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The April 2021 Auction: Part 5
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1 / 2Lot 819
Estimate: $60
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91WA
"The 2016 Chardonnay El Diablo Observations Series was aged 17 months in 15% new French and 33% new Austrian oak. It opens minerally with petrichor, saline, white peaches and apricot plus hints of lime pith, honey, toast, grated nutmeg and dried white flowers. It's light to medium-bodied and spritely in the mouth, with mineral and citrus dancing across savory layers, opposed by juicy acidity and finishing long and textured. 150 cases produced. Kosta Browne harvested most of their fruit before the heat wave in 2017. “It was a mad dash, to be perfectly honest,” winemaker Julien Howsepian tells me. “Some of the fruit hung through the heat, but having begun sourcing from further western sites, we tend to have cooler microclimates than some other spots. Those cooler pockets were the best suited vineyards to survive the heat. We do have an optical sorter, so that was really important in 2017.” Howsepian has been gradually introducing changes in the winery. “We have started picking a little bit earlier and looking for sites closer to the coast,” he says. He’s paying serious attention to the Chardonnay program, which began only in 2009. “Pinot Noir was always the king of Kosta Browne,” he notes, “But we knew we could do better when it came to Chardonnay. We wanted to be in the same conversation as the best Chardonnays in the world.” Filtering is being phased out for single-vineyard wines. “Filtering makes clearer wines, but I think it removes some of the soul and complexity. It takes away character and I don’t want to see all that hard work go down the drain.” Oak usage is changing as well. “We want to use oak as a support and not the lead, so we’re carefully choosing our selections, using lighter toast and larger formats.” Use of whole cluster is about 10% to 15% across the board. The Observation Series is another new development—2016 was the first vintage for these special bottlings. “This is for special fruit that we find or want to show off,” Howsepian explains. “And they tend to change each year.” These wines will be available only to members. Kosta Browne currently sells about 6,000 cases in the market—the rest of the wines are sold direct to consumer and to members."
Region
White
Country
Score
"The 2016 Chardonnay El Diablo Observations Series was aged 17 months in 15% new French and 33% new Austrian oak. It opens minerally with petrichor, saline, white peaches and apricot plus hints of lime pith, honey, toast, grated nutmeg and dried white flowers. It's light to medium-bodied and spritely in the mouth, with mineral and citrus dancing across savory layers, opposed by juicy acidity and finishing long and textured. 150 cases produced. Kosta Browne harvested most of their fruit before the heat wave in 2017. “It was a mad dash, to be perfectly honest,” winemaker Julien Howsepian tells me. “Some of the fruit hung through the heat, but having begun sourcing from further western sites, we tend to have cooler microclimates than some other spots. Those cooler pockets were the best suited vineyards to survive the heat. We do have an optical sorter, so that was really important in 2017.” Howsepian has been gradually introducing changes in the winery. “We have started picking a little bit earlier and looking for sites closer to the coast,” he says. He’s paying serious attention to the Chardonnay program, which began only in 2009. “Pinot Noir was always the king of Kosta Browne,” he notes, “But we knew we could do better when it came to Chardonnay. We wanted to be in the same conversation as the best Chardonnays in the world.” Filtering is being phased out for single-vineyard wines. “Filtering makes clearer wines, but I think it removes some of the soul and complexity. It takes away character and I don’t want to see all that hard work go down the drain.” Oak usage is changing as well. “We want to use oak as a support and not the lead, so we’re carefully choosing our selections, using lighter toast and larger formats.” Use of whole cluster is about 10% to 15% across the board. The Observation Series is another new development—2016 was the first vintage for these special bottlings. “This is for special fruit that we find or want to show off,” Howsepian explains. “And they tend to change each year.” These wines will be available only to members. Kosta Browne currently sells about 6,000 cases in the market—the rest of the wines are sold direct to consumer and to members."
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The fourth-largest wine producer in the world, led by California. American fine wine is defined by ripe, expressive fruit and a spirit of innovation, with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon among the most sought-after wines globally.
A large, geographically varied California region producing cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay near the coast and richer Zinfandel and Cabernet inland. Its wines range from elegant to bold.
A cool, fog-influenced Sonoma AVA renowned for elegant, complex Pinot Noir and rich, balanced Chardonnay.
The world's most versatile white grape, producing everything from steely Chablis to rich, oaked whites. Its neutrality makes it a mirror of terroir and winemaking, and the foundation of white Burgundy and Champagne.