Failla’s 2024 Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir is a Sonoma Coast bottling built around a single, established site. Occidental Ridge Vineyard was planted in 1999, sits at roughly 800 feet, and is farmed by Richard Radcliffe. The planting includes Dijon clones 115, 667, and 777. In the cellar, Failla fermented the wine with native yeast and used 50% whole cluster, then aged it for 11 months on lees in French oak barrels, 20% of them new. Alcohol is listed at 14.1%, and production is modest at 598 cases.

Critical response has been notably strong. Wine Spectator’s 95-point review stands out as an excellent score for Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, framing the wine as both generous and controlled. The magazine calls it “ripe and fleshy,” with “a persistent flow of plum, raspberry and cherry puree flavors,” and notes that “sweet spice and red tea hints infuse the finish, which is sleek and refined in feel.” It also highlights how the wine evolves in the glass: “The fruit expands nicely in the glass, too, showing sappy intensity,” and recommends drinking it “now through 2034.”

Vinous also rated the wine highly at 94 points, with Antonio Galloni emphasizing finesse and early appeal. He describes it as “a very pretty, sensual wine,” where “soft contours and silky tannins immediately convey finesse.” Galloni’s note sketches a broader aromatic and savory range—“crushed flowers, spice, red cherry/plum fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice and tobacco”—and concludes that this is “a fruity, mid-weight Pinot [that] offers tons of immediacy.”

Taken together, the reviews suggest a Pinot Noir that balances Sonoma Coast ripeness with polish: forward fruit and spice, supple tannins, and enough layering—floral, tea-like, and gently earthy tones—to keep it from feeling one-dimensional. The winemaking choices (notably whole cluster and restrained new oak) appear aimed at structure and aromatic lift rather than overt sweetness or wood.