Kosta Browne Russian River Pinot Noir (375ML half-bottle) 2017

Professional Ratings

• 95 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  COMMENTARY: Even though there are plenty of excellent Pinot Noir producers using fruit from the Russian River Valley, a few seem to be just a bit better. The 2017 Kosta Browne is one of the best. TASTING NOTES: This is an authentic expression of the Russian River Valley. Its aromas and flavors of dried herbs and red fruits and nicely presented with a touch of oak. Pair the wine with a rosemary-infused roast leg of lamb. (Tasted: July 10, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
• 94 Jeb Dunnuck

  The 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley comes from a multitude of sites and spent 17 months in 45% new French oak. It's slightly more reticent than the Sonoma Coast and offers more raspberry, ripe cherries, cola, mulled spiced, and earth. Rounded, beautifully textured, and medium to full-bodied, it has a supple, seamless style that's already a joy to drink. Nevertheless, I suspect it will keep for upwards of a decade.

• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  Aged 17 months in 45% new French oak, the pale to medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley opens with broody aromas of spiced cranberry sauce, crushed black cherries, loam, cumin seeds, dried leaves and a classy framing of new oak spice with notions of orange peel and amaro. It's medium-bodied and silky, offering plush, ripe fruits in the mouth, with a grainy frame and mouthwatering freshness, finishing very long. This is a tick up in complexity from the 2016 version. "We had all our fruit in the week before the fires started, and we were able to get into the winery and everything was fine," says assistant winemaker Julien Howsepian. 8,500 cases produced.

• 93 Wine Enthusiast

  A delightfully thoughtful and richly rewarding appellation wine, sourced from Bootlegger’s Hill, Treehouse, Zio Tony and other stellar sites, this is hearty in red and blue fruit, cardamom and a taste of cola. Velvety rich and layered, it has well-integrated oak and broad appeal, with a lasting thread of acidity.

• 93 Wine & Spirits

  Nico Cuevo sources the fruit for this Russian River Valley pinot from a host of vineyards, focusing on sites near the Kosta Browne winery in Sebastopol. In 2017, he built a wine with stature, lovely richness and the tight, muscular body of a marathon runner. Its sour-cherry notes carry tense floral and earthy scents, quiet in the middle, then amplified into the finish toward a far horizon line. This is a generous wine with some brightness and tension to sustain it over the next several years in the cellar.

• 90 Wine Spectator
  Juicy, with lithe flavors of crushed red plum, cherry tart and red currant that feature notes of raspberry preserves. The lively finish is ebulliently spiced, showing some flinty hints. Drink now through 2022.