2014 Kutch "Falstaff", "McDougall Ranch" & Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir Horizontal

“Perfumed bouquet of rich rose, red cherry and cocoa, followed by a spicy, sappy and supple palate. One of the more easy-going and immediate wines in the Kutch portfolio, this is 100% whole cluster but the stems’ contribution is already nicely integrated. (WK)” (12/2022)

“For a “basic bottling” of pinot noir, the 2014 Sonoma Coast cuvée from Jamie Kutch is very good, but this is a more fruit-driven example of this varietal than the single vineyard bottlings from the estate. The bouquet is bright and very expressive, offering up a youthfully sappy blend of cherries, beetroot, cola, Sonoma herb tones and a nice touch of smoky new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, tangy and still quite primary in personality, with a good core of fruit, modest tannins and fine length and grip on the well-balanced finish. This is certainly approachable already, but I would strongly urge at least a few years in the cellar for this bottle, so that some of its secondary layers of complexity can start to stir. 90+” (03/2016)

“The 2014 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is dark, bold and pungent, with intense red and black fruit, savory herbs, mint, herbs and tobacco flavors that are front and center. This is an unusually dark, intense wine from Jamie Kutch. The 2014 will drink well young, but readers should expect a fairly rich appellation-level Pinot. About 50% of the blend is from Sonoma Stage, a clay-rich soil that contributes textural depth. Last year I reviewed the 2014 Hellenthal. That juice was not bottled separately, but also went into the SC bottling. Kutch destemmed 40% of the fruit here, which is unusual for his wines and gives the Sonoma Coast much of its up-front personality. This is a very serious appellation level Pinot. Jamie Kutch's 2014 Pinots have put on quite a bit of weight over the last year. Now in bottle, the 2014s come across as bigger, richer wines than they did from barrel. Kutch fans will want to be on the lookout for the new 2014 Chardonnay, which emerges from two sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In addition to these wines, I also tasted a number of 2015s that show the power and intensity of the year. The 2015s are still raw and embryonic, but they also appear to have quite a bit of potential. (AG)” (01/2016)

“The 2014 vintage of McDougall Ranch has started to make that aromatic transition into maturity where the whole clusters notes of youth start to turn to beautiful spice tones redolent of cinnamon and clove. The bouquet is superb today, wafting from the glass in a refined blend of red and black raspberries, cherries, those gorgeous spice tones, pigeon, dark soil tones, incipient notes of cola, some discreet savory notes with extended air, distant bonfire and a gentle framing of cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, complex and impeccably balanced, with tangy acids, a great core of fruit, superb soil signature and grip, moderate tannins and outstanding length and grip on the precise and vibrant finish. This is really outstanding and just starting to hit its plateau of maturity!” (11/2024)

“The 2014 McDougall Ranch is the lowest octane of these 2014s from Kutch Wines, coming in at a very cool 12.4 percent octane. The wine is quite black fruity in personality this year, but pure, focused and intensely flavored and will be outstanding with a bit of bottle age. The refined nose wafts from the glass in a mix of sweet dark berries, bitter chocolate, a hint of cola, lovely soil tones, fresh herbs and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is medium-full, bright and tangy, with fine transparency, a good core of black fruit, suave, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the tangy and nascently complex finish.; At 12.4 percent alcohol, I wondered how this would be balanced on the palate, but the wine is impeccable in shape and detail and will be a terrific bottle with a handful of years in the cellar. Stylistically this wine is so far removed from the absurd world of Martinelli and Marcassin pinot noir as to seemingly have come from another planet! 93+” (03/2016)

“The 2014 Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch is the richest and most intense of these four Pinots. The wine's inner sweetness and pure density pretty much cover the whole clusters. The McDougall is the most satisfying of the Kutch 2014 single-vineyard Pinots to drink young, as all the elements are very nicely woven together, even at this early stage. (AG)” (02/2016)

“Rocky soil. Dark cherry and rhubarb nose, soft oak notes, faint stemmy aroma adding snap. Quite fibrous tannin on the finish - a keeper. 17.5/20 points (RH)” (02/2016)

“The 2014 Pinot Noir Falstaff Vineyard opens with striking, beguiling aromatics. Dark, pliant and also quite powerful, the 2014 possesses notable depth in its fruit to match its intensely floral/savory aromatics. The Falstaff also has a touch more freshness than some of the other wines in the range. (AG)” (01/2016)

“The 2014 Falstaff Vineyard bottling of pinot noir from Jamie Kutch is a lovely, young and high-toned example of the vintage. The wine comes in at a cool 12.9 percent and offers up a bright and still fairly primary bouquet of red berries, pomegranate, fresh herb tones, a fine base of soil, incipient notes of cola, woodsmoke and a touch of cedary wood. On the palate the wine is fullish, tangy and still quite youthful, with a fine core, excellent intensity of flavor and focus and a long, moderately tannic, soil-driven and tangy finish. This has a bit of youthful herbacité to shake on the backend of the palate today, but it will be really a superb middleweight in the fullness of time.” (03/2016)

“Soy, sap, super clarity to the fruit – redcurrant, cherry. Lovely fine tannin weave on the finish. Very fine indeed. Has a sort of ghostly delicacy. (RH) (17.5/20 points)” (03/2016)