Chardonnay, Kutch 2022

The 2022 Chardonnay “Sonoma Coast” bottling from Jamie Kutch is a lovely wine. The bouquet is bright, expressive and nicely tropical in profile this year, offering up scents of pineapple, papaya, orange peel, salty soil tones, citrus blossoms and just a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and succulent, with a lovely core, fine soil undertow and grip, zesty acids and lovely balance on the long, complex and wide open finish. This wine comes in at thirteen percent octane in this vintage and is really quite a lovely drink right out of the blocks. Drink between 2024-2035.

Full bottle 1,344 g. Dry-farmed, ungrafted vines planted in the Bohan Vineyard in 1972 at 1,400 ft, just over three miles from the Pacific on Goldridge and sandy loam soils. Picked by hand on 7 September. Spontaneous fermentation in five French oak barrels (one new) after whole-bunch pressing. Pale greenish straw colour. A hint of pineapple overlays lemon scents and a beautiful marriage of fruit and (marked) acidity. I hope Jamie Kutch won't go the way of the austerity displayed by some Australian Chardonnay producers. He's not there yet ... Excellent bright fruit and purity of texture. I wonder why he doesn't label it Bohan Vineyard? A wine to keep until next year, I feel, to allow it to soften a little. No hurry.