Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A beautiful Chardonnay, the 2019 Chardonnay One Sixteen reveals a medium gold hue as well as a crisp, vibrant nose of honeyed lemon and orchard fruits intermixed with toasted brioche, honeysuckle, white flowers, and a touch of toasted almonds. These all carry over to the palate, where the wine is medium-bodied, has bright yet integrated acidity, and a clean, incredibly classy, lengthy finish. Give bottles a year or three and enjoy over the following decade.
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James Suckling
Inviting aromas of baked green apples, lemon curd and dried herbs. Medium-to full-bodied with bright acidity and a lot of lightness and airiness. Clean, clear and linear. The citrus character gets warmer as it progresses into more grapefruit and orange with a hint of lime leaf.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Kosta Browne One - Sixteen Russian River Chardonnay is bright and lasting on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright, long, and impressive with its aromas and flavors of dried earth, mineral, and a hint of oak. Enjoy it with oven-roasted game birds.
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Wine Spectator
Crisp and structured flavors of dried apple, sage and green nectarine are filled with minerally nuances in this version. Crunchy acidity on the finish, with hints of honey and allspice.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.