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Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch, Kutch 2014

RegionU.S.A.
Subregion U.S.A. > California > Sonoma
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyPinot Noir

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Label

Tasting Notes

12.4% alc., 350 cases. This vineyard is located 3.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of 935 feet. The site is farmed by noted vineyard manager Ulises Valdez. The vineyard was planted in 1998 to clone 114 in Graywacke and sandstone soils. 100% whole cluster, native yeast primary fermentation and native malolactic fermentation, aged on lees 11 months without racking in 100% neutral French oak barrels. Moderately dark reddish purple color in the glass. Intriguing, mysterious and seductive in every way, with aromas of fresh, dark fruits, floral meadow and forest. Velvety and enchanting on the palate, with sensual flavors of black raspberry, black plum, boysenberry, black tea, spice and floral goodness. The tannins offer good grip and the finish lingers. When tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, the wine was still extremely appealing with a blessed mix of fruit, spice and floral tones and a huge finish that grabs at the heart strings emotionally. Truly, this is a wine that can make you blissfully happy.

95
Rusty Gaffney, PrinceOfPinot.com, April 2016

(Kutch Wines “McDougall Ranch” Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)) The 2014 McDougall Ranch is the lowest octane of these 2014s from Kutch Wines, coming in at a very cool 12.4 percent octane. The wine is quite black fruity in personality this year, but pure, focused and intensely flavored and will be outstanding with a bit of bottle age. The refined nose wafts from the glass in a mix of sweet dark berries, bitter chocolate, a hint of cola, lovely soil tones, fresh herbs and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is medium-full, bright and tangy, with fine transparency, a good core of black fruit, suave, ripe tannins and excellent length and grip on the tangy and nascently complex finish.; At 12.4 percent alcohol, I wondered how this would be balanced on the palate, but the wine is impeccable in shape and detail and will be a terrific bottle with a handful of years in the cellar. Stylistically this wine is so far removed from the absurd world of Martinelli and Marcassin pinot noir as to seemingly have come from another planet! (Drink between 2020-2045)

93+
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (62), April 2016

Rocky soil. Dark cherry and rhubarb nose, soft oak notes, faint stemmy aroma adding snap. Quite fibrous tannin on the finish - a keeper.

17.5
Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, March 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.