Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Occidental Station Vineyard possesses the energy, precision, and purity of flavor that gives all our Occidental wines
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Vineyard is a more rounded, mouthfilling effort compared to the other cuvees (it also sees a touch of whole cluster) and is medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and layered, with classic notes of forest floor, flowery spice, earth, and sweet black raspberry fruit. It has a wonderful finish, the purity of fruit that's common from this address, and the class to evolve for 10-15 years or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Vineyard is generous, succulent and will be very long lived in the cellar. Italian plum and wild cherry aromas slowly give way to nuances of licorice, lavender, orange peel and exotic spice. Powerful, powdery tannins and electric acidity structure layer after layer of spicy fruit, and it has a long, expressive finish.
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.