“It’s a tale of two vintages,” said Catherine Kistler about Occidental’s 2022 vintage line-up being released this week. She’s not wrong. Across northern California, the message in the bottle is clear. Before the Labor Day heat storm in early September, the growing season had been blissfully moderate on the Sonoma Coast. Many of the most compelling 2022 Sonoma Pinot Noirs came in during that period of calm before the storm.

The Calm Before the Storm

2022 was tracking to be a mild, moderately warm vintage for Northern California, until Mother Nature decided to throw growers a heatwave curve ball during the first week of September. Temperatures started to soar on September 3rd, Labor Day weekend, and the heat lasted for six straight days. Growers in Napa’s Oakville and St. Helena AVAs reported highs of 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The impact of such extreme, sustained heat was brutal.

Many California winemakers were able to bring in some fruit before and during this heat event, but a significant portion of the Bordeaux red varieties were not ripe at this stage. That means most Napa vintners had to ride the potentially devastating wave for a proportion of their crop.

Sonoma did not escape the 2022 Labor Day heat dome. The big difference between its impact on Sonoma vs. Napa is the grape varieties. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bud and ripen earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. Therefore, these varieties, and Pinot in particular, were tracking ahead of the Cabernet. Many Pinot and Chardonnay sites were ripe/harvested before or as the heat came.

“It was the earliest harvest on record for us,” Catherine told me when I met earlier this week with her and her father, Steve Kistler. “The season began with a good amount of rain in the winter, which helped the vines, especially after 2021.”

Parts of Sonoma knew from early on that 2022 was going to be a small crop.

"The weather was so bad during flowering," said Steve. "We had lots of shot berries (millerandage), and the yields were very small. We only managed to get 70 tons from 65 acres, so around a ton per acre."

The silver lining behind the small crop was that everything ripened earlier.

“Because of the winter rains and moderate weather, we had big, healthy canopies,” added Catherine. “Combined with the smaller crops, everything ripened earlier than normal. We started harvesting on August 22^nd and were all finished before the Labor Day heat.”

Occidental’s 2022 single vineyard Pinots are remarkably elegant, floral, and shimmery with impressive intensity and structure. For number crunchers, the alcohols are around 12.8% across the board.

“Picking before that heat defined what we were able to do,” said Steve. “What I see written about the 2022s that went through the heat is they are softer and more approachable. However, those picked before the heat are more like cooler vintage wines; they have more in common with 2021. The 2022s are not as ripe and purple-fruited as 2021. These are more red-fruited, perfumed, and more giving.”

Occidental’s Vineyards

Bodega Headlands Vineyard

Located at 400 to 750 feet elevation, the Bodega Headlands Vineyard is very close to the Pacific Ocean and exposed to strong prevailing coastal winds. The soils are primarily composed of fractured sandstone and decomposed marine sediments. Planted in 2000 to a proprietary blend of field selections from two grand cru vineyards in Vosne Romanée, according to Catherine Kistler, this vineyard tends to give flamboyant, perfumed wines with a fruit profile in red berry spectrum.

Running Fence Vineyard

Running Fence Vineyard and Bodega Ridge Vineyard are parts of the same 250-acre property, purchased in 2008, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Sixty-five acres were planted in 2012. The soils are similar to the fractured sandstone soils found in the Bodega Headlands Vineyard next door but are freer draining and possess more gravel. The clonal material here is the same proprietary blend of field selections from two grand cru vineyards in Vosne Romanée. Occidental’s winery, completed in 2013, is located at this site. “The humus character really comes out in this wine,” said Catherine Kistler. “This is so earthy.”

SWK Vineyard

SWK Vineyard is an extension of the Bodega Headlands Vineyard, located at the upper northwest corner of this site, at the highest elevation of 750 feet. Planted in 2000 to a proprietary blend of field selections from two grand cru vineyards in Vosne Romanée, this site is dry-farmed (using no irrigation). It is Occidental’s coolest site with the poorest soils, offering the lowest yields. Often tightly knit in youth, the wines are highly structured with naturally low pHs while exhibiting intense flavors, usually of the red berry spectrum and with a profound perfume.

Bodega Ridge Vineyard

This vineyard is at the upper level of the Running Fence Vineyard, on the apex of the ridge overlooking the Occidental winery below and offering a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean. Much of the vineyard is planted on steep south-southeast facing slopes, but there is a broad range of aspects here. The soils are shallow, low-vigor, marine-based sandstones with just enough water-holding capacity to be dry-farmed. The taut, muscular wine from here offers a darker fruit and earthy profile.

Occidental Station Vineyard

Occidental Station Vineyard is further inland from the other Occidental sites. It was planted by Steve Kistler in 1998/9. This 18-acre site is farmed by the Kistlers on a long-term lease. Composed of iron-rich, pebbly soils, this vineyard is dry-farmed and the first to ripen. Occidental Station Vineyard usually produces a bold, out-of-the-gate expressive, darker fruits style of wine.

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Article & Reviews by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
Photography by Johan Berglund