Frank, this is right in-line with my takeaway over the four days. Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts after the wine has been open for awhile. I’ve yet to place my order on the latest allocation but reading your thoughts pushes me to secure a few more. Thanks!
Sounds like I need to grab a few SC as I only purchased the Falstaff in the spring.
Trent, we do have quite similar impressions. We finished most of the wine at dinner and I can say that the wine did coil up some, the structure that some (me included) found in other bottles finally came out in this one. It was more approachable when first opened, but the minerally tannin found it’s way back. Oh, and the whole cluster shows more with air, mainly inside the core of the wine. We have maybe 2 ozs left, will finish later. I plan to open the 2012 Falstaff tonight or tomorrow and check back in on that one, too.
Russ, if you have the budget, do it. As I see the SC bottling, it’s a strong value for where you see color, structure, quality and fruit intersecting.
Did it show better than during Jamie’s visit last February when it was overshadowed by the other recent SC vintages (2010-13)? I remember a similar discussion regarding the 2010 to 2013 McDougals, so I wonder if these 2012’s are progressing or the surrounding vintages were superior?
i do think the 2012’s will be a good wines, I will break my WIWBM get a few McDougals (that first “W” stands for wife, if it wasn’t obvious to those who are single).
Finishing off the weekend, here is the '12 Falstaff. What a delicious bottle of '12 pinot. Shows for me the richness of the vintage, yet it doesn’t lose the red fruited profile and stony profile.
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2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/19/2014)
Just opened this and poured right to glass, Beautiful. Elegant, feminine and perfectly balanced. All of this without any decant or aeration. Give it 15 mins, then it starts to pick up the raspberry, rocky, the acidity. With lots more air, 3-4 hours, this richens up the fruit, with tart strawberry, raspberry and some red apple. Yet, in the midst of this fruit, there is a cool stoniness that stays with the wine. I finished the last glass of this outside, maybe 70 dregrees, and this drank just splendid. Truly a great bottle of pinot noir, still my WOTY red top contender.
Posted from CellarTracker sense that attracted me to it the first time I had it.
For some reason, I didn’t purchase any of this. I have no idea what happened. Screwed that up.
On the other hand, found a 2011 Kutch Savoy on the menu at (in my opinion) the best French restuaurant in DFW tonight (at a great price) so I bit…just incredible! Happy to say I didn’t screw that up (purchased two, both of which are still laying sideways).
This month’s issue of Decanter included a supplement - California 2014. It contains an article by Stephen Brook on lower alcohol Pinot noirs. Nice mention (with picture) of Jamie Kutch:
Kutch minimizes irrigation and green-harvests earlier than most. "I manage the vineyards so as to ensure I can pick 100 days after flowering, which would be considered normal in Europe but far too early in California.’ Even though his pinots can have as little as 12.2 alcohol, I detect no greenness. The acidity is very present, but this gives the wines an almost mouthwatering purity and freshness. Many customers may prefer a more opulent style of Pinot, but other wineries working in this part of Sonoma - Littorai (whose owner Ted Limon is considered a kind of godfather to the whole trend), Red Car, Cobb, and Ceritas - achieve a similar lightness of touch without greenness. The drawback is that some of the wines can be rather austere when very young, being deprived of the soothing sweetness of alcohol and glycerin.
later-
Kutch Falstaff Vineyard, Sonoma Coast 2012 18 (93), £47.95
Lean, stylish, cherry and raspberry nose. Sleek palate, with purity and lift, intense and peppery, with lovely acidity, while the tannins balance the ripe fruit. Good length. Drink 2015-2022. Alc 12.9%
Thanks for sharing Jim. I hadn’t seen it yet.
5 Points spread between Decanter and Wine Spectator who’s review printed online this week:
Via Wine Specator (look at how similar the descriptions are but how far the scores differentiate)
2012 Kutch Falstaff 88 Pts. “Well done in a trim style, offering a spicy, stemmy edge and gravel-laced dried berry, blackberry and peppery notes. Ends crisp, with cleansing tannins. Drink now through 2018. 375 cases made. –JL”
And a great example why descriptions are so much more important than points.
Does anyone know when these wines will ship? I’ve emailed Jamie twice and have not gotten a response back.
Thank you from a long time lurker.
Jamie didn’t specify a date in the latest email offer, but rather stated this…
“Regarding shipping, we will not ship any wine until the weather is ideal across the U.S. so please take advantage of ground shipping over air shipping.”
In the past, I have a receipt date in Texas of mid-November.
I suspect Jamie is quite busy with harvest right now.