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94 WA.
"One of the more feminine, elegant and pretty Pinot Noirs in the lineup, the 2013 Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard exhibits a lot of spring flowers and sappy underbrush notes, as well as ample underlying darker berry fruit. Lively, fresh and taut on the palate, yet still with depth of fruit and texture, it’s beautiful now but should evolve gracefully . . . . Based out of Sebastopol, Kosta Browne’s Dan Kosta, Michael Browne and Chris Costello continue to fashion a bevy of brilliant Pinot Noirs from a number of sites spread throughout California. The big news at this estate, however, was the purchasing of a controlling interest by J.W. Childs Associates out of Boston. Concerning the impact of this change to the wine, the winemaking remains untouched and nothing I heard during my visit gave me pause concerning the quality of this estate going forward. In addition, Browne and John Childs (the CEO of J.W. Childs Associates) have previously worked together in the past with their Cirq label (which I wasn’t able to taste for this report), so I think Kosta Browne lovers can rest easy. Going forward, this team is increasingly looking to own and farm their vineyards, so expect quality to hold steady or even increase. Looking at their 2013s, this was obviously a great vintage for this estate and all of the wines showed sensational purity and freshness paired with layered, nicely concentrated and textured profiles. I’d say it’s the finest lineup I’ve tasted from this estate." Wine Advocate #221, Oct 2015 |