On Wednesday, June 5th, 2024, we had the opportunity to once again interview Jeff Gaffner. Jeff is the Winemaker for Black Kite Cellars. We covered six new-release 2021 vintage wines with Jeff during our interview. Our previous interview with Jeff was in May of 2023. We then covered five additional 2021 vintage Pinot Noirs and two 2020 Chardonnays. Check out what we learned from Jeff this time.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Jeff shared.
- We were excited that Jeff was able to get some “Richard Dinner” Chardonnay grapes.
- Paul Hobbs gets the Wente Block.
- Both Black Kite and Saxon Brown got 3 tons each.
- They no longer are going to use the old Anderson Valley vineyards. They left when the lease was up.
- 2021 and 2022 vintages were still during the end of the drought years. They had great concentration, tiny yields, and will age wonderfully.
- 2023 was a bigger crop and perfect year.
- New stuff in the works is a Chenin Blanc for Saxon Brown from Freestone and some new Pinots from Roberts Road. There is also a GMS from Saxon Brown in the works and a Cote Rotie styled wine.
- The 2021 “Angel Hawk” Chardonnay is made from the top 4 barrels from the Freestone and Gap's Crown barrels.
- The 2021 “Angel Hawk Anderson Valley” Pinot Noir is made from the top 8 barrels from the Wendling Vineyard (5) and Ferrington Vineyard (3) barrels.
- The 2021 “Angel Hawk Sonoma Coast” Pinot Noir is made from the top 8 barrels from the Roberts Road (2), Gap's Crown (4) and Jasper Freestone (2) barrels.
- Grapes are self-pollenating. That was a new one for us.
- Jeff uses Diam corks to eliminate cork taint.
- A new oak barrel costs about 1,000 Euros or $1,200.
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Black Kite that we covered with Jeff. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Black Kite website.
- Black Kite 2021 Chardonnay “Jasper Freestone” (Sonoma Coast) $85 (KWGTP 95)
- Blake Kite 2021 Chardonnay “Richard Dinner” (Sonoma Mountain) $75 (KWGTP 94)
- Black Kite 2021 Chardonnay “Gap’s Crown” (Sonoma Coast) $65 (KWGTP 94.5)
- Black Kite 2021 Chardonnay “Angel Hawk” (Sonoma Coast) $90 (KWGTP 95)
- Black Kite 2021 Pinot Noir “Angel Hawk Anderson Valley” $100 (KWGTP 95)
- Black Kite 2021 Pinot Noir “Angel Hawk Sonoma Coast” $100 (KWGTP 93.5)
You can find reviews of past and future Black Kite wines that we cover on the Black Kite KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! — Ken