These were very smart indeed. Jamie Kutch has a good story, and I reckon his 2013s are his best wines yet. My feeling is that they’re a bit more elegant and pure than previous releases (even though previous releases were pretty smart wines). I don’t know whether this is because of a stylistic evolution, or is a feature of the vintage – and, of course, it’s my own impression, which may be wrong. But I really enjoyed them. California is such an exciting place for Pinot Noir these days. UK availability: some of these will be in Roberson Wine.

Kutch Pinot Noir Sans Soufre 2013 Sonoma Coast, California
12.1% alcohol. An experimental wine without any added sulfites. Beautiful aromatics here: sweet red cherry fruit with some liqueur-like richness, and fine herby, spice savouriness in the background. Lovely texture on the palate with warm, sweet, pure red cherry fruit and a hint of strawberry. There are faint earthy hints and there’s a liveliness to the finish. This has an incredible texture and drinkability. 94/100

Kutch Pinot Noir 2013 Sonoma Coast, California
12.3% alcohol. Lovely black cherry aromatics. Fresh and quite taut with sweet berry notes and a bit of spiciness. The palate is supple, smooth and quite elegant with ripe black cherry and plum fruit, together with some grippy structure under the fruit. Sweet and alluring with nice freshness and elegance. Lovely. 94/100

Kutch McDougal Ranch Pinot Noir 2013 Sonoma Coast, California
12.3% alcohol. Power and finesse here. Fresh black cherry nose with some spicy undertones. The palate is supple and focused with sweet black cherry and plum fruit and lovely structure. Nice density. This has the stuffing to age well. 94/100

Kutch Bohan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 Sonoma Coast, California
12.3% alcohol. Very sweet, enticint, textured creamy red cherry and berry fruits nose with some distinct green notes. Fresh and slightly sappy. Really distinctive with creamy sweet red cherry fruit dominant and some subtle green notes that are trying hard to integrate. On day 2, however, it’s a different story, with lovely floral notes emerging, and the wine showing a more delicate personality. Very pretty. 94/100

Kutch Falstaff Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 Sonoma Coast, California
12.1% alcohol. Fresh, juicy and bright with lovely texture to the raspberry and cherry fruit. Real freshness evident. Ripe, with sweet fruit, but showing lovely poise and balance. Really stylish and balanced with incredible focus, good acidity, but no hint of harshness. An elegant, focused style of Pinot Noir showing lovely floral aromatics and fine grained, expressive red cherry fruit. 95/100

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