The name tells you: Occidental is about as far west as you can go in Sonoma without falling off. Think full ripeness, but at lower sugar levels. This is Steve Kistler’s new project, and it’s Pinot made with the same fanaticism and intensity as his namesake label. The 2023 Freestone-Occidental is somehow simultaneously balanced, mineral driven & intense... while maintaining a real nervy freshness, too. Violets, plum and an array of blue stone fruit flavors. This is the kind of thing people join mailing lists to get.