this wine in a vintage that was both high in quality and bountiful.

93pts Wine Spectator

This of- fers a nice sense of pitch, with its inner brightness driv- ing an ebullient mix of hibiscus, iris, boysenberry and mulberry along, while steady, persistent juiciness un- derscores the finish.

Winemaker Notes

Aromatically the wine is red-fruit forward, with notes of brambly, barely ripe raspberries as well as damp earth and a hint of fresh herbs. On the palate, the wine is full of finesse with a combination of red and blue fruits, as well as a minerally finish.

About the Wine

The Freestone-Occidental pinot noir includes a blend of fruit from our Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge vineyards. It also shares the same winemaking techniques as our vineyard-designated pinot noirs. All our pinot noirs are fermented with native yeasts and native Malo-Lactic bacteria.

This bottling expresses the same energy, precision, and purity of flavor that gives all of Occidental’s wines lift and perfume, along with the deeper soil tones that contribute to its complexity. Made entirely from free-run juice, it is delicious now and will develop nicely in bottle. Currently available in restaurants and selected retail stores.

About the Winery

Occidental is Steve Kistler’s pinot noir project with a singular focus – to make world-class pinot noir from unique sites on the headlands in the Freestone-Occidental area. Since the early 1990s, Steve Kistler has believed that the climate and soils on the uplifted marine terraces and ridges around the town of Bodega would be ideal for growing distinctive and Burgundian-style pinot noir. Steve founded Occidental as a small, family brand in 2011, and built a state-of-the-art winery just east of the town of Bodega overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He now works alongside his eldest daughter, Catherine.

The Occidental vineyards represent the western edge of where pinot noir can be successfully grown in California. Steve and his team at Occidental now farm 85 acres of pinot noir vineyards in the Freestone-Occidental area with great skill and commitment.

The Occidental pinot noirs are crystalline wines with vivid aromatics and intense red-fruit flavors. They have a wonderfully chiseled quality, layered with savory and mineral character.