2014 Pinot Noir Bodega Headlands Cuvée Elizabeth

For the second act in his brilliant and distinguished career, Kistler is choosing to work with coastal Pinot sites that achieve full ripeness at lower sugars than those in the Russian River Valley and other parts of Sonoma. For now, there are four wines in the range, although Kistler told me he expects to add at least two more vineyard designates in the coming years. Kistler's Occidental Pinot Noirs are off the charts in 2015. The low yields of the vintage produced deep, penetrating Pinots buffered by high acidity and bright, saline notes that keep the flavors fresh and vibrant. Kistler started experimenting with whole clusters in 2015 and subsequently increased the percentage of stems in 2016. Equally impressive, the bottled Occidental 2014s capture every bit of potential I saw when I tasted them from tank prior to bottling. Readers who have not tasted these wines yet owe it to themselves to do so. These are some of the most riveting, profound Pinot being made in California, or anywhere, for that matter.

A detour to Steve Kistler's new Occidental winery and Bodega Headlands vineyard was a welcome break after a full day of tastings. The new, small winemaking facility is now operational, while ambitious vineyard development continues. As always, a maniacal attention to detail underpins everything that happens at Occidental, and Kistler, for that matter. There are now four wines in the Occidental range; a vineyard designate from Occidental Station, two vineyard wines from Bodega Headlands (Cuvée Elizabeth and SWK) and a Sonoma Coast bottling. All of the sites have been chosen for their ability to achieve full ripeness at lower sugar levels, which is one of the basic concepts that underpins Occidental.