The 2019 Kukeri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is coming from Lakeville vineyard, located off the Lakeville Highway in the heart of the Petaluma Gap, carved by winds, with over 500 feet of elevation, which creates a unique micro-climate. The wine is crafted 100% from the famed Martini clone of Pinot Noir, which creates a wine with a soft and elegant backbone, intense dark fruit, and energetic acidity.
Juicy and intense, our 2019 Kukeri Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir is silky in texture and complex in flavor, with dark berries and cherry pie, fusing perfectly with an exotic undertone of black tea and toasty vanilla oak. In the glass, dark red hues, darker to the edge, medium weight on the palate with a balanced silky mouthfeel and bright refreshing acidity. Long persistent finish.
Winemaking
The grapes were handpicked in the beginning of October, sorted and de-stemmed into small fermentation bins, and allowed to cold soak for 3 days to help stabilize the color and enhance flavors. It was fermented with ‘prise de mousse’ yeast for 17 days and punched down 3 times a day to increase extraction of color and phenolic compounds. Gently pressed and aged for 12 months into 100% French oak barrels with 40% new oak to preserve the delicate notes and mouthfeel. Only 5 barrels produced.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir, Martini Clone
Appellation: Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast
Vineyard: Lakeville Vineyard
Alcohol: 14.2%
pH: 3.67
Aging: 12 months
Cooperage: 100% French oak barrels with 40% new oak
The 2021 Kukeri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is coming from Lakeville vineyard, located off the Lakeville Highway in the heart of the Petaluma Gap, carved by winds, with over 500 feet of elevation, which creates a unique micro-climate. The wine is crafted 100% from the famed Martini clone of Pinot Noir, which creates a wine with a soft and elegant backbone, intense dark fruit, and energetic acidity.
Juicy and intense, our 2021 Kukeri Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir is silky in texture and complex in flavor, with dark berries and wildflowers, fusing perfectly with an exotic undertone of sweet herbs and toasty vanilla oak. In the glass, dark red hues, darker to the edge, medium weight on the palate with balanced silky mouthfeel and bright refreshing acidity. Long persistent finish.
Winemaking
The grapes were handpicked in the beginning of October, sorted and de-stemmed into small fermentation bins, and allowed to cold soak for 4 days to help stabilize the color and enhance flavors. It was fermented with ‘prise de mousse’ yeast for 15 days and punched down 3 times a day to increase extraction of color and phenolic compounds. Gently pressed and aged for 16 months into 100% French oak barrels with 40% new oak to preserve the delicate notes and mouthfeel. Only 5 barrels produced.
Petar Kirilov, founder and winemaker of Kukeri Wines, grew up in Bulgaria and graduated from the prestigious University of Food Technologies with a master’s degree in winemaking. He has worked at Truchard Vineyards, Meadowcroft Wines, and Foyt Wines as a winemaker, and created Kukeri Wines to focus on the production of small-lot quality wines from single vineyards.
Kukeri Wines source grapes from some of the most unusual vineyards in Napa Valley and Sonoma County. “We treat that fruit as gently as possible, producing small lots of quality wines that display the complexity, power, finesse, and specific terroir of Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Mount Veeder, and Pinot Noir from Petaluma Gap, Los Carneros, and Russian River Valley.”
Kukeri refers to a pagan Bulgarian ritual that may date back as far as 8,000 years to the ancient Thracians – and to Dionysus, the god associated with wine, fertility, and rebirth. The festival is replete with mystical symbolism, steeped as it is in a tradition representing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
This was excellent timing on receiving a lab rat bottle since we were due to host a pizza party tonight for our 2 year old daughter’s class. We received one of the 2019 bottles.
This was paired with pepperoni pizza and charcuterie.
This had some healthy competition since this was consumed alongside a bottle of Herman story 2017 nuts & bolts.
Here’s the collection of comments received:
“Very fruit forward. Intense wine. Strong berry flavor. Sweet. Great wine.”
This was a very unique wine. I agree with the intense berry/ cherry comments. Very much a full bodied Pinot. And The flavor profile was notably more developed 3-4 hours after we opened it. Paired very well with food but the wine will also do well on its own.
I’ve loved most of the wines I’ve had from Petaluma gap and this one was excellent as well, and better priced than any others I’ve had. Seeing the price at sub $20/ bottle for the case buy, this is a no brainer for anyone looking for a full bodied Pinot.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
Kukeri Pinot Noirs - $100 = 30.29%
Reverse Wine Snob offered the '19 Lakeville Oct '21:
The 2019 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir begins with a very inviting, succulent aroma of cherry and a little cranberry plus lovely baking spice, sandalwood and vanilla. By day 2 licorice and mint also make an appearance. This one definitely needs a good amount of time to open up at this young age so be sure to give it plenty of time to breathe.
Taking a sip reveals a delightfully tasty and balanced Pinot Noir. It is full of delicious, deep, juicy fruit flavors similar to the nose with some nice earthiness and black tea underneath. More Old World in style, this is a really quite elegant Pinot Noir, definitely a wine to sip slowly and contemplate so as not to miss any of the complexity.
It ends dry and tremendously long with lots of lingering spice. Excellent! This one gets a perfect 10 Taste Rating and it was even better on day 2 which is an indication of its many years of aging potential.
In case you didn’t see it, Meh has an interesting white on sale today, plus a coupon code for Casemates that can be used anytime in the next 12 months for $25 off a case - “WITCHWINE”.
Me. Putting it in my cart and using the code. . . NOTHING. I am guessing this is another one tied to the account in which they suck. Because it doesn’t work for me. Casemates site tools?Chip? Is this the sinking ship I know it is.
BTW, “reverse wine snob” is that like, so I want to make more money and I do not care about you anymore? Because that is all that it has amounted to. WD care to comment? Or are we all still felting his vacation elsewhere?
Edit: I get it. This wine sucks so much that if you purchase it you have a year to find wine that doesn’t suck. Such the marketing offer. Seriously, do you even have one?
@KNmeh7@vandemusser Dunno what your issues are, or why you can’t use the coupon. I just tried opening an incognito window, created a dummy account (with no links to any other sites), and started an order - the coupon code was cheerfully accepted
I’d comment on your second paragraph, but I honestly can’t parse it out. Any clues?
And no, you don’t have to purchase either of today’s offerings in order to have a year to decide when to use your code. (Mine will probably be gone within a month.)
@KNmeh7 What’s the issue with Reverse Wine Snob? The guy who started it was basically like “I don’t think you ever need to spend more than $20 for good wine” and has built a site around it. I’ve gotten a good deal or two from them also - Scott Harvey, Harvest Moon, Winesmith. But the wine offers there are newer, and obviously come from WD. I joined it when it had things like “here are the best wines at Trader Joe’s” and such.
I’m pretty sure WD saves the best deals for this site, for whatever that’s worth to you.
@kaolis@KNmeh7 I didn’t try to use the coupon yet because I didn’t plan to buy THIS offer. My understanding is that the coupon is for THIS site, not the Meh site. Which is why it wouldn’t apply to wine sold on that side, as in yesterday’s offer. I think everyone on this site gets a coupon – but obviously it’s tied to account in some way, because it has to keep track of “you already used this” or else it would be like $25 off for everything the next year, which it definitely is NOT going to give you.
I was selected to rat this offer but thanks to the incompetence at UPS I will not be able to do so until tomorrow afternoon. My apologies.
I received UPS notification on Tuesday and immediately redirected to pick up location (I pay the $20/year fee). I received a “there was an issue with your shipment” message on Wednesday then a “sortation” issue whatever that is on Wednesday. Wine dropped off on Thursday but I left town Thursday morning and missed it.
Hi All,
Happy Saturday to All of you!
Thanks to Casemates for offering again my wines
Also thanks to stevenfarber527 for the detailed description on the 2019 Pinot Noir. Cheers to that
The 2021 Pinot is again medium to full body pinot noir, is little bit more juicy and fruit forward wine with intense dark cherry and wildflowers flavors, long finish with refreshing acidity.
You can either enjoy 2021 Pinot Noir now, or let it age for few years, so definitely make sure you grab a case to see how will develop over the years.
I am pretty happy with both wines, but my favorite one at time is the 2021 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Really want to buy in on this, love all the kukeri wine I’ve purchased here and on the short lived lifespan of divvy up. Still nervous about temperatures here in Texas, but we’re supposed to start trending down in a week or so. Decisions decisions
DeLong notes
Color depth: medium-deep
Color hue: light ruby
Clarity: clear, no cloudiness
Aroma intensity: low-moderate; not getting much at PnP 52degrees; maybe needs to warm up a bit; five minutes later at 57 degrees and lots of swirling but still very muted
Taste: bone dry, medium body, fresh acidity with medium tannins, can feel the alcohol but not overly so; there isn’t much complexity initially, one dimensional, getting blackberries and a tannic note on my tongue; more on the new world spectrum with a medium 4-5 second finish
My overall impression at PnP is that this is a well-made Pinot that is balanced; hides the 14.2 alcohol well, I was expecting a bigger Pinot based on color and alcohol but alas it is somewhere in the middle (between a ligh elegant on and a bigger bolder and more muscular Pinot
I will report back in about an hour to let the wine open up
Note: wife and I just got back from Santa Barbara wine country where we tasted thru a few Pinots.
Update (about one hour after PnP and 60 temperature) the wine seems weightier and definitely on the bigger side of the PN spectrum, alcohol is still noticeable and although not obtrusive still noticeable
There was a also a slight green taste throughout which I usually associate with grapes being picked too early. It’s not a stem inclusion type of green but rather when one bites into a seed. It’s not overwhelming but it there
Final verdict is that wine is well made but not very distinctive. One dimensional imo especially when compared to Sanford, Tyler, and D’alfonso Curran Pinots from SRH we had the past few days
Hi All,
Thank you for everyone who purchase my wines.
Just want to share with you the good news that the 2021 Kukeri Sonoma Coast Lakeville Vineyard Pinot Noir won Gold Medal from 2023 Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
Cheers and thanks again for your support.
2019 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Specs
2021 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
2-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $540/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 23 - Thursday, Oct 26
Kukeri Pinot Noirs
2 bottles for $54.99 $27.50/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $229.99 $19.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2019 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard
2021 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard
2019 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard
This was excellent timing on receiving a lab rat bottle since we were due to host a pizza party tonight for our 2 year old daughter’s class. We received one of the 2019 bottles.
This was paired with pepperoni pizza and charcuterie.
This had some healthy competition since this was consumed alongside a bottle of Herman story 2017 nuts & bolts.
Here’s the collection of comments received:
“Very fruit forward. Intense wine. Strong berry flavor. Sweet. Great wine.”
This was a very unique wine. I agree with the intense berry/ cherry comments. Very much a full bodied Pinot. And The flavor profile was notably more developed 3-4 hours after we opened it. Paired very well with food but the wine will also do well on its own.
I’ve loved most of the wines I’ve had from Petaluma gap and this one was excellent as well, and better priced than any others I’ve had. Seeing the price at sub $20/ bottle for the case buy, this is a no brainer for anyone looking for a full bodied Pinot.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
Kukeri Pinot Noirs - $100 = 30.29%
The 2019 Lakeville was offered here Nov '21. Rats/discussion/producer/winesmith all chiming in
and looks like IL is in this time
Reverse Wine Snob offered the '19 Lakeville Oct '21:
The 2019 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir begins with a very inviting, succulent aroma of cherry and a little cranberry plus lovely baking spice, sandalwood and vanilla. By day 2 licorice and mint also make an appearance. This one definitely needs a good amount of time to open up at this young age so be sure to give it plenty of time to breathe.
Taking a sip reveals a delightfully tasty and balanced Pinot Noir. It is full of delicious, deep, juicy fruit flavors similar to the nose with some nice earthiness and black tea underneath. More Old World in style, this is a really quite elegant Pinot Noir, definitely a wine to sip slowly and contemplate so as not to miss any of the complexity.
It ends dry and tremendously long with lots of lingering spice. Excellent! This one gets a perfect 10 Taste Rating and it was even better on day 2 which is an indication of its many years of aging potential.
fwiw
Just so people don’t miss it, meh has a case of white on sale today too!
In case you didn’t see it, Meh has an interesting white on sale today, plus a coupon code for Casemates that can be used anytime in the next 12 months for $25 off a case - “WITCHWINE”.
@vandemusser
Me. Putting it in my cart and using the code. . . NOTHING. I am guessing this is another one tied to the account in which they suck. Because it doesn’t work for me. Casemates site tools?Chip? Is this the sinking ship I know it is.
BTW, “reverse wine snob” is that like, so I want to make more money and I do not care about you anymore? Because that is all that it has amounted to. WD care to comment? Or are we all still felting his vacation elsewhere?
Edit: I get it. This wine sucks so much that if you purchase it you have a year to find wine that doesn’t suck. Such the marketing offer. Seriously, do you even have one?
@KNmeh7 have a glass of wine… it’ll put you in a better mood.
@KNmeh7 @vandemusser Dunno what your issues are, or why you can’t use the coupon. I just tried opening an incognito window, created a dummy account (with no links to any other sites), and started an order - the coupon code was cheerfully accepted
I’d comment on your second paragraph, but I honestly can’t parse it out. Any clues?
And no, you don’t have to purchase either of today’s offerings in order to have a year to decide when to use your code. (Mine will probably be gone within a month.)
@KNmeh7 What’s the issue with Reverse Wine Snob? The guy who started it was basically like “I don’t think you ever need to spend more than $20 for good wine” and has built a site around it. I’ve gotten a good deal or two from them also - Scott Harvey, Harvest Moon, Winesmith. But the wine offers there are newer, and obviously come from WD. I joined it when it had things like “here are the best wines at Trader Joe’s” and such.
I’m pretty sure WD saves the best deals for this site, for whatever that’s worth to you.
@KNmeh7 Hey hey, it’s National Love People Day… take it all back… ha!
@kaolis @KNmeh7 I didn’t try to use the coupon yet because I didn’t plan to buy THIS offer. My understanding is that the coupon is for THIS site, not the Meh site. Which is why it wouldn’t apply to wine sold on that side, as in yesterday’s offer. I think everyone on this site gets a coupon – but obviously it’s tied to account in some way, because it has to keep track of “you already used this” or else it would be like $25 off for everything the next year, which it definitely is NOT going to give you.
@KNmeh7 @vandemusser I put it in the cart and applied the coupon with no trouble. Haven’t yet checked out, but all seems good. Why the anger, KNmeh7?
any SoCal interested in the '19?
I was selected to rat this offer but thanks to the incompetence at UPS I will not be able to do so until tomorrow afternoon. My apologies.
I received UPS notification on Tuesday and immediately redirected to pick up location (I pay the $20/year fee). I received a “there was an issue with your shipment” message on Wednesday then a “sortation” issue whatever that is on Wednesday. Wine dropped off on Thursday but I left town Thursday morning and missed it.
Ups sucks
@losthighwayz they sure do. they’ve screwed up wine deliveries for me too
Hi All,
Happy Saturday to All of you!
Thanks to Casemates for offering again my wines
Also thanks to stevenfarber527 for the detailed description on the 2019 Pinot Noir. Cheers to that
The 2021 Pinot is again medium to full body pinot noir, is little bit more juicy and fruit forward wine with intense dark cherry and wildflowers flavors, long finish with refreshing acidity.
You can either enjoy 2021 Pinot Noir now, or let it age for few years, so definitely make sure you grab a case to see how will develop over the years.
I am pretty happy with both wines, but my favorite one at time is the 2021 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Cheers and thanks again for your support!
@KukeriWines great to see you here - it’s always helpful for the winery to step up and take part in these discussions…
Really want to buy in on this, love all the kukeri wine I’ve purchased here and on the short lived lifespan of divvy up. Still nervous about temperatures here in Texas, but we’re supposed to start trending down in a week or so. Decisions decisions
Enjoyed Kukeri PNs from the last sale. I’m in again!
/giphy truthful-judicious-roof
2021 Kukeri Pinot Noir, Lakeville Vineyard, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast
DeLong notes
Color depth: medium-deep
Color hue: light ruby
Clarity: clear, no cloudiness
Aroma intensity: low-moderate; not getting much at PnP 52degrees; maybe needs to warm up a bit; five minutes later at 57 degrees and lots of swirling but still very muted
Taste: bone dry, medium body, fresh acidity with medium tannins, can feel the alcohol but not overly so; there isn’t much complexity initially, one dimensional, getting blackberries and a tannic note on my tongue; more on the new world spectrum with a medium 4-5 second finish
My overall impression at PnP is that this is a well-made Pinot that is balanced; hides the 14.2 alcohol well, I was expecting a bigger Pinot based on color and alcohol but alas it is somewhere in the middle (between a ligh elegant on and a bigger bolder and more muscular Pinot
I will report back in about an hour to let the wine open up
Note: wife and I just got back from Santa Barbara wine country where we tasted thru a few Pinots.
Update (about one hour after PnP and 60 temperature) the wine seems weightier and definitely on the bigger side of the PN spectrum, alcohol is still noticeable and although not obtrusive still noticeable
There was a also a slight green taste throughout which I usually associate with grapes being picked too early. It’s not a stem inclusion type of green but rather when one bites into a seed. It’s not overwhelming but it there
Final verdict is that wine is well made but not very distinctive. One dimensional imo especially when compared to Sanford, Tyler, and D’alfonso Curran Pinots from SRH we had the past few days
The Casemates price is appropriate imo
Cases SOLD OUT
@ttboy23 guess that solves my dilemma. Oh well.
@deadlyapp @ttboy23 same!
Hi All,
from 2023 Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
Thank you for everyone who purchase my wines.
Just want to share with you the good news that the 2021 Kukeri Sonoma Coast Lakeville Vineyard Pinot Noir won Gold Medal
Cheers and thanks again for your support.
Already a UPS delay less than 12 hours from initial departure.
The clownfest continues
This wine was fantastic! Will it be available again? Cheers ~ PJ Fan