Photo courtesy of Kutch Vineyard

Killer Kutch Vintages
Off the Charts Good

The 2020 and 2021 vintage at Kutch. Focused, expressive, and delicious wines. 

The 2020 harvest was a challenging one to say the least. Wildfires ran rampant across California endangering vineyards, wineries, and residents. Many producers like Jamie Kutch were forced to make quick and hard decisions on when or if to pick. Post pick, the decisions did not ease up when dealing with what little fruit there was and the overall conditions in the region. 

Kutch made the hard decision to bottle only one Pinot Noir from his stellar range. The heart and mainstay of the brand - McDougal Ranch. The 2020 McDougal lives up to the expectations and quality of what a Kutch Pinot Noir is. It’s a tremendous success for the vintage and a key indicator of the evolution of winemaking that Jamie has undergone these past fifteen years. Experience is yielding the Uber-talented Kutch the comfort and calmness to make the hard decisions. He inherently understands each of his vineyards’ sites, embracing their unique personalities more than ever which has given us a string of terrific vintages even in the face of extreme hurdles. 

The 2021 vintage - Kutch brings the fire himself with an amazing set of wines that are simply “Stunning and Impressive.” The excitement and pleasure we have been experiencing with these wines are unlike any other vintage from Kutch thus far. The diversity of the wines and the quality is marvelous and clearly speaks to why Jamie Kutch has become one of the most important Pinot Noir producers of Sonoma.

This too applies to the recently added range of Chardonnay over the past six harvests. The inaugural release of his first Chardonnay was the 2014 from Santa Cruz which made heads turn and all of us excited for more Kutch Chardonnay. Today, Trout Gulch Vineyard is a staple of the Kutch Chardonnay lineup and a site the Kutch is simply excelling with. Antonio Galloni has stated that “The Chardonnays are the hidden gems in this range, but they are just as worthy of serious attention. In particular, the Trout Gulch Chardonnay is impressive for the way it balances ripeness and fruit density with the more savory, mineral-driven qualities that are so typical of the site.”

However, it is not just the Trout Gulch Chardonnay that Kutch is excelling with, the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay from Bohan vineyards has become one of the best buys in Sonoma Chardonnay there is. The wine has tremendous texture and body with razor focused edges. It is a wine that Kutch has truly brought into its own and now a phenomenal staple of this range. 

These are 2020s and 2021s that fans of the winery will want to have and for those of you who have not yet tried a Kutch wine, these are the ideal introduction!

Cheers,
Jeremy