Some notes:
Kutch Pinot Noir 2022 Sonoma Coast, California
13% alcohol. This is a 16 barrel blend from vineyards planted 1972-1999 at 500-1400 feet. 50% whole cluster, matured in old French oak. Silky and refined with smoothly textured red cherry fruit with a touch of strawberry. Lovely elegance here with a core of pure, sweet fruit and some very fine green notes, plus a touch of olive on the finish. Such a beautiful Pinot Noir. 95/100
Kutch Falstaff Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 Sonoma Coast, California
13% alcohol. 13 barrels made of this wine from vines planted in 1999 at 505 ft elevation 8 miles from the Pacific in a cold, foggy pocket of the Sonoma Coast. Goldridge soils with 50% whole bunch and maturation in old French oak. Beautiful aromatics here: perfumed and floral with red cherry fruit and a hint of grape and musk, as well as some dried herbs. So floral. The palate is beautifully focused with sleek red cherry and raspberry fruit with a twist of orange peel and a slight bitterness (but in a nice way). Has nice structure and some rocky mineral notes. Beautiful stuff with potential for development, and a slight mulchy quality too. 95/100
Kutch Bohan Vineyard Pinor Noir 2022 Sonoma Coast, California
13% alcohol. 4 barrels from a vineyard planted in 1972 at 1400 ft three miles from the Pacific on Goldridge soils. 50% whole bunch, matured in old oak. Sweetly aromatic notes with black cherries, stewed plums and strawberry as well as fine spice, pepper, liquorice and black tea. The palate is fresh and supple with fine green spicy notes under the lush silky cherry fruit. Finely wrought with a wide dynamic range, and approachable young. 95/100
Kutch McDougall Ranch Pinot Noir 2022 Sonoma Coast, California
13% alcohol. 8 barrels of this wine made from vines planted in 1998 3.5 miles from the Pacific, at an altitude of 1010 feet. Greywacke and sandstone soils. 50% whole bunch and matured in used French oak. Beautiful aromatics here with floral red cherry fruit, wild strawberries, chalk and a touch of mulch. The palate is textured and fresh with sleek, silky red fruits and a twist of orange peel and some raspberry crunch. Fine and expressive with a slightly stony finish. Real potential for development but lovely now too. 96/100
Kutch Bohan Graveyard Block Pinot Noir 2022 Sonoma Coast, California
13% alcohol. This is from four barrels made from a one acre block in the Bohan vineyard marked by a tombstone from 1875. It was planted in 1988 on its own roots, and is dry grown on rocky soils. 100% destemmed, matured in used French oak. This is an edgy, powerful but fresh expression of Pinot Noir, showing black cherries and even a touch of blackcurrant with lovely tannic structure. There are notes of iodine and spice, and chalk and gravel, all sitting under dense but focused black fruits. Grainy and detailed with finishes quite firm. It’s not floral and silky but rather dense and edgy, and at the same time fine and well balanced with lots of potential for development. 96/100