Short Nor Cal Trip: TNs from Rhys and Kutch Visits

WINE TALK
21

You guys are phenomenal. One of these times, I have to try to cadge the time to jump in on one of these trips if there’s room. Love, love, love the detailed notes, both of you. really excited to read both of your takes on the Rhys Chenin.

Ahh, that Kutch Chard. I am fortunate to still have 5 or 6 bottles of the 14—one is probably up to bat sometime in the next couple of months. I am planning a full vertical of Falstaff for WineFest next July—after having run the McDougalls 3 years ago, I am really looking forward to that table.

Alan even looks semi-respectable in those pics.

BTW, at Jay Hack’s we opened a mag of 07 Kutch Kanzler that was still drinking quite well.

Salud and bravo

Mike

22

Agree and it was the first white he ever made…

He made a comment about that wine in a big line-up against first rate burgs and said most of the burgheads pick that wine as WOTN.

One thing we didn’t mention with regards to tasting through the Kutch chardonnays was they were between cellar and room temperature, not chilled. That was Jamie’s idea and we agreed. The idea being when the wine is 40-50 degrees it hides lots of the nuances and lifts the perception of acid.

Jamie said “The wine is never cold when I’m making it and tasting in the winery” Huh, good point.

23

So just curious - whatever happened to Family Farm? It was not my favorite, so not a huge deal, but is it now an Alesia vineyard?

24

Interesting…I do like my Chards somewere around cellar temp (not cold), but I like my Chenin’s on the cold side…I guess I am usually just looking for a Chenin on a really warm, humid evening, so a bit colder fit’s better

25

Family Farm was not made in 2017, David. They chose to not use the fruit, but it has not left the portfolio and continues to be bottled on its own.

26

Thanks Frank.

27

Love me some McDougals! Jamie was such a gracious host for me and my friends up in Sonoma, making for a very memorable trip.

28

Wow. Looks like a great trip. I appreciate the plan to have just two wineries to visit over the course of two days - allowing time to fully taste and explore the wines.
If I could design a visit, spending time at Rhys and with Jamie Kutch would be ideal. Both occupy much space in my cellar.

Thanks for sharing your notes and impressions.

29

The descriptions of the 17 Horseshoe Chardonnay had me salivating, so I opened the 2014 version of the wine.
Surprising to see the 17 weighing in at 12.5% with the 2014 at 13.6%. The 2014 has a slight sweetness and round, full mouthfeel (glycerin) from the riper fruit/higher alcohol.
Anyway, it is delicious. Here is my note, for what it is worth:

2014 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (8/1/2019)
Pop and pour.
Light golden honey color. Clear.
Nose of green apple, stone fruit, and orange blossoms.
This has a slight bright, sunny disposition, with wonderful green apple notes, light pineapple, wet stone/minerality and hint of sea spray. The wine coats the mouth and the finish is so long you feel you need to chew the wine before swallowing.
The orange peel/orange blossom adds wonderful character and depth on the finish. The wine has slight richness to it , likely ripe fruit and some oak, but enough acidity to make it lively, vibrant and engaging. 13.6% abv.
This is really good.

30

T,. thanks for the comment and the TN, too. Year after year, the Alpine and 'Shoe plots are for me the anchors of the winery’s craft and I really dig these the best. Going forward, along with Bearwallow, will be where my Rhys money goes in my orders.

There is just so much in the Rhys range now that it’s become smart for me to do some de-selection. My belief is that with these plots, I cannot go wrong. I’ll also continue to invest in the Hillside Reserve stuff, and while I know they are pricey, these wines are built out of the best of what I think Rhys is. FWIW too, I believe this month that we will see the Hillside Reserve offer on the 2016s.

31

Whew, finally got these notes up.Great trip and good friends with incredible wines.

  • 2010 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    What? I’ve never tasted this wine before? Cool. It definitely looks it’s aging based on the color, light bricking. Strawberry and rhubarb nose. Love the sandelwood and cedar flavors. Feminine and balanced. Graceful wine.
  • 2010 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    Got a bit of tomato and Joanne agreed so I have that going for me… Hint of Carmel and vanilla.
  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    Spicy stem and sandlewood. Red fruited and I’m getting some cassis, different. That tannins are still here if not a bit sandy.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    I have a smiley face next to the tasting note so I guess I like it a lot. Rich flavors with integrated tannins and stem/sandlewood flavors. Finishes with a musk/incense note. Good stuff.
  • 2014 Kutch Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (9/1/2019)
    I have one of these left and I’m not touching it. Famous last words. Just an incredible Chardonnay and stunning in the fact that it was Jamie’s first time. It’s tropical, fresh, ripe pineapple with flint and reductive note. Lemon and lime palate with bright acidity. This will shine amongst the best Chardonnay in the world. I’m hoping it ages into something even more spectacular and there’s nothing that leads me to think differently.
  • 2014 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    So good… Celery note on the nose. Maybe not quite the intensity of the '17 , slightly lighter but proportionate to the other elements. I like the stem on this wine.
  • 2015 Kutch Chardonnay Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    The combination of pear, green apple, tart lemon rind wrapped in a blanket of medium acid. Solid.
  • 2016 Kutch Chardonnay Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    While it is a very nice wine, it didn’t have the level of complexity of the '16 trout gulch. Light yellow color, mid palate was more creamy and less edgy. Lemon fruit is delicious.
  • 2016 Kutch Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (9/1/2019)
    This is impossible to get because Jamie shipped it all to Europe but damn, what a stunning wine. Heck, there’s only 10 bottles in cellartracker. Some reduction, lemon and ginger attack backed by grapefruit. Excellent balance wth a really long mouthfeel.
  • 2017 Kutch Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (9/1/2019)
    The notes are getting spars after running thought every Chardonnay in the Kutch family. Yellow fruited and zippy with green pear at the finish. This note sucks.
  • 2017 Kutch Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (9/1/2019)
    I think this was just bottled the day before we tasted and it showed very well. Initially a tropical note but lemon / citrus dominate the palate and the mouthfeel had a cream note with good mineral base. Yummy.
  • 2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    Classic. Medium garnet color. Red berry, wood, and stems are showing. Very good structure and basis of tannins.
  • 2017 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    Big fruit driven wine with rhubarb and sassafras. Ripe Bing cherry finish.
  • 2018 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    This probably isn’t tasting anything like it will when released but there’s cherry fruit which is the first for me with Kutch. Lightly colored and translucent. Light tannins and soft. I would not put any stock in this note.
  • 2018 Kutch Pinot Noir Graveyard Block Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    For just being bottle, this has great aromatics. Popping out of the glass. Tannins are firm but showing a rounded quality. Raspberry / Chambord flavors. Great story, there’s a actual headstone in the middle of the block hence the “graveyard” designation.
  • 2018 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2019)
    Young, duh. Ripe raspberry and a cola note. Aggressive tannins and a drying note at the finish. The finish? Amazingly long. This could be something really special.

Posted from CellarTracker

32

Thanks for posting these Brig, as they add context to mine. No love for 17 Falstaff? [rofl.gif] I’m disappointed in you. [berserker.gif]

33

It was the 35th wine of the day, gotta cut a brother some slack!

It’s an an embellishment of riches.

34

Stem inclusion appeared to be all the rage 4-5 years ago, but I always found the nose off-putting. Glad to hear Rhys is dialing it back.

35

I agree with your last sentence! :wink:

36

We had this as one of the two ringers in our blind tasting group’s Rhys Chard tasting a couple weeks ago. Many of the wines were too young, shut down. This was my easy #1, as it has a signature SCM herbal shrub component that really adds something for me. Group #4 of 10. My 2nd and 3rd were Alpines, while the group had Horseshoes as 1st and 2nd. Go figure.

37

There isn’t much traffic yet on the 2017 Kutch McDougall so I figured I’d tack it onto the recent visit we did this past summer, as that’s the previous time I tasted the 2017s, including the McDougall.

Jamie continues to crank out CA Pinot Noir that is balanced, without the intrusion of oak or booze, and he is getting the purity of fruit and flavor to really shine. The bottle below, which I have been working on since yesterday, is a great example of the Kutch style and approach. These wines continue to be automatic purchases for me vintage after vintage.

  • 2017 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (1/22/2020)
    3rd bottle to date. The previous two were part of tasting visits to see Jamie, which meant the wine was arrayed alongside other bottles. With this third bottle, it’s just me, the wine and probably 3 days to enjoy it. So, for the first night, I opened this 2 hours ago and have bene taking small pours. For this final pour of the night, I got a pretty good sense of the wine. In total, much like many of Jamie’s wines that repeatedly I have enjoyed and gushed over, this is another one. The whole cluster seasons the nose with cracked spices and flowers. The flavors are framed by similar spices, a raspberry jam, bright cherry and red apple with a citrusy supporting acidity. The texture is plush, capturing all of the beautiful, pure fruit. This is a joy to drink on the first night but I’ll reserve a final comment until at least tomorrow, to see what the wine does but for now, this is yet another bottle of gorgeous Kutch pinot…and for a second day perspective, what is at the center of the wine is the fruit: this is squarely about juicy blue and red fruits, with a lifting acidity and some light to moderate tannin and a finish of red apple. It’s showy yet medium weighted and a purity that is really great to drink. Another Kutch winner.

Posted from CellarTracker

38

Thanks for the note Frank. I have decided that I largely prefer Jamie’s Pinots with 3-4 years of age from release at a minimum, so I won’t be into the McDougall for a couple more years.