Rivers-Marie Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, USA 2021

Our co-flagship site just east of the town of Occidental has been a staple in our line up since 2005. Planted in 1998 to three different Dijon clones, Occidental Ridge always features the lowest pH and highest amount of fruit tannin each year. There’s also a pennyroyal mint aromatic that makes up a significant part of the unique signature of the wine. This wine ages very slowly given structure and acidity making it one for the cellar for the first few years of its life in bottle.

I feel like this is entering Summa territory where we have run out of original ways to describe the greatness of this site. Somehow this manages to be one of the most generous wines in the lineup every year while also having the greatest aging potential. Our last bottle of the inaugural 2005, consumed two months ago, tasted like it was two years old. As much as we talk about the acidity on the far west coast, this site slightly inland from the town of Occidental always has the lowest pH at harvest. In looking at the three individual Dijon clones, pick pHs ranged from 3.31 to 3.43, even with brix levels of 23 to 24.4. I’ve never understood how this happens but have always been thankful for what it contributes to the finished wine, a wine with great pliancy that retains a firm, textured mid-palate with a mouthwatering finish. Our goal is always weightiness without heaviness and no wine speaks to that every year like Occidental Ridge. Black raspberries, black cherries, pennyroyal mint, sage and underbrush dominate the nose and palate finishing with a healthy dollop of fruit tannin which seems to be a theme this vintage but also a quality this site imparts every year.