2012 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (6/22/2019)
This is SO good right now. Crystalline. Starting to show the mineral character of this site. Citrus. Beautiful balance of fruit to acid. Lively. No noticable oaking on this bottle. An absolute hit at our dinner with Turbot with morels.
2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/22/2019)
Absolute stunner. Very young and poised. Beautiful balance and firm backbone. So silky. My friends who are Cali pinot buffs swooned. Amazing perfume.
Don, thanks for the 2 notes here. Both wines/producers that are core to my cellar. I have a single 12 Alpine Chard left so your note is helpful in how to think about a drink window for it.
As for the Kutch 'Staff, I have had that wine 3X now and it’s as good as you write about it. I have a handful now, with a plan to retaste a few more bottles before EOY to see if it stands up to the high praise I heaped on it the last 2X. On my WOTY short list for sure.
2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/18/2019)
Damn. Jamie really hit the home run with this vintage of 'Staff. Each time I have it I find myself pausing and just appreciating what a genius of a wine this turned out to be. This bottle showed a lift of stems and perfume from the cluster that I didn’t remember from the last few bottles, which is fine because it adds that extra factor to what is already a dynamic wine. Tasting this, at one moment it is crunchy and then the next a pure push of black and red fruit that follows into a long finish that also offers structure, too. The length, purity and complexity of this vintage of 'Staff is simply gorgeous. For me, clearly the best wine Jamie Kutch has ever made. No question, and one of the best CA pinot noirs I have tasted. Bravo.
2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (11/4/2018) Kutch and Model Farm dinner at my place in the OC (My House In The South OC): Poured in the same flight as the 2013 and 2015 McDougall, this Falstaff was the finishing wine of that flight. This is right now about strength, intensity, with tannin, juicy dark raspberry fruit and present acidity. Stacked with black and red fruits, and credit to Chris Fitch who was next to me, that termed this core quality as ‘pomegranate’. Spot on descriptor. It’s the closing feature of the finish, adding a spicy, pure dark quality to the wine. Excellent Falstaff, one that will age and develop as it integrates its power…as a follow-up note, I am still enjoying the remnants of the wine a day later, this is such a pure, delicious bottle of PN, with some rocky notes, purple and red fruit and flavor composite that is just a joy. For me, gotta be the best Falstaff to date, for sure. Bravo…and what the hell, one more follow-up. The bottle has now been open 2 full days and it continues to drink like it did during the dinner. This wine is yoked with so much power–the structure, fruit intensity and depth. The thrill this kind of wine engenders is pretty cool for me. The key now will be to see where this wine heads, with more age, more time to show itself. I’m in for the ride!
Don, had the 17 'Staff earlier today as part of a 6 bottle blind CA Pinot Noir lineup. The wine started off poorly but man did it rally to show as the best bottle on the table. Just fantastic.
2017 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/23/2019)
Poured blind, as part of a 6 wine CA Pinot Noir flight. I had no idea this wine was in the flight, so there’s zero bias in my TN here. I say that because this wine has been over and over again I believe the best wine Jamie Kutch has made to date. So, here’s the odd thing. When I first poured this, I wrote down “some pepper, tight and out of balance with a juicy, stewed/candied quality”. I judged the wine based on what I found in my glass. 45 mins later, tasted again…transformed. And of note, when I noticed the wine had evolved and changed so significantly, it was still bagged. Ultimately, this became the beautiful blend of red and blue fruit, rocky and expressive, nothing like the first pour. Damn, this wine is such a treat. Fantastic stuff again.