Nor Cal Wine Trip: Big Basin, Rhys, Carlisle, Pisoni/Lucia, Mending Wall/Rivers-Marie, Kutch, Copain

WINE TALK
21

As a longtime customer, it was a pleasure meeting Jeff at Pisoni. This is an immaculate operation with exceptional vineyards.

The 15s were great as expected. And Pisoni’s tissue wrappers are the best in the business!

22

Thanks Russ, you just made me feel better! I’ve lost track of what’s out now. [cheers.gif]

23

They offered a few of the 2015 wines on futures last February.

-Al

24

Wow - looks like a wonderful trip, my friend. Great insights and wonderful pictures.

Cheers.

25

I appreciate the comments and shared insights on the wines.
Thanks.

As a customer of most of these wineries, I enjoyed your visit - even if by proxy.

26

Marching on, as I still have Friday to cover, which you will find below. Still to come and to close the report will be our Saturday report, which will be a large report for COPAIN. I hope to have that up in the next day.

But, for Friday, it is a pleasure to get to RIVERS-MARIE/MENDING WALL and close the day with KUTCH. So let’s begin…

Will Segui arranged the group to join him to taste, and with Will knowing me for quite a few years, I agreed that he should just surprise us to taste wines from his inspiration. We did the tasting at Mending Wall, which was a great, comfortable location for the visit. As a long-time RIVERS-MARIE customer, I enjoy the wines very much. I do not buy the Cabs, as I just don’t have a taste for modern Napa Valley reds; however, I do strongly support and buy the RM Pinots. I’ve been buying since the 2006 vintage, seeing the portfolio evolve and through that time, getting a sense for TRB’s hand with these cuvees. They are distinctive, with a signature red fruit, pine needle and orange/citrus quality, all that is so beautifully found in the Summa. In terms of MENDING WALL, to be transparent, I do buy the petite sirah, as I think it’s one of the most fascinating things you can get into a glass–inky, pitch black, jammed with flavor and intensity which you will notice in my TN below. So, it was cool to close the tasting with that wine. And finally, Will did blind us on a few things, one of which was his Cabernet from his WILLIAM and MARY label. I had not had the wine before and so it was a pleasure to taste it, especially given the high praise that Brian Tuite has commented on previously about the wine. Thank you Will for the time and effort to see us, really enjoyed it (PS–sorry, forgot to take a photo from this stop blush )

  • 2012 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Been a while since I opened one of these, so thanks to Will for pouring it for our tasting. We knew it was RM, just not the vintage nor plot so we did some guessing as a group. Pine needle, strawberry, spicy orange peel, juicy and complex. Revealed to be the SC, which one again leaves me appreciating the epic quality of the SC bottling. Even now at $30 (this 2012 was released at $25), this remains such a steal and QPR for what is here.
  • 2013 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vines Summa - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Pine needle aromatic. Cranberry and raspberry, with blood orange and a zesty edge. Balanced and medium weighted. I always did Summa, especially the old vine block as it has a distinctiveness terroir.
  • 2014 Mending Wall Mortar & Stone - USA, California (7/23/2017)
    45% Zin, 40% Syrah, 15% Petite. Served blind, I guessed Petite. I didn’t take to this wine very well, as it shows heat to me, which I don’t enjoy in my wines. Lots of purple fruit, jam, iron, milk chocolate, with a chewy finish.
  • 2014 Mending Wall Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Calistoga (7/23/2017)
    This was the finishing wine for our Rivers-Marie/Mending Wall tasting with Will. Smartly, Will saved this for the end, and had it pulled because he knows how much I dig this wine (thank you, Will). I LOVE this stuff. And as contrary as it may be for those who know my palate or read my TNs, I rarely often buy or gravitate to wines of this size. Yet, where Mending Wall Palisades seems to really nail it for me is the wine is packed with color and intensity, yet the alcohol is doesn’t jack up the aromatic. Instead, the wine shows with a pen ink color that is truly like nothing else I have ever found in California. Plush, dense and so intensely pure, finishing with a dark chocolate. I grabbed 2 bottles to take with me, those now resting in the cellar. For those who drink petite sirah, and who have yet to discover this wine, find it and buy it. It’s the real deal.
  • 2015 William & Mary Cabernet Sauvignon Shifflett Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/23/2017)
    This was poured blind. As context, I don’t buy much Cab, especially those from Napa. Will poured this to our glasses and we got after it. The ABV is 14.5% and initially, I got some heat. I’m pretty sensitive to alcohol but in the context of the tasting, I wanted to be honest and made the comment. Herbal, cedar and dark cherry, with finishing tannin and a chewy finish. What this wine showed, aside from the aromatic, is some true Cab qualities, which for me seems to get lost in the modern style, IMO. I plan to buy a couple of these and re-taste the wine again in the Fall, as I like what is here. If the alcohol shows again at that time, then at least I will know I have a confirmation of it, as others at the table tasting it did not find it like I did.
  • 2015 Heart’s Needle Riesling - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino (7/23/2017)
    Spicy, peach, lime and decent acidity and lift in the finish. This is made under screwtop, using old vine fruit from Mendo.
  • 2015 Mending Wall Stone on Stone - USA, California (7/23/2017)
    80% Sauv Blanc, 20% Semillon. Really well built with a stony, creamy tone, that finished with a citrusy edge, showing light pineapple and melon. Enjoyed this one.

Posted from CellarTracker

In the afternoon, I finally had my first opportunity to see Jamie and his KUTCH wines. Through the recent years, I have developed a strong advocacy for Jamie’s craft. He’s been down to the OC on a couple of occasions to do dinner with the OC group, as well as his kindness to, as I call it, “bring the winery to us” as he has shipped down new releases that the local OC group has blind tasted over a couple of annual dinners. So, it was cool to visit him this past week on his turf, at Opal Moon in Sonoma where he and Joanna (his assistant) make the wines. I’ve been buying Jamie’s wines since 2009, and I have watched the style evolve. The new oak has diminished, to the stage now it is virtually gone. The alcs have come into the 12% range and the acidities are beautiful. There is whole cluster in the cuvees–they add spice, structure and complexity in my view. And, like several of the wineries in this report, I buy his wines now on the strength of who I know he is, not what any critic or wine voice has to say with scores. Vintage after vintage, these continue to get better, more focused as he understands the terroirs and his adjustment to learn year over year. I also got to meet Joanna Wells, who has been Jamie’s assistant the past 5 years, who in coincidence is married to Sean, who is the assistant to Jeff Brinkman at Rhys. In listening to Joanna interact during our visit, I can see that Jamie and she influence each other’s thinking and serve as collaboration to impact the wines. She is insightful, intelligent and she knows these wines, her voice is part of them. In addition, she shared with us her own side project, MODEL FARM, which she makes with Sean. https://www.modelfarmwines.com/ You will see notes for her wines below, too.

Below you will see TNs for a # of KUTCH wines, as we tasted all the 2016s as they rested from tank being readied to be bottled. We also went through all the 2014s and 2015s again–a lot of wine to end the day, and great wines for my palate. I did my best to capture them all, amidst a tasting that went on for nearly 2 hours, full of great discussion and conversation. Jamie and Joanna, thank you for the visit. A photo of us follows below, too.

Finally, you will see a closing photo of us having dinner at Brian Tuite’s house, who grilled us a meal as we dined across the table with his wife, Dava. To share wines, to share friendship and good conversation was a gift and is the great perk of being in this wonderful hobby together.

  • 2014 Kutch Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/23/2017)
    This started off with some reduction, which blew off in the glass. Lemon, lime, medium weight, sexy. This has a lot of length through the finish, and continues to drink super.
  • 2014 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted right after the 2015 Falstaff, which was excellent–this 'Dougie is just as good. Rich, deep and an intense purity, along with crushed rock. Great core of fruit, reminding me of the 2015 Rhys wines purity that we tasted earlier in the week. Excellent.
  • 2014 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Showing a juicy, fresh black cherry that finishes with a dark cherry note in the finish.
  • 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    This tastes like Bohan–rustic, sauvage, lighly stemmed with spicy cherry. Bohan maintains a cool place in Jamie’s line-up because none of the other wines show this rustic, cherry quality as its core. Terrific.
  • 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Damn, this is good. Of all the wines we tasted with Jamie during our visit, this one was the best for me, starred in my notes. Dark color, floral, intense, concentrated and structured with a mineral finish. This wine is going to be gorgeous as it ages and the fruit and structure start to marry. Really good.
  • 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Dark, syrah-like in color. At this stage, a little rugged, with spicy, dark fruit. Rich in tone and big boned with finishing tannin.
  • 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Signal Ridge Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino Ridge (7/23/2017)
    Crunchy and juicy, with a cranberry and strawberry fruit note. Zesty, too.
  • 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    This is a brooding, intense, aromatic version of Kutch SC. Incense, dark raspberry, zesty berry finish. Structure here, too.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted from a tank sample, this is the final blend, which was just built and was being readied for bottling. This shows juicy, with black cherry, lots of red cherry and a nice structure underpinning the wine.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted from a tank sample, this is the final blend, which was just built and was being readied for bottling. Like the 2016 Signal Ridge bottling, this too shows a lightly stem quality, giving the aromatic a spicy, peppery note. Lots of berry in a flamboyant core.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted from a tank sample, this is the final blend, which was just built and was being readied for bottling. Spicy watermelon, rose petal, juicy with plenty of acidity and crunch. Finishes with a strawberry note. Pure.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Rosé - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Started off the tasting with Jamie using this wine as the opener. Creamy, pure strawberry, peach and a good amount of refreshing acidity.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted this earlier in the year, it showed similarly again. This is Bohan fruit done with a carbonic method. Approachable, smooth, fresh with enough structure to make the wine finish well.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Signal Ridge Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino Ridge (7/23/2017)
    Tasted from a tank sample, this is the final blend, which was just built and was being readied for bottling. This wine is made from a vineyard that is nearly 3000 feet up on the Mendo ridgeline. Very aromatic, with a light stem note. Red apple, raspberry, a bit creamy with a wild, sauvage quality. I really like SR.
  • 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/23/2017)
    Tasted from a tank sample, this is the final blend, which was just built and was being readied for bottling. Cherry and raspberry, with soil, structure and a long finish. Whereas in past years, when the blend was mainly Sonoma Stage and Campbell Ranch, this is now (and I believe going forward), will be declassed barrels from the single vineyards. So, to think about this wine, it’s truly in the Rhys kind of model, where declassed fruit from the best sources make up the blend. Really dug this version of SC.

Posted from CellarTracker
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27

Stellar notes as usual. Did Jamie mention if the '16 Sonoma Coast had any '16 McDougall in it? I picked up similar candy notes in both.

28

Great notes, sounds like a wonderful week. I stopped by Mending Wall about 2 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed the visit. Did not have the pleasure of such a tasting as yours with Will, but the wines were solid. Maybe I’ll get around to posting notes soon :astonished:

29

Yes. 30% McDougall is in there, Rat.

30

Good write up, Frank.

I will take aim at this TN…I know I’m just picking on one, LOL. I’ve had this twice now, once with Will and once just over a week ago down here with friends. The latter tasting confirmed my initial one. It’s the single best young Napa Cab I’ve had in at least a couple years that I can recall. Neither time did I get any hint of heat from it. So I was surprised by your comment, especially the part that you are sensitive to it. Yet you love Carlise who doesn’t make a red under 15% abv that I am aware of (not picking on the wines, just using as an example). Ok, what happened to that pot stirring emoticon? [whistle.gif]

(Disclaimer: I’ve only met Will once, that was up in Napa in June. Matter of fact I’ve never bought River’s Marie until this most recent allocation came out. So I have no affiliation with him, his wife, family, or anyone else involved for that matter.)

31

I agree completely. I was floored by how good it was considering it was his first ever release and first time making a wine from this vineyard.

Ok, what happened to that pot stirring emoticon? > > [whistle.gif]

Andy, [stirthepothal.gif] [stirthepothal.gif] [stirthepothal.gif] [stirthepothal.gif] [stirthepothal.gif]

32

You found it [highfive.gif] …and my dumb arse didn’t.

And I initially only got 3, after the second tasting I got 6 more. Would have got even more but I had River’s Marie too to get and I’m not suppose to be buying this year since I need to drink down the cellar a bit not make it bigger. But couldn’t resist.

33

Yeah, I couldn’t afford it either. Then I tasted it. [wow.gif]
I couldn’t pass it up.

34

Andy, my plan is to try and get a couple bottles from Will and try it again. I tasted it blind and I went off my sensory reaction to what I smelled. At the table, I was also the outlier with my comment I believe, as well, so it’s worth trying it again.

In terms of Carlisle, I won’t disagree that the ABVs on the zins can run high. I don’t buy all Mike’s zins, as I concentrate on and buy the bottlings that are higher acidity, lower ABV. Zin is one of the few wines that I keep anymore that run high in ABV, and with Mike’s wines, the purity, acidity and balance he achieves is really lovely so I continue to enjoy them.

35

Perhaps we can sort a time to meet and check it out together again… [drinkers.gif]

36

For clarification, FMIII tried the recently bottled 2015, Brian & Andy are speaking to the 2014

37

I guess I am one of the few who are devoted to seeing more bottlings of 100% underdog varieties - especially Alicante Bouschet!

Sure, my sample base of grapes like Carignan and Mourvedre is larger than of Ali Bou, but the ones I have had the joy of tasting have me convinced that the historical thumbs down to the grape are not always true.

Personally, I have loved the Madera-grown 2001 (the old vineyard) Papagni and Stillman Brown’s SLO-sourced Red Zeppelin “Murder Inc” Alicante Bouschet. I have no clue as to when I should pop my single bottle of Carlisle, so any guidance is appreciated. :wink: Of course, the fact that another one is in the works has me less reluctant to taste the 2013. :slight_smile:

38

Now he tells us [thankyou.gif] [basic-smile.gif]

Frank, fix your note and I take back everything I said…except getting together to share some wines cause it’s been way too long since we have.

39

Fixed. Why don’t you come to our Rhys gig at my pad at the end of September? Would dig seeing you, my man.

40

So the '15 is boozy eh Will? [stirthepothal.gif] [stirthepothal.gif] The extra stir the pot is for Andy