Go west!
Occidental: the name evokes the westerly Californian coastal ridges that called to Steve Kistler. These sometimes marginal, fog-shrouded sites are hard work and expensive to manage, but what Steve realised early on in his career is that they can also be responsible for exquisite wine. At his Occidental label, around the bays and grassy headlands near the town of Bodega, he has led the way in opening up the western wine frontier.
Steve is a legend in Californian winemaking. He learned his craft at Ridge Monte Bello, where he absorbed Paul Draper's purist, scientific approach. His winemaking tends to favour minerality over fruit, since 'fruit is transitory'. He prefers heritage clones (grape clones from long-established Californian stock) over fashionable recent French clones which, in his view, become overproductive and too floral in Californian soil. At his Kistler Vineyards label, he spent years producing acclaimed Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
But those extreme coastal ridges were still calling. Steve is no longer involved in Kistler Vineyards, and has thrown himself full-time into Occidental. While the erratic maritime weather, storms and fogs challenge the vineyards, they also provide for slower, more steady ripening and longer hang-time. These help a wine find the structure and minerality that Steve insists is the key to longevity. It's all there in his 2020 Freestone-Occidental Pinot. The complex aromatics encompass floral, fruit and savoury; the palate reveals an impressive, finely chiselled structure. /NT
Offered subject to remaining unsold
