2024 Pinot Noir “Sonoma Coast”- Kutch Wines (Sonoma Coast)

The 2024 Pinot Noir “Sonoma Coast” bottling from Jamie Kutch includes fifty percent whole clusters in this vintage and tips the scales at an even thirteen percent octane. The wine takes a bit of air to spread its wings, but once it does so, it offers up a beautifully complex bouquet of black cherries, dark berries, black tea, a superb base of soil, a nice touch of sweet stem tones, woodsmoke and a hint of cedar from the older oak casks in which the wine is raised. On the palate the wine is bright, elegant and full-bodied, with a superb core of black fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, fine-grained tannins, tangy acids and superb lift on the impeccably balanced and complex backend. This is outstanding juice in the making. 2032-2075. 93.

2024 Pinot Noir “Sonoma County”- Kutch Wines (Sonoma County)

The “Sonoma County” bottling of pinot noir from Jamie Kutch is a new cuvée starting in the 2024 vintage. The bottling is a barrel selection made in the cellar from all of the vineyards that Jamie works with in Sonoma and includes fifty percent whole clusters. The wine comes in at thirteen percent octane in 2024 and reveals a lovely, red fruity bouquet of cherries, plums, a touch of beetroot, cola, a lovely base of soil tones, sweet stem tones and a topnote of roses. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and nicely sappy at the core, with good acids and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. This will need some cellaring time to soften up its undercarriage of tannin and will be a lovely wine once it is ready to roll. 2032-2075.  92.

2024 Pinot Noir “Bohan Vineyard”- Kutch Wines (Sonoma Coast)

The 2024 Bohan Vineyard pinot noir from Jamie Kutch is an absolutely stellar young wine.  These are old vines, having been planted in 1972 and in 2024, the wine includes fifty percent whole clusters. It comes in at an even thirteen percent octane and offers up a gorgeous young nose of cherries, pomegranate, roses, a complex base of Goldridge soil, lovely spice tones, just a whisper of oak and a topnote of distant bonfire. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and tangy, with a beautiful touch of sappiness at the core, excellent soil signature and grip, fine-grained tannins and impeccable balance on the long, complex and vibrant finish. This is a great bottle of pinot in the making. 2035-2075+. 94.

2024 Pinot Noir “Bohan Vineyard” Graveyard Block- Kutch Wines (Sonoma Coast)

The 2024 Pinot Noir “Bohan Vineyard” Graveyard Block bottling is outstanding this year. These vines are now thirty-six years of age, as they were planted in 1988. The wine is an even thirteen percent octane and was raised all in used barrels. It offers up a beautiful and nicely red fruity bouquet of red and black cherries, pomegranate, black tea, a lovely touch of whole clusters, woodsmoke, dark soil tones, brown spices and a subtle dollop of oak influence. On the palate the wine is deep, nascently complex and full-bodied, with a beautiful core of fruit, great soil transparency and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, beautifully balanced finish. This is a touch less expressive than the regular bottling of Bohan out of the blocks this year and thus, will probably need a couple years longer in the cellar before it starts to drink with true generosity. But, it is going to be an exceptional wine once it is ready to go. 2037-2075+. 94.

2024 Pinot Noir “Falstaff Vineyard”- Kutch Wines (Sonoma Coast)

Jamie Kutch’s 2024 Falstaff Vineyard bottling of pinot noir is a simply stunning wine in the making. The wine comes in at thirteen percent alcohol and was raised in its customary manner: indigenous yeast fermentation, fifty percent whole clusters, no new oak and bottling without fining or filtration. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers notes of sweet dark berries, black plums, espresso, a gorgeous base of soil, sweet stem tones, pigeon, distant bonfire and a hint of cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and impressively transparent down to its soils, with a lovely core of fruit, fine-grained tannins, excellent focus and balance and a very long, refined and nascently complex finish. This is going to be a superb wine once it is ready to go! 2035-2075+.  94.

2024 Pinot Noir “McDougall Ranch”- Kutch Wines (Sonoma Coast)

MacDougall Ranch sits up above the fogline, so is a warmer site than, for example, Falstaff Vineyard. This results in a much more red fruity wine in 2024, though its octane is the same civilized thirteen percent for both single vineyard bottlings. The MacDougall Ranch 2024 offers up a beautiful bouquet of red and black cherries, pomegranate, woodsmoke, gamebird, a lovely touch of whole clusters, a complex foundation of stony soil tones, raw cocoa and a hint of oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and nascently complex, with a beautiful core of fruit, excellent soil signature and grip, fine-grained tannins and impeccable balance on the long, poised and very promising finish. All this gorgeous bottle of pinot noir needs is time to blossom. 2037-2075+. 94+.

2024 Pinot Noir “Mindego Ridge Vineyard”- Kutch Wines (Santa Cruz Mountains)

Jamie Kutch’s 2024 Mindego Ridge pinot noir is a superb young wine in this vintage. Fifty percent whole clusters were included in this cuvée in 2024, with the wine coming in at thirteen percent octane and as is Jamie’s customs, was fermented with native yeasts and raised in older oak barrels. The wine is bright and complex on the nose, hopping from the glass in a youthful blaze of cherries, beetroot, pomegranate, a beautiful base of soil, fresh thyme, gamebird, woodsmoke, espresso and a nice touch of whole clusters in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent down to its soil, with a fine core of red fruit, tangy acids, buried tannins and fine focus and grip on the long, youthful and impeccably balanced finish. Though this wine is already beautifully complex aromatically, it is still a puppy on the palate and tightly-knit and in need of hibernation time in the cellar to blossom. It is going to be excellent in due course, but patience will be necessary. Fine juice. 2037-2075. 93+.

2024 Pinot Noir “Mindego Ridge Vineyard” Ridge Top- Kutch (Santa Cruz Mountains)

The Ridge Top bottling from Jamie Kutch is beautifully perfumed in 2024. The wine includes fifty percent whole clusters in this vintage and comes in at a svelte thirteen percent octane. The complex and sappy bouquet is nicely black fruity, offering up scents of plums, black cherries, coffee bean, a superb base of dark soil tones, sweet stem tones, a touch of fresh thyme, woodsmoke and a touch of cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and soil-driven, with a sappy core of black fruit, fine focus and balance, suave tannins and a very long, pure and promising finish. This is going to be a lovely bottle once it is ready to drink. 2037-2075+. 94.