Sonoma Coast

This was offered at a local wine store.  They listed the price at $20 which is a good value for a Pinot of this quality.  It is lighter in style, especially for California and that seemed popular with the crowd.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is slightly earthy with a macerated cherry quality.  Very nice.  On the palate, there are slight tannins.  Cherries with a pretty silky texture.  A slight bitter note on the finish.  All in all this is a very pretty wine.

I had meant to open this with food, but we were starting to drink reds, and I wanted to open this earlier.  And the food was still being prepared, so we drank this as a cocktail.  It was very good that way, but luckily, there was a glass (or at least a few ounces left) to try with food.  Even better.  Light golden in color.  The nose is nice with lemon cream and slight vanilla.  It took a few minutes and then really picked up.  On the palate, this is crisp with good acidity.  Plenty of depth.  Lemon cream and slight vanilla again.  Good finish.  This is young and probably could use more air

Yellow/gold in color.  The nose has sulfur/smoke and lumber.  Someone mentioned marshmallow, and yes, that was on there too.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  Very plush and creamy.  Lots of oak and charred oak.  A bit of lemon on the finish but also a bit of heat.  This is a stylistic thing and some will love it and for others, it is just not the type of Chardonnay the want.  If you are in the former, add a few points to the score.  If you are in the later, lay it down for 3 to 5 years and let the oak integrate a bit and hope the fruit can emerge.  

This wine has finally opened up and is drinking well.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, some black olives, black pepper and slight gamey meats.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Plenty of depth with layers that unwind in the glass.  Still a bit young, it could use some air before drinking.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with a bit of earthiness.  Good finish.  Will work with medium and heavier foods.  No hurry, has a decade or more left.  

Really drinking in a nice place right now.  Very elegant and refined IMO, at least compared to other vintages.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with macerated cherries, spice and slight fresh cherries.  On the palate, this is not a big wine.  Cherries and cherry juice with layers of damp forest floor.  Good balance.  Delicious too.  Nice finish.  Very food friendly for a wide range of foods.  Very nice today.  It might not get better but no hurry.  

Nice to revisit this wine.  It is starting to really hit its stride at this point although it did continue to open after popping the cork.  Purple in color.  The nose is deep with leather, iodine, boysenberries and a slight grilled meat component.  On the palate, this has a cooler climate profile.  Boysenberry fruit.  Layers of dry leather.  Good balance.  Medium to full bodied.  Would work well with a wide variety of foods.  It has depth and a nice complexity but also drinks easy.  Good finish.  

Light golden in color.  The nose is clean with lemon peel, and slightly herbal notes (in a good way).  This is lean but persistent.  Tart green apples on the palate had me thinking of Chablis.  Although this is tight, it seems more open, especially with air, than a prior bottle.  Long finish.  This still needs more time to develop.  Very crisp and worked well with food. 

This is the first bottling by Kutch from this AVA.  Perhaps not quite the focus as the Santa Cruz mountain version but still quite nice.  That may be to being a different vintage or AVA.  This is golden in color.  The nose has pears, slight vanilla, some lemon and a slightly sweaty note to it.  On the palate, this is of course young.  The pears and slight lemons come thru.  Some acidity but not a lot.  It will be good to revisit this and see if it comes more together.  That said, it is delicious now with depth to it.  Worked very well at the dinner table.  

Ruby in color, some purple.  On the nose this has some cherry juice and also some celery.  On the palate, the green streak is a bit out of balance.  There is some cherry fruit.  It seems a bit disjointed at present.  Perhaps it comes around with time.  I am told this sells for around $60.  Certainly worth drinking but not a great value for my tastes.  

Light golden in color.  The nose is great with a creamy lemon vanilla quality to it.  Maybe some peach as well as it warms.  On the palate, this has a lush creamy texture.  Lemons, vanilla, and with air some pineapple.  This is still young but has rounded out a bit.  Layers of depth with lemon and pineapple intertwined with a dry candied quality if that makes sense.  This seems like it will age quite well.  There is still some oak but it is almost seamless instead of over bearing.  Long finish.  Great wine.