Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A more brooding and dark profile emerges in the 2021 Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge, revealing notes of black cherry, resinous pine sap, and freshly toasted sage. Full-bodied, with ripe tannins, blackberry, violets, and crushed gravelly earth. It has more warmth and a grounding nature, but it’s not weighted down. It displays superb balance between power and finesse and will benefit from another year or so in the cellar. Drink it over the next 15 or more years.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard is classy and elegant. Silky tannins and sweet, floral top notes convey palpable finesse. Medium in body and yet packed with flavor, the Occidental Ridge is once again one of the best and most complete wines in the range. Dark red-toned fruit, blood orange, cinnamon and cedar are some of the many notes that emerge in the glass. Clean mineral notes wrap it all up in style.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.