Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made from the top four barrels in the winery, the 2013 Pinot Noir 4 Barrel gives up the darker, richer fruit profile that is common from this estate to go with beautiful notes of caramelized black cherries, spice, vanilla bean and rose petal. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and surprisingly elegant (this cuvee is normally more of a bruiser), it still has a touch of oak to integrate, so give it a year or two in the cellar.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
There is a definite and indelible Kosta Browne stamp at work in most all of the winery’s many Pinots, but that does not mean that they are all the same, and it does not demand strenuous thinking to see the clear differences. While the 4-Barrel bottling is ripe and well-filled, it is also among the sleeker, more firmly structured of the bunch, and it juxtaposes richness and exemplary, enlivening acidity with a marvelous sense of finesse. It trades far less on power than it does on refinement, and its long-term future is as bright as can be.
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Wine Spectator
Combines pure, ripe plum and raspberry fruit with touches of fresh earth, anise and lavender, graced by the right mix of acidity and tannins. Tightens on the finish in a good way, with the tannins giving the flavors traction. Drink now through 2022.
Internationally recognized for gorgeous, pure fruit combined with great elegance, California Pinot noir thrives among the state’s cooler, coastal zones. Characterized by eclectic flavors and aromas of strawberry, black cherry, plum and potpourri with notes of forest floor, mushroom or black tea, the best California Pinot noir boast a supple texture and good acidity, giving them the ability to improve with age.
Credited with the beginning of Pinot noir’s glory in California, two growers, Joe Rochioli and Joseph Swan in the late 1960s independently planted Pinot noir vineyards in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. Today Sonoma County remains the leading producer of Pinot noir in the state, and Pinot noir is the leading red grape in the county, achieving its highest potential, in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast.
Other coastal appellations where Pinot noir flourishes include Carneros, Anderson Valley and most of the Central Coast.