2016 Occidental Station Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The purity of the 2019 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Vineyard evokes the resonating tone of a tuning fork and offers the same satisfaction every time I open a bottle. On the nose, a well of dark red fruit is complemented by pure, detailed accents of licorice, lavender, bergamot, tea leaves and iron. The light-bodied palate is tremendously concentrated for its slender frame—vertical acidity and powdery tannins are knit into luxurious waves of spicy, floral fruit. It finishes with an impressive flourish of iron and spice and will be very long lived in the cellar. (EB)
Critic scores
The Wine Advocate
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
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. It’s impressively youthful and will continue to evolve positively in bottle over the next 15 years or more.
The 2021 Pinot Noir Occidental Station is a total knockout. Wild, deep and exotic to the core, the 2021 is immediately captivating. Soaring aromatics meld into dark red/purplish fruit, orange peel, spice, menthol, cedar and blood orange. A wine of striking depth and mind-blowing beauty, the 2021 is, quite simply, magnificent. The Occidental Station is the one Pinot in this range that does not come from the Occidental property, but rather a site under long term lease. It is endowed with tremendous immediacy, therefore offering a bit more fruit exuberance and succulence than the Pinots from the Occidental Estate. (AG)
The 2019 Pinot Noir Occidental Station is the most overt of these wines. Explosive red berry fruit, blood orange, mint, sage and rose petal soar out of the glass. Soft and pliant for a young Occidental Pinot, the Occidental Station will drink well with just a few years in bottle. There is plenty of energy and vibrancy, but the Occidental Station is a bit showier than the other wines in the range. Silky contours lend raciness and yet there is plenty of mineral brightness lurking beneath. The 2019 is a real charmer, that much is clear. (AG)
About the producer
Steve Kistler is a man who needs little introduction. He founded, and – for almost 40 years – made the wines at, Kistler. Since leaving his eponymous estate in 2017, Kistler has been focused exclusively on Occidental, his new, family winery on the outer edges of the Sonoma Coast.