Winemaker Notes
A great match with herb-crusted lambchops, pasta puttanesca, grilled portobello mushrooms, Chicago style deep dish pizza, French onion soup, duck breast with berry reduction, bacon & herb-stuffed pork loin, savory bread pudding.
Blend: 100% Zinfandel
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Bursting with cherries and berries fromnose through palate, this wine offers a succulent texturethat keeps the palate intrigued through a mouthwatering finish. Friendly, delicious, and satisfying Zinfandel.
-
Wine Spectator
Zesty and vibrant yet slightly brooding at the core, with expressive flavors of blackberry and cherry highlighted by licorice and fruitcake spices as this builds structure toward full-bodied tannins. Drink now through 2032.
-
James Suckling
A fruit-forward red with aromas of crushed dark berries, plum skins, mild spices and blue flowers. Full and succulent with a juicy flow of ripe, almost sweet berries in the middle, finishing lively and supple.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Brown Estate's 2023 Zinfandel boasts a harmonious mix of berries on the nose, ranging from cherries and raspberries into slightly darker tones of blackberries. There are subtle hints of dusty earth and dried spices as well, bringing added complexity to the table. From the family's holdings in Chiles Valley, it's a medium- to full-bodied, nicely balanced example of the variety, with soft tannins and a bright, mouthwatering finish. Despite the wine's youth, buyers may wish to decant the wine ahead of service, as it has already thrown considerable sediment.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.