2017 Bohan Vineyard Pinot Noir

A new wine in the range, 2017 Pinot Noir Bohan Vineyard (Graveyard Block) emerges from a single parcel of own-rooted vines planted on rocky, hard sandstone, as opposed the Goldridge soils that run through the rest of the property. Jamie Kutch chose to fully destem the fruit for this wine because the California sprawl training system here yields a wide range of ripeness that works well with berries in giving the wine shades of complexity, but is more problematic when it comes to achieving even ripeness in the stems. Translucent and super-expressive, the Graveyard Block has a sense of understated power that is almost Nebbiolo-like in its intensity. Freshly cut flowers, mint, chalk, white pepper and tobacco add the closing shades of nuance. This is the most tannic of the wines.

Pale crimson. Gentle and fresh with some green notes. Already approachable. Pretty astringent and defiantly natural on the finish. Perfume and charm. Fruit initially and then a dry end. Could do with a little more juice and fruit in the middle, but actually it held up extremely well in an open bottle and filled out, seeming to gain fruit so I have added half a point to my original score on the basis of this. And I may even be under-scoring it. (JR)