2009 Kutch Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (8/1/2012)
Pop and pour. Crisp, clean and fruity on the nose. Nice dark currants climb effortlessly out of the glass showing incredibly tenderness. Incredible balance on the palate with a youthful tartness that should fade given any amount of time. Meaty berries and a delicate balance of rich fruits and measured flavor show through every taste. A 2009 that has many more years of enjoyment in the bottle. A truly enjoyable wine. I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad one from Jamie. (91 pts.)
I coravin’ed this beauty over the last 2 nights - it is absolutely gorgeous. Really fragrant nose that is just blasting with black cherries and a little spice - I could smell this all night! Silky smooth on the palate with a burst of juicy mix of red and black cherries intermixed with some spicy, earthy notes. Nice kick of acidity on the finish, along with more lingering cherry flavors. Really enjoyable now, but seems to have the stuffing to go for at least a few more years.
Thanks for the follow-up tasting notes Paul. I know Jamie uses a rule of thumb to pop his current releases one year after release but I have always found their drinking life to be many years after release. Your notes only confirm my experiences.
Your notes are also very timely. I was supposed to open some Kutch wines tonight (including some 2009s) for friends but they had to reschedule. Regardless of the cancellation I may just partake in some Jamie Kutch goodness anyway.
Great notes. Good to see an update on a wine I vividly remember popping in Aug '12. Thanks for sharing.
I believe there was some questions on this wine as Jamie’s vintage chart on his site indicated “drink up”. After that I tried one and the wine seemed in a dumb phase or it lost its’ fruit and verve. It was the first wine of his that I had that made me say, where’s the fruit. It was very muted in all aspects.
I also saw the notes on Jamie’s site and proceeded to “drink up”. Next to everything else I have had of Jamie’s past and present - this was disappointing.
Jamie - Good move on no longer producing from this vineyard
One man’s muted is another man’s balanced. Delicious & dignified wine, very big fan. With real air exposure the wine did thin out so uncork and imbibe.
Ah, you were more patient than I was…no 09s left, I have one 2010. Glad to hear you liked it Kevin, and interesting to read your notes too, Joel and Bob. Wish I had one now to check in on and see about this variance.
I, too, have had almost universally happy experiences with the Savoy vineyard. Littorai, in particular, if I could get it easily I would have a lot more than I do.
Mike P. —let me see what I can dig up to bring with me
Pardon my delayed reply. I have been working on finalizing and putting to bed all the 2014’s and slipped up on checking in here.
Glenn, you are correct. Savoy has over 29 acres of Pinot Noir and 15 acres of Chardonnay, so it isn’t exactly a small site. I believe there are well over half a dozen producers pulling fruit and while some blocks in the vineyard are above the large pond with elevation, other blocks are on the flats and even others, below the pond in deep, heavy soils. This alone can make a drastic difference in starting material. Considering we were last in, we worked with some of the most challenging blocks and sticking with our philosophy of trying to intervene as little as possible, it just didn’t work. When we started in the vineyard, we signed a 3 year contract and that was at a time when Rich Savoy owned the vineyard. Subsequently the vineyard was sold and while the terroir doesn’t care who the owner is, I had an incredible fondness working with Rich who in my mind is a true pioneer. I was saddened when he sold the vineyard.
On another note and with regards to Anderson Valley, a large portion of the valley is made up of sandy soils which I have come to not be enamored with. Sandy soils just don’t allow (without intervention) the power without weight I am after. While my sampling of working with 3 vineyards is small (over several vintages), I concluded that Anderson Valley just wouldn’t create the wines I was after.
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