2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard

This is always my favorite wine from the Kosta Browne Single Vineyard Designates, and this did not disappoint on Valentine's Day, popped and poured at cellar temp, though it did have a little time to warm up in the car on the way to Lambertville.

Gorgeous Kosta Browne nose with some sweet red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and hints of baking spice.  Secondary nuances included just a hint of cola, vanilla, and some floral notes of violet.

On the palate, the alcohol is well integrated, and this wine is absolutely singing....singing to the point that I truly wish I had more of these in the cellar.    Great spicy fruits of raspberry and strawberry, but the cherry is again the star here.  Nice, sweet cherry fruit dominates, and it is absolutely delicious.  

Definitely a delicious wine, with a big mouthful.  The finish shows some supple, sweet tannins, and this wine has several years left ahead of it.  I can't imagine this wine getting much better, but I guess you just never know.  Regardless, this hit the spot today, and was enjoyed by all!  Cheers!  93 points!

2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen Vineyard

Grabbed from the Avanti, thrown in the Riedel carrying case along with two glasses, and popped and poured at Blackbird in Collingswood, NJ.  I always forget that Blackbird has good stems, and we really didn’t even need to bring our own, but I forgot.  This has always been one of my favorite Kosta Browne’s, especially this vineyard designate from the 2005 vintage!

Gorgeous ruby color in the glass, and that creamy Kosta Browne nose that I love.  Bright red fruits dominate the plate with some black cherry and strawberry, with nice hints of cola and sweet spice!  On the backside of the nose however, there is still quite a bit of heat there, and I think this just needs a decent decant as it seems to settle out the longer the bottle is open.  Just a bit of blueberry rounds out the backside of the palate as well.

On the palate, this fits the bill tonight.  I was looking for a big bold pinot noir with flavor.  I wasn’t looking for classic Burgundy tonight, I wanted an in your face, high octane wine that filled my mouth, and this was it!  More cherry and cola on the palate, with a very nice creaminess to it.  As high octane and fruit forward as this wine is, I really do not feel that it was terribly over-extracted in the least.

The finish however shows a bit of heat, and this makes me think that this wine just might need some more time.  Yes, I know all about the 2006 vintage, and know that this wasn’t a great vintage in the least, but I still think that this wine will improve.

All in all, another pleasure from Kosta Browne, but again, the ‘06’s aren’t getting the praise that the 04’s and ‘05’s got….from me at least.  Still have 2 more of these in the cellar, and we’ll give it another 18 months before we pop another one.  Still a delicious wine, and the heat just needs to settle out a bit so the alcohol can integrate.  92 points!  Cheers!