Hello and welcome to this week’s dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This week I tasted a few nice wines from Aia Vecchia, an estate established in 1996 in the coastal Bolgheri region of Tuscany. Their Vermentino has a classic floral and pear quality I admired, and the latest vintage of their “Lagone” blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc proves, as always, to be a spectacular value. Their more up-market “Sor Ugo” Bordeaux blend needs a bit more time to enjoy at its fullest, but it was also promising.

The folks at Far Niente sent along a Pinot Noir from their Post & Beam brand, which offered many of the characteristics that California Pinot lovers crave: bright fruit, refreshing acidity, and a nice energy and purity. While not entirely my style of Pinot Noir, I can’t help but admire it for what it is, and think many will enjoy it, especially at what is a pretty reasonable price for a solid California Pinot Noir these days.

Regular readers will know that I have long admired the work of winemaker Jamie Kutch, who has been honing his craft for two decades now as a soulful producer of some of California’s finest Pinot Noirs. The 2024 vintage, which he begins to release on January 15th of next year, is his 20th, and tasting them, you get the impression of a winemaker who has truly hit his stride. His single-vineyard expressions of Bohan Vineyard, Falstaff Vineyard, and Mindego Ridge are stunning, and his Sonoma Coast bottling proves excellent, as usual.

Admirably, Kutch’s prices have remained quite reasonable over these last two decades. Comparing them to producers such as Ceritas, Cobb, Rhys, Peay, Failla, and William Selyem (in whose class they undoubtedly sit), these wines can seem downright affordable in comparison. Of course, they are made in small quantities, so getting your hands on them can prove difficult, regardless of the price.

That’s what I got for this week. Notes on all these wines below.

Tasting Notes

2024 Aia Vecchia Vermentino, Tuscany, Italy
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of pears, white flowers, and pastry cream. In the mouth, silky pear and white flower notes swirl with delicate acidity and hints of orange peel lingering in the finish. I wish there were a little more verve here. But quite pleasant. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $17. click to buy.

2024 Kutch Winery Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry, green herbs, and a hint of flowers. In the mouth, raspberry and cherry flavors mix with green herbs. Lightly grippy tannins, decent acidity. A mix of purchased fruit from various sites declassified into a wine designed for by-the-glass programs. 13% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $n/a. Generally, for restaurants only.

2024 Kutch Winery Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of raspberries, flowers, dried herbs, and wet earth. In the mouth, silky flavors of raspberries, redcurrants, and a hint of strawberry are wrapped in a gauzy haze of fine-grained tannins, excellent acidity, and great length. Ambient yeast fermentation with 50% foot-stomped whole clusters, then aged for 12 months in neutral French oak. 13% alcohol. 750 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $43. click to buy. (To be released in January, 2026).

2024 Kutch Winery “Bohan” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberries, raspberry pastilles, and flowers. In the mouth, gorgeously bright raspberry and redcurrant flavors are silky and juicy with gauzy tannins that stiffen slightly with time and amazing citrus brightness. Supple, sexy, and gorgeous. Fruit from 40-year-old vines undergoes ambient yeast fermentation with 50% foot-stomped whole clusters, then aged for 12 months in neutral French oak. 13% alcohol. 200 cases made. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $59. click to buy. (To be released in January, 2026).

2024 Kutch Winery “Mindego Ridge” Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine smells of raspberries, violets, earth, and hints of forest floor. In the mouth, raspberry, dried herbs, earth, and a touch of wet redwood bark. There’s a hint of dried citrus peel in the finish. Supple, gauzy tannins. Lovely balance. Ambient yeast fermentation with 50% foot-stomped whole clusters, then aged for 12 months in neutral French oak. 13% alcohol. 175 cases made. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $69. click to buy. (To be released in January, 2026).

2024 Kutch Winery “Falstaff” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cedar boughs, flowers, raspberries, and dried orange peel. In the mouth, citrus peel, raspberries, cranberries, and dried herbs are wrapped in gauzy tannins and bright with excellent acidity. There’s a lovely stony note that lingers in the finish. Ambient yeast fermentation with 50% foot-stomped whole clusters, then aged for 12 months in neutral French oak. 13% alcohol. 350 cases made. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $69. click to buy. (To be released in January, 2026).

2024 Post & Beam Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of candied raspberries and pomegranate. In the mouth, bright cranberry, sour cherry, and raspberry flavors have a nice bright zip thanks to excellent acidity. Faint, gauzy tannins hang at the edges of perceptibility. Slightly candied in quality, but a crowd-pleaser of a Pinot. Ages for 10 months in 30% new French oak. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $37. click to buy.

2023 Aia Vecchia “Lagone” Red Blend, Tuscany, Italy
Dark garnet in the glass with some ruby highlights, this wine smells of black cherry, blackcurrant, a hint of black olive, and spices. In the mouth, fleecy tannins surround a core of black cherry, red miso, dried herbs, and baking spices as very good acidity keeps things fresh. Sweet oak lingers in the finish. There’s a nice savory quality to this wine that, along with the acidity, makes for a mouthwatering package. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc aged for 12 months in French oak. 14.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2022 Aia Vecchia “Sor Ugo” Red Blend, Bolgheri Superiore, Italy
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, cigar box, and dried herbs. In the mouth, fleecy tannins coat the mouth and dry it somewhat as a core of black cherry, tobacco, dusty herbs, and graphite mix with toasted oak. Hints of dried licorice root linger in the finish. Very good acidity. A well-composed wine that needs time, however. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot aged for 18 months in French oak, and then six more in the bottle before release. 15% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $54. click to buy.