2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Amber Ridge Vineyard

I took a trip to Manhattan yesterday to visit our offsite wine storage, and decided to pick up a bottle each of the entire 2006 Kosta Browne lineup. In talking with Michael Browne on Facebook the other day, he seemed to hint that I should give the ‘06’s a whirl, so I am assuming that the thinks these are coming into their prime drinking window now. Or maybe he is just feeling that the ‘06’s are started to fall off now. Really hard to say as we all know that the ’06 vintage was underwhelming. But even so, Dan Kosta and Michael Browne still seemed to make some darn good wines based on the vintage.
It’s kind of funny to see how people draw the line with Kosta Browne. Either you love them, you hate them, or you have no opinion on them because you have never had them, yet for whatever reason, you decide to hate them. We just happen to fall into the “WE LOVE THEM” category. When I am in the mood for a giant wine, and a giant pinot noir, I immediately think Kosta Browne, Loring, or Siduri. All great wines, and all rather big on the palate! When we’re in the mood for something like this, these wines fill that void!

Popped and poured tonight at Oliver-A Bistro in Bordentown, and it was singing from the get go. As always, this wine had that so familiar Kosta Browne nose, which I have yet to find on any other wine. There is just something so familiar and similar with their wines, and so distinctive. Nice dark ruby color in the glass, with a nose dominated by cherry, some cola, and nice spices.

MORE TO COME!

2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Keefer Ranch Vineyard

Popped and poured tonight for Zelda's birthday at Melange in Haddonfield, NJ. Gorgeous ruby color in the glass as always. On the nose, once again, it has that "oh so" distinctive Kosta Browne nose that you could pick out of the group blind. Sweet cherry cola, raspberry and spice on the nose, with secondary nuances of raspberry and strawberry. A tiny bit of alcohol comes through on the nose, but it is very subtle, and I would guess this would blow off with an hour in the decanter.

On the palate, this wine seems very light from the get go. Nice red and berry fruits on the palate, with again, some cherry cola and hints of raspberry. The baked cherry pie dominates the palate on this wine, and that is not a bad thing in the least. Subtle spices come through, and in my opinion, the oak is totally integrated in this wine. Again, it is light, and if anything, it lacked just the slightest bit of acidity and minerality. Stood up surprisingly well to the Cajun spices in the dinner, as well as the mustard in my rack of lamb. Not mind blowing, but a great pinot, although a bit overpriced based on the complexity of this wine. Regardless, I'm still a fan. 90 points. Cheers!

Haiti Wine Silent Auction/Donation - F. Scott and Zelda Give Back!

22 JAN 2010: UPDATE: 12PM: Big thanks, and big congratulations to Chowhound reader John F. of Asheville, NC who stumbled across our BLOG on Chowhound, and put in the winning bid of $550. I am waiting for the e-mail confirmation from him, as well as the confirmations from The Salvation Army and Doctors Without Borders, confirming that donations of $275 are made to each of them. Once I receive those, I will send him his bottle of the 2006 Kosta Browne 4-Barrel, as well as a bottle of Stefania cabernet sauvignon from our cellar as a thank you. We could not be any happier with the response that we received, and I received a total of 122 bids which I find awesome! The compassion and caring that everyone showed is great, and I did not receive a single bid under $100. Thanks to each and every one of you for your support on what I feel is a worthy cause. We are glad that we could do something to make a different, and we are absolutely flattered at the responses received. It’s such a great feeling knowing that we did something to help, so thank you again John F. Thank you all again, and keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers! 20 JAN 2010: UPDATE: Special thanks for all the bids so far, and remember that the silent auction closes at Noon Eastern Time on Friday 22 JAN. We have had over 100 bids thus far, and your generosity will not go unappreciated. The outpouring we have received from all of you, as well as the kind words just prove that this is the least that we can do. Special thanks to all of you for supporting such a wonderful cause! 15 JAN 2010: It is with much sadness and a heavy heart that Zelda and I send out or sincere prayers to all of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti this past week. The stories that we have seen on the television, as well as the pictures I am seeing online are heartbreaking, and we want to help. As Zelda and I talked about the devastation and what our organizations are doing to help the victims, I think that it is only right that we try to raise a few dollars on our own to donate to an organization who can help those people in Haiti. We went through our cellar to see if there was a bottle of wine that we could donate, and hold a silent auction with, where we will donate 100% of the funds raised to either The Salvation Army, or Doctors Without Borders, who will then forward the funds on to the victims in Haiti. This is the least that we can do, and we are truly honored to be able to help these organizations, and the people of Haiti. Our cellar may not contain a lot of "cult wines" so to say, but we all know how much people love the wines crafted with love from Dan Kosta and Michael Browne of Kosta Browne. With that being said, we have selected a bottle of the 2006 Kosta Browne 4-Barrel, and whomever offers the largest donation will receive this bottle. As many of you know, this is a very rare wine, and it is next to impossible to get allocated one of these rare gems! . We think that this is the least we can do, so we are calling on all of you oenophiles to help us. Note that this bottle was purchased on release, and stored in our climate controlled wine cellar at 55 degrees since it arrived on 12 DEC 2008. . To make a bid, please send me an e-mail at markjahnke@gmail.com with "Haiti 4-Barrel" in the subject. The silent auction will close one week from today, on Friday January 22nd, 2010, at 1200 hours Eastern time. . We know that funds are tight in our struggling economy right now, but please reach deep into your pockets, and let's do whatever we can to help these victims. We can figure out logistics on this once the auction closes as far as payment goes, but we can probably do it right online through the Salvation Army or Doctors Without Borders websites so that you know that 100% of the funds raised will go directly to the Haiti relief efforts. Note that there will be no privacy issues, and I will not have access to any of your personal/billing information other than the address that you want me to ship the wine to. Once your donation has been made and verified, I will ship your wine, and we'll even pick up the tab for the shipping so that your entire donation goes to help these victims. Note that the highest bidder will also receive another treat from our cellar as a thank you. The wine that you will be surprised with is one of our favorite California cabernet sauvignon from the Santa Clara Valley, and has a retail value of just under $40. . In short, thank you all in advance, and I truly hope that we get a good response for this generous offer. In short, open your hearts, and let's do our part to help, and while you are at it, say a few prayers for the people of Haiti! As always, kudos to the United States for stepping up and helping out a country in desperate need! God Bless America! Cheers! . NOTE: This was originally posted at 1400 hours on 15 January 2010, however, I have been changing the date and time of this to get it to appear at the top of our page. Please be sure to look at the articles below this, as there may be some new items posted since you last visited.