Kutch Wines

Overview

Kutch Wines is a small, classically-styled Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer based in Sebastopol on the Sonoma Coast, founded by Jamie Kutch and his wife Kristen Green. Jamie left a career on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch to pursue winemaking, producing his first wines in 2005 at Kosta-Browne’s facility. By 2009 he had fully found his own stylistic voice: lower alcohol (12–13.2%), 50%+ whole clusters, no new oak (since 2013), native yeasts, gravity-fed cellar work, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. The resulting wines are strikingly Burgundian in their transparency, soil expression, and multi-decade aging potential.

John Gilman (VFTC #114, 2024) calls Kutch “one of California’s shiniest new stars” and devotes a 30-page feature to the wines, concluding that his earlier drinking windows were too short — the single vineyard pinots need 12–15 years to truly blossom.

In 2020–2022, Jamie planted a new home vineyard near Sebastopol (a converted century-old organic apple orchard), 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, with a microclimate similar to Falstaff Vineyard. First wines from this vineyard expected mid-to-late 2020s.

Appellations

• Sonoma Coast — blended regional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; Bohan Vineyard (planted 1972/1974), Falstaff Vineyard (planted 1999), McDougall Ranch (planted 1998); Bohan “Salt Point” Chardonnay
• Santa Cruz Mountains — Trout Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay (planted 1977–1980); Mindego Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir (planted 2009, first vintage 2019); “Ridge Top” cuvée from Mindego Ridge (first vintage 2023)
• Formerly: Anderson Valley — Savoy Vineyard (2009–2011); Signal Ridge Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge (2015–2018)

Key Wines

Pinot Noir:

• Falstaff Vineyard (Sonoma Coast) — coolest site, 8 miles from ocean, Goldridge sandy loam; elegant red fruit, superb soil transparency; 50% whole clusters; 94–95+ pts across 2019–2023 vintages
• Bohan Vineyard (Sonoma Coast) — 50+ year-old vines (planted 1974), 3 miles from ocean, 1,400 ft elevation, dry-farmed; dark-fruited, structured; 94–95 pts 2019–2023
• Bohan Vineyard “Graveyard Block” — stony sandstone section planted 1988; 100% destemmed (unique in lineup); darker and more structured than main Bohan; 94–96 pts 2019–2023
• McDougall Ranch (Sonoma Coast) — above the fogline, most accessible of single vineyards; planted 1998; 94–95+ pts in 2019–2023
• Mindego Ridge Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains) — most mineral-driven; stony shale/sandstone soils, 750–900 ft elevation; planted 2009; 94–94+ pts 2019–2023
• Mindego Ridge “Ridge Top” — debut 2023; debut vintage scored 95 pts
• Sonoma Coast (blended) — declassified fruit from single vineyards; excellent value; 91–93+ pts

Chardonnay:

• Trout Gulch Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains) — planted 1977–1980; 20% new oak; reductive, mineral, racy; served blind Gilman would call it Meursault (92–94 pts)
• Bohan Salt Point Block (Sonoma Coast) — highest elevation parcel of Bohan, planted 2018; 94 pts in 2022
• Sonoma Coast (blended, from Bohan Vineyard planted 1972) — 20% new oak; ripe and tropical; 92–94 pts

Style Notes

Jamie Kutch’s approach has been refined since 2009: early picking for freshness and natural acidity; 50–75% whole clusters for most Pinot Noirs (Graveyard Block is 100% destemmed as the sole exception); fermentation and malolactic with indigenous yeasts only; casks from 5–10 years of age (zero new oak since 2012–2013); gravity-fed cellar; no fining or filtration. The resulting wines are low in alcohol (12–13.2%), transparent to their terroir, and built for long-term cellaring. Chardonnays use up to 20% new oak.

Gilman’s key observation from revisiting older vintages: the wines need 12–15 years to truly blossom, longer than initially anticipated. Many wines are still climbing at age 10–12. At maturity, the single vineyard bottlings rank among the finest Pinot Noir made anywhere.

VFTC #114 Vintage Notes (2022–2023 featured)

2022 Vintage Notes (VFTC #114)

The 2022 vintage was strong across the Kutch lineup. Selected scores:

• 2023 Bohan Vineyard: 95 (2035–2080+)
• 2022 Bohan Vineyard: 94 (2031–2080)
• 2023 Bohan Graveyard Block: 94 (2033–2075)
• 2022 Bohan Graveyard Block: 94+ (2031–2080)
• 2023 Falstaff Vineyard: 95 (2035–2080+)
• 2022 Falstaff Vineyard: 95+ (2033–2080) — “brilliant young pinot noir”
• 2023 McDougall Ranch: 95+ (2035–2080+)
• 2022 McDougall Ranch: 94+ (2032–2080)
• 2023 Mindego Ridge: 94+ (2036–2080+)
• 2022 Mindego Ridge: 94 (2033–2080)
• 2023 Mindego Ridge Ridge Top (debut): 95 (2037–2080+)
• 2022 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir: 93+ (2032–2075+)
• 2022 Trout Gulch Chardonnay: 94 (2024–2045+)
• 2022 Bohan Salt Point Chardonnay: 94 (2024–2045+)
• 2022 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay: 92 (2024–2035)

Older highlights (multiple vintages re-tasted):

• 2019 Bohan Graveyard Block: 96 — “great pinot noir in the making… flat out stunning”
• 2021 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast: 94 (2025–2040+)
• 2018 Trout Gulch Chardonnay: 94 — “drinking beautifully today… would call this Meursault”

My Tastings

(none yet)

Sources

• sources/articles/VFTC/VFTC Nov-Dec 2024 #114.txt (pages 39–68)