2015 Kutch Wines....Done Blind With The Gang

Thank you to Jamie for as I call it 'bringing the winery to us'. In recent years, I simply have not been able to make my annual visit to Nor Cal to taste with people that I follow/support. To solve for this, I have been able to partner with wineries like Jamie's to have the new releases shipped down so we can bring the winery to Orange County. Not only do we get to taste the wines with care and conversation, we can put a meal around them as we did last night, and we used a blind format to help us focus on what was in the glass. In sum, Jamie sent me these wines to try, I assembled our regular tasting group to drink them. And a final caveat....I am a regular customer of Jamie's wines and buy them just like many others do. I don't get his wines for free, other than this box of 2015s which we used for the raw material for this tasting.

As with any wine review I have written and continue to write into the future, I call the wines as I see them. Do I write negative reviews? Not often, as I choose to stick to the swim lanes of wines that I enjoy and drink wines that mirror the things I like. Candidly, I don't have a lot of time to drink a wide array of things and as my wife doesn't drink red, it's usually me and a single bottle over a few nights a few times a week. In that way, I usually end up with stuff in my glass that I want to drink--stuff I buy year over year, adding to the experience and culture of really understanding the sites and craft of the people I support. In the end, maybe you will see me as narrow-minded or lacking in curiosity to try other things. That's fine to say but in my view, I would rather drink things that bring me joy and feed my passion for this great hobby. Thanks for reading.

• NV Camille Savès Champagne Grand Cru Brut Rosé

  France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

  This bottle showed a distinct sour green apple quality, along with a light note of caramel. Not as red fruited as the previous bottles, more Chard-like this time.

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• 2015 Kutch Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Second time I have tried this. The previous time was a few months back during Falltacular when I found the wine to be excellent. Fast forward then to last night, we opened the meal with this wine. Jamie had told me ahead of time to not serve this too cold and his counsel was spot on. Initially, this was too chilled and after it had sat out, it really came around. The first impressions were of a wine that was pretty disjointed, showing some light vanilla, a lemon juice quality and little complexity. But, letting the wine warm up to something more into the high 60s F, it transformed. Crushed rock aromatic, light smoke and loads of green apple, lemon oil and minerality. The complexity and balance is what came forward with the air and proper temp. Fantastic chardonnay........follow-up a day later, drinking the remainder from last night. I let the wine warm up this time, after last night's learning! When the right temp is on this stuff, the wine picks up a suave quality, and I also notice a pretty saline underpinning today, too. And, the lemon core of this wine is just striking to me, a real treat for us who prefer acidity in their wines, and you're gonna find plenty of it. Brig called it 'mouthwatering' in his note from last night, I'd say he is spot on. This is intense Chardonnay, pure.

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• 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Served blind, as part of our detailed look at all of the Kutch 2015s. Man, was this showing really good last night. My guess was Falstaff, as it just seemed to be drinking with that level of complexity and intensity but when revealed, it was the Sonoma Coast. Wow. Some stem and crushed rock in the aromatic, blue fruited, with plenty of coil and a hard cherry candy note. My last taste of this before we ended the meal, my notes say 'rocky, intense, gorgeous intensity'. This drinks now with so much potential and promise, for me this could turn out as good as the SV wines that Jamie is making. For the AVA blend this time out, Jamie nailed it. Outstanding.

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• 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Served blind, as part of our detailed look at all of the Kutch 2015s. I always love Falstaff, and it's a wine that needs time, air and patience to really show. This was evident last night, too. Aromatics of purple flower and potpourri, always like I'd get in a really good whole cluster syrah. In the glass, this showed with intensity, reflecting saline, a savory quality and lightly crunchy. There is a liquid-like minerality here--stony and lithe. Beautiful.

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• 2016 Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre Sonoma Coast

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Served blind, as part of our detailed look at all of the Kutch 2015s. This was a 2016, the only on the table, and randomly I placed this in the center slot in terms of when we tasted it. So, it kind of sat center of the tasting flight, with the 2015s on either side of it. This matters because this wine was the least complex of the night, reflecting the style that Jamie had made it--done in stainless, no sulfur added and a low ABV of just over 11%. It drinks like a Bo-Jo, with red fruits, gentle. I enjoyed it.

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• 2015 Kutch Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Served blind, as part of our detailed look at all of the Kutch 2015s. Good 'ol McDougall, what I call Dougie for short. Here is where Jamie and I differ on the wine, as I think he tends to see Dougie and Falstaff being similar in how they reflect power. They both for me have intensity, yet I continue to find the Dougire more approachable when young, and even last night, I had thought that the Dougie was in fact the Sonoma Coast. Why? It showed the same approachable quality, was flashy and generous. It did share the same kind of aromatic as the Falstaff too, with the dried purple flower note and the whole cluster aromatic but it wasn't coiled like the Falstaff, which led me to think Sonoma Coast. And funny as it may seem for those who know the Kutch wines, I actually like the Sonoma Coast better in 2015 than the Dougie, at least for what I found last night. The Dougie today lives to its pedigree, as it is dark and quite present in flavors. Delicious.

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