TNs: Kutch Pinot Noirs, Mainly The 2013s, Some 2012s

WINE TALK
1

I don’t get up to Nor Cal as much I used to and I failed to get a trip this year, but like recently with Rhys, we sometimes have good fortune to bring the winery to So Cal. Last night, we did that, working through a # of Kutch pinots, courtesy of Jamie Kutch. I appreciate the wines that Jamie crafts, as evident with the wines below. All of these wines are made in a style that I connect with: low to no oak, lots of whole cluster (yet it doesn’t create herbal notes in the wines) and low alcohols, with many of the wines below coming in between 12 and 12.5%. I recognize that the “#” for alcohol can be a lightning rod in some discussions these days and I am not trolling for that in my comment here. I am simply offering it because I have said previously that as I get older, the alcohol affects me, and I truly don’t enjoy smelling it or having to look past it in my wines. And, I find in lower alc wines, especially pinot noir as Jamie crafts it in his wines, that wines of this lower register of alcohol show more red fruit, acidity and finer textures. I am not here to judge another person’s palate, instead my intention is to describe what I enjoy, appreciate and pursue. For me, these are Jamie’s wines and Kutch is a key aspect now of my pinot noir cellar.

BOOKCLUB–KUTCH PINOTS (TASTED BLIND) - Maro–Laguna Beach, CA (10/29/2014)

  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    There is a freshness to this wine, exhibiting what I would call something that is energized, with a carbonic or freshly fermented feel. Pure rasberry, bing cherry. A day later, retasting this again, it picks up some black cherry notes and a beam of delineation, energy. However, what’s interesting, this wine is a single barrel of '13 Falstaff so where that wine has finesse and polish, this wine lacks that trait, I suspect because of the absence of the sulfur? Anyway, there is little of this around as it’s going to be restaurant only but we appreciate Jamie letting us have a bottle to try and get our heads around.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    A 50/50 blend of Campbell Ranch and Sonoma Stage vineyards, with 25% new wood. Solid stuff. Zesty and crunchy fruit, with black cherry and a smoky, gamy tone. Bright cherry core, with a loamy edge that has good length. As it takes on more air, it darkens up the fruit tone, yet it also becomes more rocky and tannic, with a meaty note, posessing that same zesty quality. The 100% whole cluster here, as opposed to say the 2011 that still shows that signature, I don’t get that signature here in the 2013. Retasting a day later, good fruit presence, and I get the stems today a bit more. Their woven into the wine, given a bit of bitterness to go up against the raspberry and black cherry fruit. Still tight at this stage, good energy but the coil on it will need time to soften. I can sense the fruit and acid that lies under that structure, and with the 12.3% alc, should be a great drink in another year and onward.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Neutral oak here, 100% whole cluster. This has a rose petal, spice and stem aromatic. The fruit? Gorgeous, albeit less sexy in tone than the 2012 (which does have about 20% new oak on that wine). The tones here are smooth, generous, juicy with dark raspberry, red apple and a zesty personality. As the wine sat through dinner and warmed, another glass revealed some added blue fruit tones, game and high acidity, with great energy. Beautiful.
  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    This wine is money, so good. I decided to insert this bottle into the dinner’s flight to give contrast against the 2013, which we poured next to it. That wine is also 100% whole cluster, although that one is made with neutral wood, whereas the 2012 is 20% new. The 2012 is floral and really jumps out of the glass. It has impeccable balance, full of dark raspberry, blue tones, juicy and it seems to just cover the palate in all directions. As it breathed and warmed up, like the 2013, it got even better, showing an exotic quality and intensity and depth. I have yet to find a CA wine this year that thrills me as this 2012 does and I suspect at this point I have found my red WOTY for 2014. Will be hard for anything to overtake this beauty.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Like with many of the Kutch 2013s, this is also 100% whole cluster and neutral wood. Upon opening, and even after a decant, driven by in part some of the cool temp I put on the wine, it is pretty wound up and tight. Mainly cherry, clove/mint, chewy and at least with an hour of air, showed the reddest fruit quality of all the Kutch 2013s. It’s also leaner than the rest of the lineup, showing as Steve Nordhoff called it, a watermelon quality, which was spot on. It too picked up some blue tones with more air and a warmer glass temp, although for me it remained tight. Will be a long ager.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    While 100% whole cluster, like the 2012 McDougall, it sees 50% new wood, which is the highest of the 2013s, as many saw no new wood. And the color of this thing, it’s dark and the 2012 is even darker. Syrah like in color, both of them. Rich, darker fruit, some vanilla, dark raspberry, mineral. As it warms up, stays brawny, dark a brooding wine for sure. Jamie indicated that this wine is still one year off from release and it needs it! Big boy here.
  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    And I thought the 2013 McDougall was a biggun, this is a bit bigger and darker in color, too. Meaty, chewy, chalk, crushed rocks, also a brooding kind of wine. A super core of dark fruit that covers the palate. As it warmed up through dinner (and I did decant this wine before I left the house, as I did the 2013, and also the 2013 Bohan), it gets darker, liqueur-like, with dark cherry and density. Needs some time to uncoil or a day or more of slow ox. Wow.

Posted from CellarTracker

2

Thanks for the notes Frank. I tasted the 13s from the tank and barrel in June. Loved them then and good to see your confirmation. Something for all CA pinot lovers, from the finesse of Falstaff to the power of McDougall to the crazy QPR that is the SC blend.

3

Thanks for the great descriptors of the wines. I too am fan of Kutch. The older I get (76) the more I enjoy low alcohol and balance. Complexity over power. The 2012 Falstaff has it all for me.

4

Good to hear the 2012 McDougall has improved somewhat from earlier this year, and that the 2012 Falstaff continues to improve. Maro is one of the more underrated restaurants in the area, so I bet you enjoyed your meal. Thanks for the notes.

5

More from the peanut gallery. Falstaff, best pinot vineyard in California?

KUTCH '12 VS '13 PINOT BLIND TASTING - SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY - Maro Grill, Laguna Beach (10/30/2014)

FMIII was the master of ceremony for this evenings gathering. As usual, all the wines are blind but hints are shared thoughout the evening as to the theme. I guessed Copain Pinot but that was wrong, hell I thought the last flight was syrah. Excellent work orchestrating the theme, comparing the Kutch '12 versus the '13 for a number of vineyards and then throw in a few special treats. Food was excellent, as always, but stay away from the ginger. It was HOT HOT HOT and took your palate away for a couple of minutes.

As a side note; this event puts me at exactly 2,000 tasting notes. When I first started writing notes it was a goal to hit the 1,000 mark. Well, now the double is in the rear view mirror. I’ve found great pleasure in the entire process.

The obligatory before and after shots.

1024×576 106 KB

1024×579 95.9 KB

Something Different - No Sulphur

  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Double blind. Guess carignan. I liked Steve’s guess of gamey better, a new world Beaujolais.

Rumors are there is very limit supplies of this and it’ll probably pass through the restaurant channels. Bottled without sulfur, interesting. Color is light magenta or even violet. Nose is stone and light strawberry. Palate has floral hints mid palate. Medium plus acid and no oak anywhere. Taste young with light tannins and a tart rhubarb finish. Cool wine and I think it’s from the falstaff vineyard which is now my favorite.

  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Dark maroon color. Smells like raspberry compote, is there such a thing? Should be if not. Flavors are reserved, light, red berries. Finish has more of a dark berry cut with chalk and medium acid. Rounded out tannins.

Something New - First vintage

  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Blind. Lightly colored for a pinot but brilliant clarity, like a gem stone. This is loaded with stem, firm tannins and youthful exuberance. She’s wound up right now but great potential. With all that, still holding a medium plus finish right now. This will be awesome.

Something Special - Greatest Vineyard

  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Blind. Much darker than the next vintage. Big powerful nose, the most unique of all the pinots for the evening. Loved the moss or fur aroma too, fun just to swirl around and sniff. Great balance of red fruit and acid. Long finish with distinct cherry and raspberry. I’m a sucker for this wine and it’s obvious the vineyard is special.
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Blind and paired against the '12. Great wines, no amazing wines.

Lighter in color than previous vintage. Palate and nose showed a sweet red fruit and molasses note. Very gentle mouthfeel. Medium plus finish. This was popular.

Something Big - powerful pinot

  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Blind and paired with the previous vintage. Damn these are dark for pinot. So much so that I thought I was drinking syrah until someone said “you know these are all pinots, right?” Yeah, yeah, sure, of course. Oops.

Nose starts out a little muted but the dark fruit flavors are present with good balance on the palate. Another long finishing wine with a red berry flare.

  • 2012 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    Blind and paired with the '13. I think I enjoyed the '12 better but it’s a close call as others preferred '13. As mentioned before, I thought these were syrah but enough of that nonsense. Really dark, deeply saturated color. Good nose. Mineral, musk, and red and black fruit make for a great combination. Extremely long finish, longest of the evening.

Something Sentimental - Steve’s Project

  • 2012 Riverain Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley
    Pop n pour. Crazy dark colored core with a rim of magenta where the wine meets the glass. I swirled this around in the glass to aerate and noticed the legs were very prominent, not that they were unusually large but they stuck around for a long time as we were working our way through a huge Kutch lineup. I wrote this note over an hour with the same pour and the wine really moves around or evolves over time which I guess is expected with such a young wine. The aromas are blue fruit and an unmistakable black olive which everyone at the table identified. Palate is driven by some red and blue fruit initially but after time the blue really runs the show. The oak shows as charcoal or graphite, very linear across the palate. FMIII and I debated an iron note, his take, but I was leaning towards a rusty nail or iodine and all are fair takes. Might be even more acidity at this stage than the '11 which was also superb. Lots of complexity here. The finish lengthen over the hour, quite impressive, but the youth is exposed with prickly tannins and a dry note. This is approachable at this point but I’d open the night before or in the morning for the next year.

I bought some…

Posted from CellarTracker

6

Well stated. Thanks for the tasting notes too

7

I enjoy these wines for all the reasons you mentionned but have yet to even taste any of the '12’s I have. I am surprised how good your tasting notes are for the '13’s which I would guess have only had a few months in bottle. Looks like they have a long life ahead of them.

8

I’m a tannin adverse wine person, at least aggressive ones. None of the pinots were unreasonable from that perspective after they were decanted for a number of hours. Structure is there but tannins are only one component of that so read any comments regarding balance as equal parts.

The Riverain syrah on the other hand is stuffed to the gills with tannins. Tasted it today and hasn’t budged an inch. I buried the bottles in the cellar and pushed out the drinking window in cellartracker.

9

I opened a 2012 McDougall 2 nights ago and thought it was one of the silkiest and complete McDougalls I have ever had at this early stage.

Just excellent.

10

+1

11
  • 2013 Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    There is a freshness to this wine, exhibiting what I would call something that is energized, with a carbonic or freshly fermented feel. Pure rasberry, bing cherry. A day later, retasting this again, it picks up some black cherry notes and a beam of delineation, energy. However, what’s interesting, this wine is a single barrel of '13 Falstaff so where that wine has finesse and polish, this wine lacks that trait, I suspect because of the absence of the sulfur? Anyway, there is little of this around as it’s going to be restaurant only but we appreciate Jamie letting us have a bottle to try and get our heads around.

We distribute this wine in Washington state and had a sample bottle to try today.
Your notes were spot on, this wine is fresh, crisp and taught, I didn’t get to try the regular Sonoma Coast
side by side, I think that would be a very interesting experience. I didn’t get to try this with food either but it seems like a perfect food wine.

12

Thanks for the notes Frank. My 2012 Sonoma Coast and McDougall arrived yesterday. Going to be tough letting them sit…must exercise patience.

13

Thanks for the notes Frank and Brig. I have to agree with Frank on the 2012 Falstaff, but I am also diggin the Bohan(Nohab). I thought it was showing well. Yes some tightness even later that night when Kathy and I had the last glass it was showing a youngness, tightness, etc., but still holding strong to the Nordhoff description.