2015 Occidental Station Cuvee Catherine Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The most inland vineyard, the 2015 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Cuvee Catherine sports a medium ruby-purple color and wonderfully floral nose with notions of red roses, lavender and lilacs over a core of cranberries, Bing cherries and rhubarb plus touches of tilled soil, sage and mossy bark. Medium-bodied and possessing bags of finesse in the mouth, the palate features incredible freshness off-setting the bold fruit with a firm yet finely grained texture and amazing length.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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A wine that flirts with perfection is the 2015 Pinot Noir Cuvée Catherine. From a site off Occidental Road, closer to 116, and aged in roughly 25% new French oak (there was also a touch of stems used), it offers a heavenly bouquet of perfectly ripe black raspberry fruit, loads of spring flowers, spice, and crushed violets, medium to full body, ultra-fine tannin, and remarkable elegance and purity. Incredibly complete, with sensational aromatics that are backed up a fresh yet also layered, rich, and multi-dimensional mouthfeel, it's a monumental Pinot Noir that will benefit from short-term cellaring. Occidental Wines is the new project of Steve Kistler focusing on two sites located south of the town of Occidental, in the Bodega Headlands. These are higher elevation sites not far off the Pacific Ocean that were first planted early in the 2000s all to Pinot Noir. Despite the cooler climate nature of the sites, these are rich, powerful wines that have incredible aromatics and seamless, silky textures. These are undeniably some of the top wines in this report.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Cuvée Catherine is just as seductive from bottle as it was from tank just prior to bottling. At times delicate, while in other moments much darker and more imposing, the Cuvée Catherine is a wine of myriad contrasts. The exquisite aromatics alone are compelling, but it is the wine's overall balance and completeness that stand out most. This riveting, multi-faceted Pinot will offer fabulous drinking for many years. I can't wait to see how it develops in bottle.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Occidental Station Cuvée Catherine opens with the most exquisite perfume imaginable. Exotic and soaring in the glass, the 2015 possesses plenty of mid-palate depth to play off the aromatics. Layers of rich, textured fruit build to the intense, breathtaking finish. This remarkably vivid, pedigreed Pinot Noir simply has it all. What a wine.
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.