Mission Codename Cellar Stocker #8
Cellar Stocker: Cult Wines Beyond Napa Edition Continues…
And now, back to Pinot Noir, for another extreme value… given the cult name behind it.
By all reasonable measure, you could call this a “baby Kistler” on steroids.
It’s made by the man himself, Steve Kistler, the Jedi Pinot Master, with the same obsessive attention to detail as to his other Occidental jewels, the flagship label he’s focused on these days. And like all his wines, it pulls huge scores year in, year out.
There’s the one big, MASSIVE difference with this - the price. Actually, make that OUR price. A third OFF to be exact. No scores yet but the last three vintages racked up huge points every single time. No reason to think this will diverge from that trend.
But we should mention up front - very, VERY little to go around so get your speed reading on cause what little we have is already moving fast and running low like a Dachshund race.
The best news? No ratings on this stellar 2020 yet, so you can STEAL some.
We’ll leave you with recent superlatives from Antonio Galloni’s Vinous: “This is a stunning set of wines from Steve and Catherine Kistler. The 2019s are more than worthy follow-ups to the stellar 2018s… 2019 was only the second year Steve Kistler was able to focus entirely on Occidental following his gradual retirement from Kistler Vineyards… I have followed Occidental since the very beginning and had an opportunity to both taste and drink these wines on numerous occasions since then, often in the company of the established benchmarks for Pinot Noir. These are very, very special wines.”
What the Winery Says
2020 'Freestone-Occidental' Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
- Winemaker
- Steve Kistler
- Varietal
- Pinot Noir
- Vintage
- 2020
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
- Appellation
- Sonoma Coast
- Vineyards
- Bodega Headlands & Bodega Ridge
- Orientation
- West/Southwest
- Soils
- Goldridge, sandy loam over marine sediment & fossils
- Yields
- 1.5 tons/acre
- Aging
- 12 months
- Barrels
- 30% new French oak