2013 William Knuttel Pinot Noir Rued Mount Olivet Vineyard

Decades of dedication meet “Vintage of the Decade”

When the Sideways-inspired Pinot Noir wave sent winemakers and consumers flocking to the grape in the mid-2000s, Bill Knuttel must have felt like Neil Young during the Seattle grunge era, watching the world go wild over the thing he had been doing better than anyone for decades.

Knuttel set the pace for rich, elegant Pinot Noirs at Saintsbury from 1983 to 1996, when many California winemakers were still brutalizing the grape with heavy-handed techniques. His next stints — crafting dusty Cabernets at Chalk Hill and full-throttle Zins at Dry Creek — meant that Pinot was no longer part of his day job. But Bill found himself crisscrossing the hillsides of Russian River on the weekends, perusing various lots, asking about clones and rootstocks. The day Bill finally shelled out for a lot of top-quality Pinot vines was a coup for fans of juicy California Pinot Noir with a Burgundian-cut.

But the term “Burgundian” tends to get thrown around a lot — without much thought for what it means. So the last time we spoke, we asked for a clarification from the man who pioneered that style.

“It means 100% Pinot Noir, all the time,” Bill said, “with French oak and toast that augments the spice of the grape.” Russian River, as Bill sees it, gives the best of all worlds. “We don’t over-extract. We take what the vintage gives us, and we always get it good and ripe, with good fruit character and acidity.”

In the late 2000s, Bill began cherry-picking his favorite Dijon and Pommard clones from the rows at longtime associate Richard Rued’s Mt. Olivet Vineyard. From the start, we were hounding Bill for an allocation of his Mt. Olivet Pinot, and last year, we finally landed one, his 2012. Officially the first year of California’s four-year dry spell, the 2012 showed a touch of the drought’s effect. But 2013, as Bill points out, was “an inflection point.”

“2013 was amazing, a perfect storm: the vines being a little bit starved for water, but there were good-sized crops, with lots of clusters. There was no rain or frost — just perfect growing conditions.” Robert Parker called the 2013s “top-flight,” and Wine Enthusiast dropped a stunning 95 points on the vintage.

Bill wasn’t done. “We still have ’17, ’18, ’19 to go… But as of right now, 2013 is the vintage of the decade.”

The 2013 William Knuttel Pinot Noir Rued Mt. Olivet Vineyard Russian River Valley is deep ruby in the glass. Rich aromas of ripe cherry and wild strawberry, cardamom, and clove burst from the glass. A full, juicy mouthfeel melds into a sleek and long finish, framed by crisp acidity. Nicely integrated from a few years in bottle, it is drinking beautifully now, and will cellar well for another 5-7 years.  

We count ourselves lucky to be in Bill’s good graces, and in turn, he’s grateful to the WineAccess members who snatched up every last bottle of our previous allocation. We’re not about to let Bill down, given that this once-in-a-decade gem is up for grabs at just $21.99 per bottle — nearly HALF OFF — ONLY on WineAccess. Shipping included on 6.

• ABV 14.70%
• Enjoy right away
• % Pinot Noir