Rivers-Marie Occidental Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2024 (750ML)

After the late, nerve-racking 2023 season, 2024 brought the western Sonoma Coast back to more classic conditions, with only brief heat spikes in July and October and a crop of large, juicy berries. Thomas Rivers Brown made Rivers-Marie’s 2024 Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir from this windswept site near Occidental, including 10% whole stems that never announce themselves. Texture is the draw: rounded and satin-smooth, with tannins so fine they barely register. Crushed red berries, kirsch, pomegranate and blood orange carry the palate, threaded with mint and a dusting of cinnamon, and every element sits in proportion. It’s a fine-boned Pinot Noir, open and generous already. Critics see it drinking from 2026 through the mid-2030s. Pour it with cedar-plank salmon, roast quail or a wild mushroom tart.