Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Sandhi and Kutch | View online
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Wine Cellar - fine wine merchants & cellarers

Compelling new-wave Californian wines

Much as with the revolution in SA, the ‘New California Wave’ focuses on ‘innovative producers who are rewriting the rules of contemporary winemaking and their quest to express the uniqueness of California terroir’ explains American writer Jon Bonné.

Just as in South Africa, a new generation’s wines are injecting fun and innovation into the California wine scene. Producers have been seeking out the coolest (in both senses) California wine regions.’ – Jancis Robinson MW

Two such classic, must-watch producers, focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, are Sandhi from California’s Central Coast and Kutch found north of San Francisco on the Sonoma Coast.

California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – Order online

It’s safe to say that Sta. Rita Hills, California, stands as one of the greatest places in the New World to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.’ – Wine Enthusiast

Founded in 2010, Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr started Sandhi Wines to explore the defining vineyards of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in Santa Barbara County. In his recent review of their wines, Antonio Galloni says, ‘it is quite conceivable that within a few years the Sandhi Chardonnays and Pinots could become reference point, benchmark wines for Santa Barbara, and California, for that matter.’ My harvest with them in 2012 was one of my favourite and most formative. Not only are they winemakers, but also philosophers, historians and storytellers – generous with their knowledge, time and wine.

Further north one finds Jamie Kutch’s Wines, established in 2005. ‘Kutch wines are the essence of transparency and freshness,’ writes Jancis Robinson. Focused on expressing California’s terroir, ‘this is a stellar set of wines that shows just how compelling 2017 is for Sonoma’s Burgundian varieties,’ opines Antonio Galloni.

Sandhi Sta. Barbara Chardonnay 2016
Sandhi Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2016
Kutch Trout Gulch Chardonnay 2017
Kutch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2016

Join me on Zoom next week Wednesday, 15 July at 6h30 pm as I am joined by Talya Roberson and Alex Hurley of Roberson Wines UK to discuss these new-wave Californian arrivals. Purchase the introductory mixed pack below and taste-along with us. Register for the Zoom webinar here. It is open and free to all, whether you order the pack or not. We will also be live-streaming to our YouTube channel for those who wish to join us there.

California taste-a-long mixed pack – Order online


Free delivery on orders over R1,500.
If you need any assistance, call us on 021 448 4105.
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Vinous regards,
Jolette and the Wine Cellar team

Sandhi, Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2016
The 2016 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is a soft, easygoing wine to drink now and over the next few years, while the orchard fruit and floral notes retain their freshness. This is a more open-knit style relative to the more focused Sta. Rita Hills appellation Chardonnay. Alc: 12%. – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 89-90/100

Sandhi, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2016
Just bottled, the 2016 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is positively stellar. Powerful and deep in the glass, with unusual depth, the 2016 has so much to offer. There is a level of sheer richness I have never seen in this bottling before. Blue and purplish berry fruit, lavender and spice flavors are all amped up. This is a very serious wine at the appellation level. Then again, the core of this wine is now composed of vineyards that belong to Domaine de la Côte. If there is one wine that over delivers big time in 2016, Sandhi's Santa Rita Hills Pinot is it. Don't miss it. 2019 – 2028. Alc: 13.5%. – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 93/100

Kutch Wines, Santa Cruz Mountains Trout Gulch Chardonnay 2017
The 2017 Chardonnay Trout Gulch offers a striking combination of fruit intensity and the structure that makes this site so distinctive. Lemon peel, chalk, white flowers, mint are all laced together in a striking, vibrant Chardonnay loaded with character. The warmer growing season has fleshed out some of the more angular contours that so often mark wines from this Santa Cruz Mountains site. 2020 – 2027. Alc: 12.5%. – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 92-94/100

Kutch Wines, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2016
This is made from the producer's several single-vineyard sites, including McDougall, Signal Ridge, Falstaff and Bohan. Concentrated flavors of black cherry and wild vanilla complement an earthy core of dried herb with an undeniable freshness on the midpalate and lengthy finish. Alc: 13%. – Wine Enthusiast, 93/100



 
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