2016 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

The 2016 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast was aged in 44% new French oak, 16% concrete tank and 2% wood tanks, ranging from 10-15 months depending on the vessel. Medium ruby, it's scented of cranberry sauce, woodsmoke, loamy earth and forest floor with a core of red and black cherries and berries plus notions of pencil shavings and licorice. Light to medium-bodied and broody in the mouth, it has a sturdy, pleasantly chalky frame with seamlessly woven freshness to lift the earth-laced finish. 8,500 cases produced.

The 2016 Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard is pliant, supple and inviting, as the wines from this site tend to be, but with less of the exuberance of previous editions, which is all to say the wine is very reflective of the current style at Kosta Browne. The succulent red cherry fruit shows good presence, even if the wine feels a bit attenuated and tight. (AG)

A step up over the Russian River blend, the 2016 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast offers more red fruits, raspberries, flowers, and rose petal notes, with a pinewood/forest floor character developing with time in the glass. This medium-bodied, silky, elegant Pinot Noir has a terrific sense of minerality, integrated acidity, and a complex, nuanced style that’s going to evolve nicely for 7-8 years. Winemaker Nico Cueva continues to fine tune his approach at Kosta Browne, experimenting with new vinification and aging vessels. While the wines were richer and more upfront in the past, today, they have slightly more freshness and tension while not abandoning the beautiful fruit and texture that defines California wines. As I hope these notes show, these are distinctive, singular wines up there with the crème de la crème of the region.