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WINE TALK
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Scott,

2012 McDougall has a tighter grip than 2012 Falstaff at this stage and should be an incredibly long-lived wine. Some descriptors I might use would include: dark, brooding intense to the core. Rich, structured, backward, iron-like minerality.

I attribute the character of 2012 McDougall to the character of the soil and climate as McDougall has very rocky, hard & dense sandstone soils which are nutrient deficient and devigorating. The vines struggle at McDougall as they are challenged to find water in these shallow, hard & deficient soils. As for weather, McDougall sits above the clouds at 950+ feet elevation. This leads to the fruit being in contact with more sunshine as opposed to vineyards at lower elevation which often see more cloud and fog cover. In turn, McDougall has a deeper, more phenolically ripe signature to Falstaff (which sits at 300 feet elevation and is more often in fog).

As for Falstaff, this vineyard is comprised of Goldridge soils which are a type of sandy loam and which allows the roots to dig deeper down into the sandy soil in search of water. These soils are softer and have incredible drainage capabilities. You can reach down in this vineyard, pick-up some soil and let it roll through your fingers and it will feel velvety. I believe these soils directly correspond to the wine created from Falstaff with it’s elegant, subtle, softer inviting edges. Falstaff also has great crunchy, mineral fruit with often stunning acid retention from the cooler climate as well. Because of where it is situated, the area is the coldest micro climate we work with and physiological ripeness is challenged. Falstaff often sits in a fog bank and can have large swings in climatic weather from day to evening. 40 degree swing can easily be achievable. It is also rare to see a day above 90 degrees unlike (for example) parts of the Russian River which can see many days above 90 and sometimes during the growing season a few days above 100.

Hope that sheds some color.

I will leave you with this: these two wines were farmed and fermented identically. The difference in aromatics, texture, body, finish, etc. solely comes from the plants in the vineyards and soils they were planted in.

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Order in!!

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Bet you I was in earlier! neener

Admittedly I was clicking refresh on the computer at 2pm waiting for the allocations to post so I had an advantage. [cheers.gif]

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Below are a couple of TNs that may help the discussion here, to add some perspective. These are from a recent dinner when Jamie was kind enough to fly down and taste through his wines with us here in the OC.

As I said in my TN, I will buy the 2012 McDougall but I would repeat my comment about letting this wine age or aerate it prior to drinking. FWIW, I added my Falstaff note below, as that wine is high pedigree.

  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/15/2014)
    Jamie Kutch Visits The OC For Dinner (Luciana’s In Dana Point (South OC)): Tasted blind. Well, like with the recent 2012 Fogline Sun Chase pinot I drank and had one of those ‘aha’ moments, here too is another one of those aha wines, the best wine I have tasted now in 2014. This was poured next to the 2012 McDougall, both blind. The only bias I had going into this flight was that of seeing the favorable comments on this 2012 when poured last month during Falltacular. I’ll credit Brig Campbell, who pulled this needle out of the Falltacular pinot haystack when he went through all of the 2012s that were poured that day, and with Brig missing the dinner last night when I tasted this wine, I would have enjoyed seeing him react to this wine again. As to what I found last night in the glass, beautiful spicy strawberry with blue fruit tones. It’s accessible yet the acid is beauitfully punctuated here, even a little crunch in texture. Where it excels is that the fruit is beyond the red fruit, jammier quality that I found in the 2010 and to extent in the 2011. In this 2012, I find a wine with exellent acidity, terrific fruit, outstanding. Early WOTY candidate and I plan to now buy more while it is still available. I’ll drink another1-2 bottles over the rest of this year and see how it fares.
  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/15/2014)
    Jamie Kutch Visits The OC For Dinner (Luciana’s In Dana Point (South OC)): Tasted blind, next to the 2012 Falstaff, that nearly felled me from my chair at the table! So, much like the unfair fight of the 2010 flight, where the McDougall bested the Falstaff, the opposite occurs here in the 2012, where the Falstaff bested the McDougall. The 2012 McDougall at this point in its life shows tannic and backward, with a dark core of intense cherry fruit and iron-like quality. Minerally. What we’ll have to see on this wine is how it starts to uncoil and at what age. I’ll be a buyer when it’s ultimately released but with the knowledge of the wine last evening, will be sure to give it not only a large dose of air, but also time in the cellar. FWIW, I believe this is the only wine of the evening that Jamie decanted prior to flying down for the dinner so even with that aearation, it reflects the long life this will have ahead of it.
  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/15/2014)
    Jamie Kutch Visits The OC For Dinner (Luciana’s In Dana Point (South OC)): Tasted blind. Like with the 2012 McDougall, this SC is tannic and intense, with a dark core and iron. Rocky and youuthful–this will need time so don’t rush it.

Posted from CellarTracker[/i

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Jamie, thanks for the notes - very helpful.

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I picked up some of the McDougall - guess this will be an experiment in the aging of Cali pinots!

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Damn, was going to pop a mag of of the '12 SC this Saturday. Sounds like it’s a no-go based on FMIII’s notes.

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Just had an 07 McDougall and it was getting in the zone. Sounds like the 12 may need 8+ years.

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Alas. Needed the order period to go one more day. Ah well.

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Thanks for the clarification Jamie, I’ll look for an email late this month!


Nick

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Jeb, do it. We need some more baseline notes on the '12 Sonoma Coast. In fact, if you open one this weekend, so will I. I’ll open one this Saturday and report back if you’re game to join me.

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Hmmmm, we’ll be starting at noon so maybe I’ll pop it around 7 or 8 in the morning.

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Ditto. I got a round of golf to play Sat AM so will open before I toss the clubs in the car. We’ll be drinking it about 4PM so pretty damn close to 8 hours of air, too.

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Opened the '12 SC this past Thursday and finishing off tonight (Monday); best glass thus far.

Frank, similar to your CT note from March 2014, this is dark and intense, much more so than what I would expect from any SC Pinot. Lots of ripe, darker red fruit, but it’s hiding behind minerals and graphite right now. Typical acid for Jamie’s wines that I love. Very enjoyable but let it breathe…for awhile!

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Trent, good note and thanks for adding your perspective. I found another one…Recent sips and slurps - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

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Well shit. Maybe I’ll open this Friday night instead. Dark and intense isn’t what I’d hoped to hear.

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Don’t panic. This is why we commune to taste these wines so we can level set. Power of the community, buddy.

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It appears my thoughts on the 2011 and the 2012 SC weren’t terribly far from one another. Given the extra 10 months or so of bottle time I gave the 2011 compared to the 2012, I may be inclined to hold, but then again, you probably want to trust Frank’s palate more than mine.

2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/10/2014)
Darker in color than what I would expect from a Pinot; nose of ripe strawberry and dark cherry and graphite; initial taste exhibited darker red fruits hiding behind the minerals and graphite; very evident spice characteristic that I wouldn’t expect with a Pinot (possibly due to 100% whole cluster?); this is dark and intense; firm acid that softens a bit over time but is typical for Jamie’s wines (which I love); firmer tannic structure; medium finish.

Consumed over four days and day four was the most enjoyable; put through the Vinturi on day four which helped to coax a subtle citrus note that I didn’t get earlier; tannins still going strong, but as I come to expect with all of Jamie’s wines, very balanced. Overall, very enjoyable now, but let it breathe or utilize a long decant. It’s only going to get better.
Posted from CellarTracker

2011 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (5/30/2014)
Consumed over two days; hazy purple in color; initially, a very inviting nose of bright strawberry, minerals, slight oak, quite a bit of pine; palate was the same with an abundance of red fruit juciness; tight acid, lots of it, too, but in a good way; mild tannins and a lingering finish.

This is an appellation wine?! It’s ridiculously good. As I’ve come to expect from Jamie’s wines, after the wine has been open for a bit of time, there is incredible balance. At first, the acid was a bit abrasive, but after a couple of hours and even more on the second day, there is a very nice zestiness and zing from the acid that makes this wine pair so very well with food but also is fine in drinking by itself. There is something ever-so-slightly deep and dark in this wine that is very intriguing, somewhat similar to the cherry-cola you get in quite a few Pinots but it’s nothing overbearing, just really nice and delicious.
Posted from CellarTracker

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Trent, I took the rest of the week off and finished golf earlier so figured I would get ahead of the weekend and in prep for dinner later, opened the 2012 SC now. I just poured off a small glass. The dark reference that you offered in your note, that is spot on. Not to say this is about blackberry or rich fruit but the darker side of red, very good.

We’re taking this bottle to dinner later but I have to say, this is solid stuff and if the wine continues to impress later, I’ll check back on my order and add a few more bottles to it if still able.

  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/17/2014)
    Preparing for a smal dinner later, I opened this up and poured off a small glass. My sense was to expect a lot of structure and to offer air to this well ahead of dinner. This is showing much more open than I expected, more approachable. Spicy, dark raspberry fruit, dark cherry, minerally and good dose of tannin on the finish. There is some tension here, but the offset and what I see as dominant, in charge, is the fruit and spice. This is very good and while I don’t know what we’ll see in another 4 hours, but I’ll just say it’s pretty damn solid with such sparse air.

Posted from CellarTracker

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In for 3 of each. Wish I could buy more, but…