Another bottle similar to my last several of these. Consistent notes with previous bottle. Still have two left that I will likely plan to get to sometime in the next year.
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Perfect cork at 11 years and a really enjoyable drinkable experience. It won’t knock your socks off, but the dark red fruit aromas are still vibrant, albeit with a sense of subtlety. Lightening at the edges, color wise. Palate is fresh with bright acidity and a lingering finish. Nicely done, Kosta Browne. Drink now. This might have a little more gas in the tank.
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Delicious, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !! I agree with my tasting note of the past month !! The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. Unfortunately, I have no more bottles of this vintage remaining.
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Delicious, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !! I agree with my tasting note of two weeks ago !! The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. I still have one more bottle of this vintage remaining; I will open it soon to validate my tasting note.
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In a great spot, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !! The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. I still have two more bottles of this vintage remaining; I may open another soon to validate my tasting note.
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Crimson in color. 14.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, cloves, sarsaparilla and flowers. Medium body with perfect acidity. Super silky and plush. Black cherry, plums, cola and baking spices on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. I typically don't have the patience to age the appellation wines this long but this was a recent purchase from a private collector and has left me thinking I need to reconsider my strategy. Breathtaking Pinot Noir at 10 years of age. Best over the next several years.
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No formal notes taken, but recalled it was good. Got better with more time in glass. Ten years is a good drinking spot for these wines; they develop and lose their sharpness yet retain much of their fruit.
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Opened and poured. Glyceric light ruby in the glass. Heady and smooth, with nice reds, strawberry, raspberry and some menthol notes. Not electric or expansive, and not the massive pinot that KB is known for. This was a little muted....very poor showing compared to the 2007 for instance.
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Slo-oxed for 20 minutes, but a bit more time is better. A deep violet color to a faded rim. Light aromas of dark red fruits. The medium bodied palate was dominated by dark red fruits, some spice, a touch of earth, balancing acidity, and fully integrated tannins. This wine may not develop any further but could hold for another year or two.
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At home over two nights, with miso sea bass. Medium ruby-garnet, translucent. At first, simple, one-dimensional, pleasant and drinkable but nothing very memorable. However, by the second night it had opened nicely to show more pronounced sweet, acetic mostly red fruit aromas. Very soft and round raspberry/strawberry flavors, not at all tannic, very smooth and medium-bodied. Enjoyable, but not worth twice what I pay for Walter Hansel's North Slope! Drink up. Ric
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Received partial bottle to try (yes, from same Oenophile friend who gave me samples of Williams Selyem Pinot Noir & Turley Zinfandel, all 90+ pts, to try). 2012, Where Does he get these? As mentioned before, he is single-handedly upgrading my appreciation of wines.
There isn't much left to say after 514 other tasting notes; But count me with the 'Stupid Good' crowd (i.e. KRHAUGH: "Not much to say but Stupid Good! Almost 10 years old and drinking beautiful. Awesome Pinot from KB"
Pinot Noir at its finest, Luscious, aromatic and, yes, robust but refined; right up there with Williams Selyem. But probably near the end of it's drinking window (perhaps depending on how well it has been stored); if I had any I'd be (happily) drinking-up!
Popped and poured. Modest nose showing plum and earth. The wine is medium bodied with ripe raspberry and plum, some herbs. Fairly simple and straight forward this is still quite delicious but I would drink in the next few years.
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After two stellar bottles earlier this year, felt like age has caught up with this one and its lost its verve and vigor. Same dark, black cherry color. Aromatics somewhat flat and one dimensional: ripe black cherry, whiff of alcohol. Certainly mouthfilling and slightly creamy, but not much of interest beyond the black cherry and some tailing spice from the oak. Not offensive, but certainly not up to snuff. Put me down with the crowd who thinks this cuvee is now deep into the Back Nine.
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This wine is beautiful in so many ways. Probably at the back end of the peak drinking window but still delivers powerful fruit with layers of complexity and finishes smooth as silk. Very nice.
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Just as spectacular as the last (see note from last month below). Ripe black cherry, sandalwood, cola. Big but still multilayered. Stunning aromatics and flavors from start to finish. Drinking beautifully - this wine benefits enormously from time in the cellar.
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While mature, it was still in drinking window. The acid and the fruit still present, but lacked the complexity I was expecting. I still think KB is overrated.
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Stunningly beautiful dark cherry color. Lucious, rich aromatics of black cherry, cherry cobbler and baking spices on the nose. Big but restrained (ie, not overripe) flavors of black cherry and cola on the palate. Silky and sensuous through to the slightly spicy finish. Not sure why some think this is done. Drinking incredibly well at the moment, but could easily go another couple of years.
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Ornate and detailed with an earthy bouquet of red stone fruit, dried herbs, forest floor, crushed stone and game, perfectly balanced palate of red plum, pomegranate and early-picked strawberry, secondary notes of smoke, white pepper, white chocolate, cola and a suggestion of oregano, rounded tannins, lengthy finish. Excellent with Lamb Chops with Red Wine and Rosemary Reduction and Roasted Vegetables.
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Christmas 2020 & Beyond -- Pandemic Wines (Quarantine in Arlington): A lot going on here, although the fruit is the leading actor in this ensemble – raspberries, red and black cherries, rose petal, loamy soil. For a pinot, it’s pretty dense, but still is an easier drink than the Rhone varietals and Cabs in this lineup. An impressive tannic spine and long finish complete the package. Still going strong, but I would probably drink up. (served during the holidays but not together with the R-M, Saxum so no side-by-side comparisons).
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See previous notes. It was like I opened the exact same bottle. Enjoyed with friends tonight. It was an excellent Sonoma Coast Pinot. Tasted the entire 2012 Pinot lineup (non single vineyard) from Kosta Browne this evening. All were great but I preferred the Santa Lucia Highlands. Maybe the others still need a little more time but I just thought it stood out to me just a little more presently than the others.
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Red and black cherry with a rich luscious mouthfeel. Definite cola and sassafras behind the sweet cherry frame and super silky body with long balanced finish, that was better after a brief decant.
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Fragrant nose with cherry and a hint of spice. Light on the palate and very smooth. Cherry and raspberry on the palate. Long spicy finish. Nicely balanced.
Quick decant. It has been 4 years since we last tasted this vintage. On the nose, bright red fruit with a hint of spice. Beautiful juice in the mouth, lots of cherry and more spice and earth. A tiny hint of cola. Still has life left but is drinking very nicely right now.
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Ruby, mulberry color. Cherry jam on the nose with leather, fruit wood, tangerine, vanilla, and asphalt. Sticky, long legs--looks beautiful in the glass.
Wonderfully balanced wine on first taste. Cherry is the predominant fruit, with an almost cider quality. Some warm spices like clove pop up part way through the finish. Soft tannins, with a meaty, mushroom-like quality at times. There's some cassis, anise, lavender, and fruit woods moving in and out, but everything remains very balanced. Definitely drinking on the sweeter side, but not unpleasantly so. Long finish with a round mouthfeel.
I really enjoy this wine--it's a great Pinot in its price range with some decent age on it. I'd say it's right in its drinking window with a few more years to go. Grab some while you can!
92/100
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Enjoyed over dinner with our friends Clarissa and Lloyd, along with a 2016 Joseph Phelps Quartet Moon Pinot Noir, and a 2015 CheckMate Chardonnay. This was just wow, smooth, elegant and silky. Big round, cherry fruit. As Lloyd commented, "despite the Phelps being rich and multifaceted, the Kosta Browne just had so much class, purity, depth." The Kosta Browne is a more classic and straightforward California pinot noir, but is in a perfect drinking window ... great match for fish and lamb at Greek resto Petros.
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Gave this bottle a 20 minute slo-ox, based on my last TN. The nose and palate were very similar to our bottle five months ago (12/28/19) with no perceptible degradation. This wine is in a great place right now and may not develop any further but should hold.
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Very nice. Even better after an hour of air. Starting to show some signs of aging - plenty of tertiary flavors. I think now is a good time to drink this. Cheers.
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Tasted with similar notes from 2 years ago but slightly more subdued. Opened 1 hour before drinking. Clear ruby color, nose of cherries and some forest floor and cola notes. Body medium full with red fruit with well balanced acids and less that medium tannins. Good finish. Can certainly drink now but curious how it will present once the fruit fades.
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Decanted and rested an hour. I've read some notes that say this was still "hot" and not at it's peak. I don't agree. I think this peaked a bit ago. Perfectly nice and well drinking. But lacking the layers and finish I'd expect from Kosta.
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Deep garnet color. Very nice mouth feel--smooth, but not plush. Cherry fruit, a little root beer, and subtle finish of forest floor. Nice acidity at the end went well with beef bourguignon.
7/23/2020 Similar notes as last time. This wine hits the right notes for me.
11/22/2021 A year later and I'm still pretty enamored with this wine. It's a beautiful color, pleasing across the palate, and a good balance between fruit and tannin.
7/11/2023 Did a pop-and-pour and the finish was pretty tart. An hour in the air it settled in to the wine I was expecting.
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Lighter in body than many Kosta Brownes, but also more elegant. Totally delicious.increased in enjoyability apthe linger it was opened. Root beer, cinnamon, dried fruit in a long complex finish. What you would hope for and expect in a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir.
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Pretty nose of ripe cherries and flowers. Delicious lovely pinot with sappy flavors of raspberry, strawberry and forest floor. This is clearly new world but it is well balanced and doesn’t show its alcohol at all. This is in a good place and I would drink these over the next couple years.
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PnP, but continued to open for the next 15 minutes or so. Light aromas of dark red fruits. The medium bodied palate was dominated by dark red fruits, balancing acidity, some spice, a touch of earth, a hint of cola, and fully integrated tannins. This wine is in a great place right now and may not develop any further, so drink up and enjoy. Should hold for at least a couple of years.
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Tasted on a whim with my 3 bean, 3 meat, 3 pepper chili...great foil to the spice in the chile. Nice red fruit with modest acidity and slight sweetness complimented the chili spices. Good texture and what the wine lacks in acidity was made up for by the spice.
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Decanted for 1.5 hours. Aromas of cherry, strawberry, mushroom and just a touch of earth. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, licorice and just a touch of sarsaparilla. Ends with a pure cherry notes of 25-30 seconds. Much better than the last time I had it. Fruit flavors are very pure.
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Aging nicely. I'm getting the classic cherry and cola combo, on a bed of smooth tannins and medium acidity. The floral, savory, earthy tones are more evident at this point. Drinking really well now. I'm not sure how much longer I'd age this, maybe two years tops.
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Decanted an hour. Deep cherry fruit, spice, oak aromas. Concentrated cherry/blackberry flavors with moderate acidity, integrated oak and baking spice and a lightly bitter finish.
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Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Birch, potpourri, black cherries and black berries. Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries and plums. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
DAWGS offline.
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Still tight out of the gate. Also a little out of balance.
Fruit: Cranberry dominant fruit cloaked in herbal and floral notes of rose and potpourri Acidity: High (too high relative to fruit) Body: Medium-light Alcohol: Medium-high Tannin: Low
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Light red, minimal Browning. P&P. Nose of leather, cherry, cola and a touch of heat. Palate of bing cherries and cola. No notable tannins, but some alcohol on the finish. Easy and smooth wine. Nice, but still can't see why this costs as much as it does.
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I opened this at my 7/6/19 birthday dinner. It had a rich, elegant nose of black cherry, raspberry, barnyard, cola and baking spice aromas. The palate was rich and dusty dry with flavors of black cherry, raspberry, plum and baking spice.
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I think there was a touch of tca or tce on the nose, very subtle but dampened the nose and made it hard to get much of anything. Palate was fine, lush red berries, ripe but not over extracted, warm baking spice, fair acidity, decent length and medium to med plus weight. I preferred this alone rather than with food as the CA style pinot is more of a stand alone imo. Seems to be at peak, drinking well now pnp, will hold on for a while but doubt will improve further.
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Popped and poured, immediately accessible. Nice fruit forward wine with nice balance. Likely in prime with at least another 5 plus years of life on it. If you favor burgundy, try holding for a decade. I’m sure it will be outstanding then as well.
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Tasting notes identical to the last bottle - had this with a favourable match of wine braised chicken stew and it did nicely, though not as well as some burgs. Really tasty wine though with lovely sweet fruit. Almost better without food.
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Good for California but too over cherried. Need to lay off some of the cherry additive. Wake up USA pinot drinkers. Just take what the land gives you. Leave the additives behind.
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My first KB Pinot, and I can understand why people like it. Cherry cola goodness, with decent complexity. Rich, and richer than I generally prefer these days, but not over-the-top by my taste.
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A nose of cherries and spice, medium amber in color. A medium to full bodied Pinot, with currants, cherries, good acidity, dust and spice on finish. Hard to ever say anything bad about a KB wine, drink now but still needs an short decant. www.winelx.com
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Another great Kosta Browne pinot noir - a reliable pleaser. Big body red wine that begins with a pleasant nose. Black berry and plum fruits. Very pleasing finish.
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PnP, no decant. Clear, bright ruby/purple. Classic KB nose. This drank very well and one of best appellation KB I've had. Excellent vintage of rich, concentrated red and blue fruit, exceptional balance and integration, not over extracted but still big and bold. This drank like it should and is in excellent drinking window. Delicious, nothing off. $68
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Red fruit on the nose. Red cherry, cranberry with slight peppery finish. Nice acidity. Could age another year or two? Decanted an hour before consumed. Medium bodied.
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No complaints on this, other than the value for money. Lovely ripe Pinot, nicely balanced with a long sweet ripe finish. Sweet ripe soft tannins and juicy red cherry, strawberry and black cherry fruit. Just a delicious full scaled but balanced pinot, showing nice typicity.
PS this as drunk at cellar temp (58 degrees) and that really helps minimize the effect of the relatively high alcohol.
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Decanted for 1 hour. Full bodied, dark cherry in your face. Surprisingly well balanced, decent finish and in prime. Certainly has the backbone for another decade. My preference is burgundy so I may save my remaining bottles for another 5-10 years and see if the fruit becomes a bit more subtle.
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Brought to dinner at Bill and Robin's and I'm finding that I like my KB's on the younger side as they seem to lose that brightness with age but not necessarily gaining complexity.
Cherry central, but darker fruit and less cola central than some other Kosta Browne. More earth when I first opened it. Baking spices and vanilla. So well integrated.
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dark red color, floral, spicy, dark berry nose, ripe concentrated fruit, very smooth, some spice and minerals. Tannins are mostly integrated now. Finish was very smooth, fruit filled and medium long. pretty tasty stuff.
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Medium purple. Beautifully done, dark fruit, baking spice , and vanilla on the nose. The fruit has really toned down and integrated over the last few years achieving great harmony and balance. Perfect with steak and veggies.
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Excellent bottle of wine. Fruit forward with some raisin/prune notes on the aroma; Strawberry, sour cherry with some vanilla / oak on the palate. Very fruit forward, not as much cola as the Russian River bottling. Does not taste like it is over the hill or fading. Paired well with soy / ginger salmon grilled in cedar paper. Day 2 - fruit has faded a little, or vanilla/oak is stronger, more mellow, rounder body.
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Great expression of a California pinot. Ruby red color. Big round nose of strawberry and some spice. Very delicious wine. Seems a bit flabby, and has lot of weight, but a good example of a new world pinot.
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This was good, powerful without being heavy. Simple. Would have liked to see more, hate to say maybe past its prime, best quality of this wine I believe to be youthfulness. I'd drink this up
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Good fruit to start with a hint of sweet but the sweet oak took over with air and the Carmel finish was just too much for me and couldn’t finish my 2nd glass.
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Deep ruby color. Nose of cherries, plums, sweet cola, roses and potpourri. Rich texture, chewy but some acidity to keep it fresh, still decent grip from the tannins but it's smooth and pretty. Cherries, raspberry jam, with cola, rhubarb, roasted coffee, cedar, violets, coffee. Notes of floral potpourri and clove come out with time, a hint of mushroom, too. This is aging nicely and will continue to do so for a few more at least, but this is lovely now.
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Light red in color. 14.5% ABV. Pretty nose of red fruits, cloves, baking spices and damp forest floor. Medium body with ample acidity. Decadent and fruit forward. Exceptional balance. Cranberry, bing cherry, strawberry and pomegranate on the palate. The finish is long and silky. Simply delicious, well made Pinot Noir. Another home run from Kosta Browne that only bodes well for the single vineyard wines from this vintage. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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I must have opened this about two years early. It tasted good, not great, on the first night. It had light, bright red fruit...cherry mainly, with no depth. Thin, unimpressive. The second night, she revealed herself in full, displaying a sinewy, chewy core of dark, black fruits -- currant and blackberry -- with raspberry and cherry as an added layer of complexity. I tasted vanilla and cinnamon too, and nice acidity and tannins in harmony, which raised what would have been a solid 90 to a superb 93. Be patient with this little lady, because she will amaze you if given the time and the chance. Target date for my last bottle is 2020. If I can wait that long!
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Served with grilled veal chops over pureed parsnips. Decanted 30 minutes before pouting. Ruby red, nice deep color. Luscious cherry nose, almost sweet, with undercurrent of lively fruit. Earthy cherry palate, acid to balance, soft tannin. Good finish. This wine grew with time - strawberry/raspberry/leather. Very nice, went well with the veal.
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PNP, decanted; no sediment. Nose took a little coaxing, but this wine is earthy and deep, with rice dark cranberry and cherry notes. Not good QPR; drink now.
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Properly cellared since release. Decanted 2 hours. Served with local smoked pork. On it's own, very lackluster. With the pork, Sha Bam! Opened into a classy blend of floral and spice! Very delicate! Time to drink! Very overpriced however! It's fading fast!
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Medium garnet, translucent. At first, simple, one-dimensional, pleasant and drinkable but nothing very memorable. However, several hours later it had opened nicely to show more pronounced sweet, acetic mostly red fruit aromas. Very soft and round raspberry/strawberry flavors, not at all tannic, very smooth and medium-full bodied. Excellent, but not worth twice what I pay for Walter Hansel's North Slope! Ric
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Smooth, almost supple. Not overpowering although not very aromatic. Dark deep ruby color. Drinking well now, I would not wait much longer. Showing some signs of thinning out.
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Black cherry, strawberry, and plum flavors up front with a nice core of caramel, cherry cola, red licorice, earth, and spice box. Nicely structure wine, good finish to it.
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Drank on the deck with a grilled veal chop and Italian country bread. Unmistakeable KB big nose. Fruit packed, spicy cherries, raspberry jam, tart, concentrated , and a long clean finish. Delightful!
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Decanted 45 minutes. Aromas of brown sugar, cherry, strawberry and sassafras. Flavors of sarsaparilla, wild cherry, strawberry shortbread and a touch of herb. Ends with a 25-30 second finish. Started off a bit muted but came on once I started to drink it.
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Not fair to drink this next to 4 bottles of GC Burgs. This basically tasted like cotton candy grape juice. Not a fan on this night, but i think could be quite crowd pleasing in general.
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Easter Weekend Wines; 4/15/2017-4/16/2017: Deep ruby color. Great aromas of tart pomegranate and red cherries mixed in with sweet plums, cola and lavender. Rich but not dense this is juicy and delicious with moderate acidity and some bold grip to the tannins. Plums and tart cherries, rich but not sweet or cloying at all, and the fruit is backed up by cola, roasted herbs, coffee, pipe tobacco and cedar box. Wow, this is a full-on Pinot but it shows a lot of freshness despite its bold presence. Delicious over a few hours in the decanter, but I'll hold my other bottle for two-to-four years.
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Ripe black cherry and earthy aromas and flavors on the rich palate with hints of oak and spice culminating in a tasty finish. Enjoy in the near term as I don't see this one as a cellar candidate.
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cherry and red fruit in the nose, showing some spice--cola notes to the body, lots of fruit with still firm tannins, great balance. Good finish. Had opened for 2 hours before drinking and changed a little in the glass. Still would give this a few years, but showing well now.
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Decent Pinot but for the price tag a little hesitant to buy more. It has good cola flavors and some subdued fruit but not anything of a wow factor. Will try the others with a good decant and see why comes of them
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Pop and poured into a decanter and immediately served. Ripe fruit in a rich style but with good acidity to carry the fruit. Layers of flavor, leaning ripe strawberries and red cherries. Hint of forest floor to balance out the fruit. Delicious.
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This has mellowed out somewhat, but still unmistakably a big CA pinot. Moving from a big cherry cola to having secondary notes of spice and mild herb. Rounding into something more exciting than a couple of years ago. Will hold onto my last bottle for several more years to see what happens.
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I found this a pleasurable drinking wine. As opposed to others, I did not find this a heavy Calif. Pinot in comparison to other California Pinots--it is red cherries and berries on the nose and palate, rather than darker berries and plums. It is balanced, but not overly complex. I don't have the benefit of having tasted earlier KB wines, as my allocations began in 2011. I find it an easy drinking wine with or without food, and, generally, a crowd pleaser.
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Dark cherry and cranberry, bay leaf, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg. The finish is crisp and avoids heaviness. Really nice. 14.5%. Defies what you might assume 2012 KB would be.
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First KB Sonoma Coast. Decanted about 2 hours and served with grilled lamb chops. Brought me back to the first time I tried KB. Dark ruby coloring in the decanter. Big red fruit with a hint of smoke. A heavy Pinot that holds its own with grilled meat. Excellent wine that is drinking very well right now. Drink or hold a while longer. I don't think you can wrong either way.
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In a blind flight, it was my number 6 out of 6! Behind three Burgs, and an Oregon Pinot and another Cali. No question that it was New World. It just seemed simple, fruity and sweet as well as a bit thin. The damned thing is, that I have liked this quite a lot when had by itself with food!
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Rich pinot fruit, bruised strawberry/ blueberry with a nice allspice, nutmeg and spicy oak profile. Rounded and suave in a very new world way. Big crowd pleaser with lunch.
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Similar tasting note to what I wrote back in January, but this time it is showing more finesse and elegance. The pieces seem to be integrating now into a nice wine. This still is a jammy fruit bomb, but I found it a treat to drink it along side a filet of Copper River Salmon.
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Very good wine. PnP to get those KB smokey initial flavors. Medium/light red color and light body. Strawberry, raspberry & cherry ripe fruit smells and flavors, with some subtle cola, herbs and granite. Food friendly with high acidity. Low tannins on medium-long, smooth finish.
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Cherry, strawberry, spice and wood notes. Seemed to me to be a good KB representative. Not the best of them, but well made, not overdone and maintained plenty of varietal character.
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Too tempting to keep my hands off opening a 2nd bottle when it's drinking so well now. Pnp poured at dinner out with friends...definite crowd pleaser. Certainly would rate higher if there was some additional complexity, but still very good juice ....just sad that I'm now down to one :(
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Pnp. Excellent right out of the gate. As recommended by KB for their Pinots, at the 2 year mark from release, this wine is now finally coming into its prime drinking window. Classic earthy noise, great velvety mouthfeel across mid palate, balanced acidity, both red and blue fruits, noticeable but not lengthy finish, with a great weight that isn't always synonymous with classic Pinot...but that unique style from KB that makes you aware you are drinking something special and wishing / glad you have a lot more!
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Blind tasted. Lots of fruit layers, red/black/blue all there. I actually thought it might be Malbec, but the color wasn't that deep and the fruit was cherry driven, even if it was a lot of dark cherry or cola.
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Easter weekend and the kids are home from NYC and NH with spouse and girlfriend so I break out the KB Sonoma and it's definitely a conversation piece. I love it when a wine gets noticed and it is a testament to the winemaker that it is not just passable wine but able to make people take notice to what they are experiencing in their glass. Glad to be able to share this with the best people in our lives.
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Really great bottle. Decanted for 1.5+ hours and served just above cellar temperature and this was singing. I've always preferred the RRV to this. This time this one stood out and was impressive. Dark berries, ripe strawberry with cola, licorice and hints of moss. Acidity was really nice and this had added body to it that previous SC bottlings have not. Perhaps the longer decant is to thank.
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Same as my specific CT notes from 12/9/2015. A good Pinot; not an amazing Pinot. A little more high-pitched red fruit notes this time around. I will try to give my other bottles another year to see if the overall flavor profile deepens a bit more.
I feel like I'm just riding out what KB bottles I have left until they become yet another memory in a graveyard of allocation lists I'm ultimately letting go of. Always sad to see something with such initial momentum and promise turn into simply another winery that pumps out juice that is just tolerable and decent, but nothing remarkable or memorable.
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Finally decided to pop open this baby. As most people will state, KB is more of a cab style pinot and this bottle definitely met that expectation. Full bodied, bright and red fruits, slightly extracted. Drank fine without food.
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Ruby color with black cherry, raspberry, dried rose and damp earth aromas. On the palate, its medium-bodied, concentrated, persistent and fresh with black cherry, red currant, plum and a hint of pomegranate flavors. Medium-long finish. 14.5% alcohol
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Burgundy lovers need not apply. This wine is not for you. Why do I continue to buy from this producer every year? Because it is one of the most extracted, full bodied Pinots ever made. Not my style of Pinot, but still fun to drink. You just need to be in the mood to drink it. Think of this as the obscure music selection on your iPod when you just want to listen to Nine Inch Nails to get your adrenaline flowing. It is a Steak lovers Pinot... It will stand up to a Ribeye. So packed full of sweet, expressive, and jammy Red fruit, it makes my salivary glands hurt in my cheeks when I drink it. Serve this to your lady and she will love you for it.
Served at Christmas dinner. Nice, enjoyable, but not as complex or memorable as I was hoping. Decanted about 30 minutes, last glass was the best, so next time I'll give decant a bit more time. Will hold off on opening other 2 bottles for 6-12 months & see if develops further.
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Thankfully the 2012 KB Sonoma Coast is a different animal from the 2012 KB RRV bottling. While the RRV was a completely forgettable disappointment, the Sonoma Coast was able to kick out some of those signature KB notes of cherry, strawberry, plum, cola, and hints of baking spices (clove, cardamom, cinnamon) and ginger snap.
Still, a wine that was relatively medium bodied and not amazingly complex by any stretch. It became a little better with some swirling in the glass and about an hour decant in a small balloon decanter at cool cellar temperature (54).
A good wine that will likely improve over the course of a year or so and fan out some of the depth of flavors, but I would not expect too much beyond that. Acidic and tannic structure were smooth, but seemed to be lacking a bit; so this is certainly not a long-haul type of vino.
Though this wine helped ease some of my concerns about KB (as mentioned in my CT notes for the 2012 KB RRV bottling), I don't know that this Sonoma Coast offering is enough to reconsider them as a premier Pinot house anymore. The QPR just isn't there by comparison to other competitors in similar price points.
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Nose of saline, leather, and orange. Great legs. Christmas spices. That varietal tang. Tart finish that is rewarding; not too sour. Actually a little sweet, but balanced. Cherry sauce that would go with ham. Strawberry. This is delicious wine, although nuclear at 14.5%. Straight to the head.
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Everything you would imagine from this wine. Great start; Good finish; and kept getting better as the night went on. Beautiful with 2 inch think bone-in pork chops. A great evening.
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For such a young wine, this Pinot Noir is silky smooth with a nose of freshly cut flowers and delicious cherry fruit with hints of strawberry. Unusually long finish for a Pinot Noir. Absolutely delicious.
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Delicious. This was singing from the onset. Fruit forward, cherry and some milk chocolate. Also ripe strawberries. Such a great, bold wine. Also had some one night 2 and it was more evolved with deeper layers. Great now, but would expect great things in the next 1-2 years.
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Pop and pour. I must admit, I was surprised how well balanced this bottling showed right out of the gate. No doubt this is a young wine but no reason to not share now amongst family and good friends...
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A well executed big Pinot. Similar to the 2013 Sonoma, but it was less powerful and complex. A great bottle- It really only fails to shine because of my recent memory of the 2013!
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This turned out to be a very nice bottle but it took a while to get there. It was not decanted and improved significantly after it opened up; rich and complex with a touch of earth. I definitely recommend decanting.
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Bright cherry fruit. Everything is well integrated. Layers of complexity but definitely a California Pinot. A fruit first effort. could use some smokiness or leather to score better but surely a first class effort.
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So good. Killer juice! Not an eloquent tasting note. Definitely a big bold CA pinot but definitely shows great cool climate acidity with good forest floor, cherry, rhubarb and some dusty strawberry.
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No detailed tasting notes as we drank it a week ago - paired with the 2012 RRV - on a pop and pour - folks generally liked the SC a little better - but both were drinking great.
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Have waited a year to try it, but with 2013s coming in it seems like the time is due. It is a 2012, so as expected it is a big fruity wine. It is a Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast, so as expected it is a well crafted wine. I loved the 2011 for its balance. The 2012 is much bigger and balanced in a different way. The complexity is not eclipsed by the fruit and I expect further development with time.
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The 2013 offering has been sitting in my inbox so thought I'd try this. Was in the mood for a bigger Pinot and this hit the spot. Really well made for the style. Drinking well, but should improve with a little age (2-3 years).
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Exquisite Pinot Noir. Not too heavy (as Kosta may be known to be). It is elegant and smooth with interwoven flavors. Dried cherry, pepper, tobacco. Medium body, light color. Drank next to a Belle Glos, which is much more jammy. The Kosta is one of my favorites.
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Wines At Our Table; Week of February 15th, 2015; 2/9/2015-2/15/2015: Ruby color with restrained black cherry, blueberry, dried rose and damp earth aromas. On the palate, its medium-bodied, concentrated, persistent and fresh with black cherry, red currant, plum and a hint of pomegranate flavors. Medium-long finish. 14.5% alcohol
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The color is dense and purple with hints of purple, brilliant clarity, and translucent. The smells are loaded with red fruit aromas of cranberries, strawberries, and raspberries along with pepper, sassafras, and red licorice. The tastes are cherry liqueur, cola, pepper, red currants, anise, cinnamon, and floral notes. The tannins are very fine and the finish is long with sweet red fruit. This juice is delicious.
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Always a crowd pleaser. So smooth, with great fruit. This vintage seems a bit more balanced than the 2010s and 2011s. As always, there are the great Christmas spices to this Pinot.
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Drank this a few days after trying a few other splendid 2012 SC pintos from Neyers (Roberts Road) and Phelps (Fogdog). Three excellent wines with similar profiles, but what set this apart was texture, intensity and length. Beautifully done. 92-94.
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Lovely Pinot of cherry, licorice, and forest floor. Bright bold flavors, medium to full bodied and nice balance - lacking some of the over extraction of some of the earlier Kostas.
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I don't think this is drinking as well as the Sonoma 11 right now - but the potential is there - or better. I'm holding till 2016. Agree with other reviews - very typical of KB style - very enjoyable.
Solid Pinot with cherry, cola, sweet baking spice with a hint of vanilla and nice tannins with some grip for a balanced finish. Don't see what all the fuss is about of these wines being over the top. Perhaps a touch more expensive than other high end producers of Sonoma pinots but still a very enjoyable wine. I would drink from now through the next 7 years
This is a bright Rock Star of a wine.. Lots of show and Cherry fruit, but also some amazing balance, and secondary flavors of carmel, cola, some baking spice notes. Fun stuff. Based on my previous experiences with KB wines, they best shows within the first 2-3 years. Afterwards the fruit seems to decline. So, I say drink up now and enjoy this rock star!
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Maria's favorite wine maker. Aromas of black cherry, cola, and sweet xmas spice. The flavors took a while to integrate - but that sweet mix of cherry and spice blends with forest floor and minerality to provide the trademark KB flavor.
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While I think the RRV is an excellent example of what those wines should be I found the Sonoma Coast to be all too similar to other SC Pinots I have had lately. Very good wine, but it didn't strike me as extra special.
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The color is pretyy ruby-magenta, with brilliant hue, and is deep color but is translucent. The smells are cola, sassafras, sweet cherry, sweet clove and cinnamon. The tastes are cherry, red licorice, herbs and sweet spice, cola, and dill. The tannins are like fine satin and fruity and there is some wood and cola on the finish.
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Big but not overwhelmingly so. Young and tight. This needs a few years but was worth checking in. Dark fruits, some vanillin, baking spices and big intensity. It's all there. Retry in a year.
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Decanted for an hour. Cherry pie, red licorice, vanilla bean and lychee. This is more inclined to be laid down for a few years and will harmonize even more. Surprisingly, the '12 Russian River is more open. Elastic and feathery tannins. Drink 2017 - 2022.
RRV and Napa Visit; 7/7/2014-8/30/2014 (Napa and Sonoma): More back into cherry and dark cherry, leaves more room on the palate than the RRV ’12. More room for spice to express. More room for oak to express. Cherry cherry on the palate.
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Was dying to try one young. Now I know we why we wait a few years on these! It was fine - better than average, just very primary and therefore, not yet KB
2015-2018 target
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Popped and poured with beef stir fried with asparagus. Aroma is a plum and black cherry, with a sense that it is going to be a bit hot. Has a bit of underlying cola and vanilla aroma, but not too prominent. The taste has the black cherry and plum as well, but it does have a bit of that alcoholic finish. I think this might need some more time to settle down, although it was pretty enjoyable tonight.
Tasted at pickup party. Ranked 2nd of the three pinots. Slightly awkward stage - recently bottled. Red fruits - lighter stylistically - but should gain weight in bottle. I'd hold for six months.
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First time trying this wine. The bottle was decanted and given a couple of hours breathing time. It is a very enjoyable wine with a very nice bright aroma and full red and blue fruit flavors. To me it was more New World style than Burgundian.
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10/28/2023 - travelme wrote: 92 Points
Another bottle similar to my last several of these. Consistent notes with previous bottle. Still have two left that I will likely plan to get to sometime in the next year.
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10/7/2023 - Windy City Wine Guy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Perfect cork at 11 years and a really enjoyable drinkable experience. It won’t knock your socks off, but the dark red fruit aromas are still vibrant, albeit with a sense of subtlety. Lightening at the edges, color wise. Palate is fresh with bright acidity and a lingering finish. Nicely done, Kosta Browne. Drink now. This might have a little more gas in the tank.
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8/15/2023 - bdhanna wrote: 93 Points
Delicious, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !! I agree with my tasting note of the past month !!
The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. Unfortunately, I have no more bottles of this vintage remaining.
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8/2/2023 - bdhanna Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !! I agree with my tasting note of two weeks ago !!
The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. I still have one more bottle of this vintage remaining; I will open it soon to validate my tasting note.
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7/28/2023 - DbertCellar wrote: 92 Points
What an amazing bottle of wine! Delicious
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7/23/2023 - bdhanna Likes this wine: 92 Points
In a great spot, this wine is tasting extremely good right now !!
The cork was nearly perfect after a decade in the bottle. This is a balanced Pinot Noir blend that I consumed with friends at dinner. Deep ruby color with no oxidation, clarity medium. Aromas of pomegranate and caramel, flavors of sweet cranberry, cherry, rhubarb, and forest floor with a pleasant medium finish. Great fruit with firm acidity made into a very balanced Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast appellation of Sonoma County. This Pinot Noir is an age worthy wine and has more years of life left. I still have two more bottles of this vintage remaining; I may open another soon to validate my tasting note.
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2/1/2023 - Galrob wrote:
Yum. I’m really like this. Memorable
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12/1/2022 - cobystilp wrote: 91 Points
Intact cork. Dark ruby red color. Fabulous dark fruit.
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11/15/2022 - VinoDiver wrote: 92 Points
Pretty consistent with my notes from 2015. Fruits still have a brightness.
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11/6/2022 - EricU Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pop and pour Drinking great even 4 hrs in.
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7/6/2022 - RossS wrote: 90 Points
Just OK for Kosta Browne
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6/26/2022 - williamswhine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fragrance & palate of wild strawberry and dark red fruits. Very tasty. Easy drinking, mellow, good with or without food.
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6/24/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pretty darn good. Drink
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5/29/2022 - tomlee wrote: 95 Points
Crimson in color. 14.5% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, cloves, sarsaparilla and flowers. Medium body with perfect acidity. Super silky and plush. Black cherry, plums, cola and baking spices on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. I typically don't have the patience to age the appellation wines this long but this was a recent purchase from a private collector and has left me thinking I need to reconsider my strategy. Breathtaking Pinot Noir at 10 years of age. Best over the next several years.
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5/6/2022 - daniel.jay wrote: 93 Points
This is in a very good place right now. Best with about 60 minutes of air. Plenty of structure to go a few more years.
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3/12/2022 - pmarlo Likes this wine: 92 Points
No formal notes taken, but recalled it was good. Got better with more time in glass. Ten years is a good drinking spot for these wines; they develop and lose their sharpness yet retain much of their fruit.
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3/10/2022 - Senso-beak wrote: 87 Points
Opened and poured. Glyceric light ruby in the glass. Heady and smooth, with nice reds, strawberry, raspberry and some menthol notes. Not electric or expansive, and not the massive pinot that KB is known for. This was a little muted....very poor showing compared to the 2007 for instance.
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2/19/2022 - VlgJeff wrote: 91 Points
Slo-oxed for 20 minutes, but a bit more time is better. A deep violet color to a faded rim. Light aromas of dark red fruits. The medium bodied palate was dominated by dark red fruits, some spice, a touch of earth, balancing acidity, and fully integrated tannins. This wine may not develop any further but could hold for another year or two.
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2/8/2022 - JuliannaDHS Likes this wine: 91 Points
A nice showing with cherry fruit still there. Lots of structure and reasonable complexity.
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2/5/2022 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fruit and delightful.
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11/1/2021 - jlgnml wrote:
Very fruity, light on the palate and maybe too young. Hold
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10/31/2021 - Winokdub wrote: 92 Points
Great nose and great finesse but its vibrance is fading with age.
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9/29/2021 - joelmark3 wrote: 88 Points
Good ....not great....lacking that typical Kosta Browne finesse
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9/19/2021 - williamswhine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fragrance & palate of wild strawberry and dark red fruits. Very tasty. Consumed with steak & crab cakes.
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8/22/2021 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 90 Points
At home over two nights, with miso sea bass. Medium ruby-garnet, translucent. At first, simple, one-dimensional, pleasant and drinkable but nothing very memorable. However, by the second night it had opened nicely to show more pronounced sweet, acetic mostly red fruit aromas. Very soft and round raspberry/strawberry flavors, not at all tannic, very smooth and medium-bodied. Enjoyable, but not worth twice what I pay for Walter Hansel's North Slope! Drink up.
Ric
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8/5/2021 - red freddy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Received partial bottle to try (yes, from same Oenophile friend who gave me samples of Williams Selyem Pinot Noir & Turley Zinfandel, all 90+ pts, to try). 2012, Where Does he get these? As mentioned before, he is single-handedly upgrading my appreciation of wines.
There isn't much left to say after 514 other tasting notes; But count me with the 'Stupid Good' crowd (i.e. KRHAUGH: "Not much to say but Stupid Good! Almost 10 years old and drinking beautiful. Awesome Pinot from KB"
Pinot Noir at its finest, Luscious, aromatic and, yes, robust but refined; right up there with Williams Selyem. But probably near the end of it's drinking window (perhaps depending on how well it has been stored); if I had any I'd be (happily) drinking-up!
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7/14/2021 - mclanew wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured. Modest nose showing plum and earth. The wine is medium bodied with ripe raspberry and plum, some herbs. Fairly simple and straight forward this is still quite delicious but I would drink in the next few years.
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7/5/2021 - krhaugh Likes this wine: 94 Points
Not much to say but Stupid Good! Almost 10 years old and drinking beautiful. Awesome Pinot from KB
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6/20/2021 - vino_per_tutti wrote: 90 Points
After two stellar bottles earlier this year, felt like age has caught up with this one and its lost its verve and vigor. Same dark, black cherry color. Aromatics somewhat flat and one dimensional: ripe black cherry, whiff of alcohol. Certainly mouthfilling and slightly creamy, but not much of interest beyond the black cherry and some tailing spice from the oak. Not offensive, but certainly not up to snuff. Put me down with the crowd who thinks this cuvee is now deep into the Back Nine.
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4/25/2021 - Backdoctor wrote: 93 Points
Drinking well, the fruit is still there. It's balanced and delicious
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4/6/2021 - Winokdub wrote: 93 Points
This wine is beautiful in so many ways. Probably at the back end of the peak drinking window but still delivers powerful fruit with layers of complexity and finishes smooth as silk. Very nice.
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4/2/2021 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine: 93 Points
Just as spectacular as the last (see note from last month below). Ripe black cherry, sandalwood, cola. Big but still multilayered. Stunning aromatics and flavors from start to finish. Drinking beautifully - this wine benefits enormously from time in the cellar.
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3/23/2021 - BobbaWA Likes this wine: 93 Points
Cola, red cherry, a hint of white pepper. Condensed.
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3/3/2021 - TheFoodieTraveler wrote: 89 Points
While mature, it was still in drinking window. The acid and the fruit still present, but lacked the complexity I was expecting. I still think KB is overrated.
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1/30/2021 - vino_per_tutti Likes this wine: 93 Points
Stunningly beautiful dark cherry color. Lucious, rich aromatics of black cherry, cherry cobbler and baking spices on the nose. Big but restrained (ie, not overripe) flavors of black cherry and cola on the palate. Silky and sensuous through to the slightly spicy finish. Not sure why some think this is done. Drinking incredibly well at the moment, but could easily go another couple of years.
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1/30/2021 - heyjon Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ornate and detailed with an earthy bouquet of red stone fruit, dried herbs, forest floor, crushed stone and game, perfectly balanced palate of red plum, pomegranate and early-picked strawberry, secondary notes of smoke, white pepper, white chocolate, cola and a suggestion of oregano, rounded tannins, lengthy finish. Excellent with Lamb Chops with Red Wine and Rosemary Reduction and Roasted Vegetables.
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1/28/2021 - cookie7 wrote:
Ripe red fruits and cola dominate the wine. A bit hot on the finish. Drink up - I think this has peaked.
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1/27/2021 - pgb67 wrote: 94 Points
Christmas 2020 & Beyond -- Pandemic Wines (Quarantine in Arlington): A lot going on here, although the fruit is the leading actor in this ensemble – raspberries, red and black cherries, rose petal, loamy soil. For a pinot, it’s pretty dense, but still is an easier drink than the Rhone varietals and Cabs in this lineup. An impressive tannic spine and long finish complete the package. Still going strong, but I would probably drink up. (served during the holidays but not together with the R-M, Saxum so no side-by-side comparisons).
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1/21/2021 - travelme wrote: 92 Points
See previous notes. It was like I opened the exact same bottle. Enjoyed with friends tonight. It was an excellent Sonoma Coast Pinot. Tasted the entire 2012 Pinot lineup (non single vineyard) from Kosta Browne this evening. All were great but I preferred the Santa Lucia Highlands. Maybe the others still need a little more time but I just thought it stood out to me just a little more presently than the others.
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1/17/2021 - Thief Likes this wine: 94 Points
Red and black cherry with a rich luscious mouthfeel. Definite cola and sassafras behind the sweet cherry frame and super silky body with long balanced finish, that was better after a brief decant.
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11/26/2020 - Coswinetaster Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fragrant nose with cherry and a hint of spice. Light on the palate and very smooth. Cherry and raspberry on the palate. Long spicy finish. Nicely balanced.
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10/31/2020 - CRUSHER Likes this wine: 95 Points
cherry plum and sweet tobacco
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10/25/2020 - krhaugh Likes this wine: 94 Points
Quick decant. It has been 4 years since we last tasted this vintage. On the nose, bright red fruit with a hint of spice. Beautiful juice in the mouth, lots of cherry and more spice and earth. A tiny hint of cola. Still has life left but is drinking very nicely right now.
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10/19/2020 - Aberry126 Likes this wine: 92 Points
PNP
Ruby, mulberry color. Cherry jam on the nose with leather, fruit wood, tangerine, vanilla, and asphalt. Sticky, long legs--looks beautiful in the glass.
Wonderfully balanced wine on first taste. Cherry is the predominant fruit, with an almost cider quality. Some warm spices like clove pop up part way through the finish. Soft tannins, with a meaty, mushroom-like quality at times. There's some cassis, anise, lavender, and fruit woods moving in and out, but everything remains very balanced. Definitely drinking on the sweeter side, but not unpleasantly so. Long finish with a round mouthfeel.
I really enjoy this wine--it's a great Pinot in its price range with some decent age on it. I'd say it's right in its drinking window with a few more years to go. Grab some while you can!
92/100
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10/16/2020 - PVJC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Terrific. Mouthfilling, lush, dark fruit. Can't imagine it will get any better, but if I had any more I also wouldn't rush to drink them.
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10/8/2020 - ScottPreston wrote: 93 Points
Still in really good shape, with easily 3 years of life left.
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9/12/2020 - Mnawacki Likes this wine: 94 Points
Enjoyed over dinner with our friends Clarissa and Lloyd, along with a 2016 Joseph Phelps Quartet Moon Pinot Noir, and a 2015 CheckMate Chardonnay. This was just wow, smooth, elegant and silky. Big round, cherry fruit. As Lloyd commented, "despite the Phelps being rich and multifaceted, the Kosta Browne just had so much class, purity, depth." The Kosta Browne is a more classic and straightforward California pinot noir, but is in a perfect drinking window ... great match for fish and lamb at Greek resto Petros.
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6/15/2020 - IvanKrazy wrote: 90 Points
Still enjoyable but I think it has passed its peak. Some black fruit left and wood aromas.
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5/28/2020 - VlgJeff wrote: 92 Points
Gave this bottle a 20 minute slo-ox, based on my last TN. The nose and palate were very similar to our bottle five months ago (12/28/19) with no perceptible degradation. This wine is in a great place right now and may not develop any further but should hold.
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5/15/2020 - jmottern Likes this wine: 91 Points
Reliably good wine. This bottle was good but lacked the high excellent of other KostaBrowne pinots.
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5/4/2020 - winepog wrote: 91 Points
Very nice. Even better after an hour of air. Starting to show some signs of aging - plenty of tertiary flavors. I think now is a good time to drink this. Cheers.
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4/13/2020 - jaumealaska Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted with similar notes from 2 years ago but slightly more subdued. Opened 1 hour before drinking. Clear ruby color, nose of cherries and some forest floor and cola notes. Body medium full with red fruit with well balanced acids and less that medium tannins. Good finish. Can certainly drink now but curious how it will present once the fruit fades.
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4/10/2020 - kleinahoe Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still has legs.
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4/4/2020 - throberts3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted and rested an hour. I've read some notes that say this was still "hot" and not at it's peak. I don't agree. I think this peaked a bit ago. Perfectly nice and well drinking. But lacking the layers and finish I'd expect from Kosta.
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3/18/2020 - theharve wrote: 92 Points
good but not at peak. try again in one year.
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3/13/2020 - psiweaver Likes this wine: 88 Points
Still a bit hot. Darker red fruit with soft tannins.
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3/13/2020 - underwds wrote: 94 Points
Deep garnet color. Very nice mouth feel--smooth, but not plush. Cherry fruit, a little root beer, and subtle finish of forest floor. Nice acidity at the end went well with beef bourguignon.
7/23/2020 Similar notes as last time. This wine hits the right notes for me.
11/22/2021 A year later and I'm still pretty enamored with this wine. It's a beautiful color, pleasing across the palate, and a good balance between fruit and tannin.
7/11/2023 Did a pop-and-pour and the finish was pretty tart. An hour in the air it settled in to the wine I was expecting.
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2/20/2020 - Rramey Likes this wine: 93 Points
Just opened my last bottle of this vintage and it is still fantastic. Dark ruby color with tannins still in the back cheek.
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2/15/2020 - SCosgrove Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark cherries and plums, really great.
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2/9/2020 - brujazz wrote: 92 Points
Lighter in body than many Kosta Brownes, but also more elegant. Totally delicious.increased in enjoyability apthe linger it was opened. Root beer, cinnamon, dried fruit in a long complex finish. What you would hope for and expect in a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir.
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1/30/2020 - spendergast Likes this wine: 94 Points
A nice pinot with notes of cherry, cedar, spice box with soft tannins and long finish.
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12/31/2019 - mclanew Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pretty nose of ripe cherries and flowers. Delicious lovely pinot with sappy flavors of raspberry, strawberry and forest floor. This is clearly new world but it is well balanced and doesn’t show its alcohol at all. This is in a good place and I would drink these over the next couple years.
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12/28/2019 - VlgJeff wrote: 92 Points
PnP, but continued to open for the next 15 minutes or so. Light aromas of dark red fruits. The medium bodied palate was dominated by dark red fruits, balancing acidity, some spice, a touch of earth, a hint of cola, and fully integrated tannins. This wine is in a great place right now and may not develop any further, so drink up and enjoy. Should hold for at least a couple of years.
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12/27/2019 - oldwines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted on a whim with my 3 bean, 3 meat, 3 pepper chili...great foil to the spice in the chile. Nice red fruit with modest acidity and slight sweetness complimented the chili spices. Good texture and what the wine lacks in acidity was made up for by the spice.
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12/25/2019 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hours. Aromas of cherry, strawberry, mushroom and just a touch of earth. Flavors of cherry, strawberry, licorice and just a touch of sarsaparilla. Ends with a pure cherry notes of 25-30 seconds. Much better than the last time I had it. Fruit flavors are very pure.
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12/2/2019 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 91 Points
Aging nicely. I'm getting the classic cherry and cola combo, on a bed of smooth tannins and medium acidity. The floral, savory, earthy tones are more evident at this point. Drinking really well now. I'm not sure how much longer I'd age this, maybe two years tops.
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11/30/2019 - denisontb Likes this wine: 92 Points
Enjoyed with family over Thanksgiving weekend. Drinking beautifully, with plenty of life left.
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11/28/2019 - cobystilp wrote: 92 Points
Thanksgiving 2019 with the family in Rockport. The best deserves the best.
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11/24/2019 - SCosgrove wrote: 92 Points
Amazing
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11/15/2019 - beerenauslese Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted an hour. Deep cherry fruit, spice, oak aromas. Concentrated cherry/blackberry flavors with moderate acidity, integrated oak and baking spice and a lightly bitter finish.
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11/2/2019 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
WIML92
Tasted non blind.
Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of Birch, potpourri, black cherries and black berries. Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries and plums. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink or hold.
DAWGS offline.
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10/19/2019 - TGOT Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still tight out of the gate. Also a little out of balance.
Fruit: Cranberry dominant fruit cloaked in herbal and floral notes of rose and potpourri
Acidity: High (too high relative to fruit)
Body: Medium-light
Alcohol: Medium-high
Tannin: Low
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9/8/2019 - tadlockfamily wrote:
Hi
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8/7/2019 - Livermore Dan Likes this wine: 95 Points
Truly fabulous fruit bomb.
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7/16/2019 - DougSamuel Likes this wine: 90 Points
Light red, minimal Browning. P&P. Nose of leather, cherry, cola and a touch of heat. Palate of bing cherries and cola. No notable tannins, but some alcohol on the finish. Easy and smooth wine. Nice, but still can't see why this costs as much as it does.
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7/6/2019 - garambler Likes this wine: 91 Points
I opened this at my 7/6/19 birthday dinner. It had a rich, elegant nose of black cherry, raspberry, barnyard, cola and baking spice aromas. The palate was rich and dusty dry with flavors of black cherry, raspberry, plum and baking spice.
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6/22/2019 - cc.smith44@gmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
A bigger wine, but still complex
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6/1/2019 - Vinophiliac559 wrote:
I think there was a touch of tca or tce on the nose, very subtle but dampened the nose and made it hard to get much of anything. Palate was fine, lush red berries, ripe but not over extracted, warm baking spice, fair acidity, decent length and medium to med plus weight. I preferred this alone rather than with food as the CA style pinot is more of a stand alone imo. Seems to be at peak, drinking well now pnp, will hold on for a while but doubt will improve further.
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4/4/2019 - mb14214 Likes this wine:
Good
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3/26/2019 - Daisy1995 wrote: 94 Points
Great as always.
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3/13/2019 - mdvillaverde wrote: 92 Points
This records a March 7 tasting. I've had this wine many times the past 4 years.
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3/10/2019 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured, immediately accessible. Nice fruit forward wine with nice balance. Likely in prime with at least another 5 plus years of life on it. If you favor burgundy, try holding for a decade. I’m sure it will be outstanding then as well.
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3/3/2019 - thebonnydooner wrote: 91 Points
Tasting notes identical to the last bottle - had this with a favourable match of wine braised chicken stew and it did nicely, though not as well as some burgs. Really tasty wine though with lovely sweet fruit. Almost better without food.
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3/1/2019 - MemorialWineFan wrote: 88 Points
Good for California but too over cherried. Need to lay off some of the cherry additive. Wake up USA pinot drinkers. Just take what the land gives you. Leave the additives behind.
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2/26/2019 - SeaWine wrote: 91 Points
My first KB Pinot, and I can understand why people like it. Cherry cola goodness, with decent complexity. Rich, and richer than I generally prefer these days, but not over-the-top by my taste.
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2/22/2019 - PinotPaul Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent Pinot with depth and complexity. Lovely fruit, good acidity, long finish. Wish I had more.
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1/26/2019 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 92 Points
A nose of cherries and spice, medium amber in color. A medium to full bodied Pinot, with currants, cherries, good acidity, dust and spice on finish. Hard to ever say anything bad about a KB wine, drink now but still needs an short decant. www.winelx.com
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1/19/2019 - bablues wrote:
8th Annual Holiday Dinner and Cellar Raid - A Month Late (Naperville, IL): Part of wine dinner and cellar raid so did not take detailed notes. Part of opening wines as folks joined the party
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1/5/2019 - jmottern Likes this wine: 93 Points
Another great Kosta Browne pinot noir - a reliable pleaser. Big body red wine that begins with a pleasant nose. Black berry and plum fruits. Very pleasing finish.
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12/26/2018 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 93 Points
Flowery, soft and delicate but very nice
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12/10/2018 - Barry Notes Likes this wine: 93 Points
PnP, no decant. Clear, bright ruby/purple. Classic KB nose. This drank very well and one of best appellation KB I've had. Excellent vintage of rich, concentrated red and blue fruit, exceptional balance and integration, not over extracted but still big and bold. This drank like it should and is in excellent drinking window. Delicious, nothing off. $68
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11/10/2018 - suburbanfrog Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stunning. All that needs to be said.
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10/28/2018 - budman Likes this wine: 93 Points
Outstanding!
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10/26/2018 - ListenToMeWine Does not like this wine: 80 Points
past its prime, lifeless
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10/13/2018 - Erik29609 wrote: 82 Points
Cork not in the best shape so too oxidized. Too bad. Other wise very typical Kosta Browne
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10/6/2018 - Mimoko Likes this wine:
Red fruit on the nose. Red cherry, cranberry with slight peppery finish. Nice acidity. Could age another year or two? Decanted an hour before consumed. Medium bodied.
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9/28/2018 - thebonnydooner wrote: 92 Points
No complaints on this, other than the value for money. Lovely ripe Pinot, nicely balanced with a long sweet ripe finish. Sweet ripe soft tannins and juicy red cherry, strawberry and black cherry fruit. Just a delicious full scaled but balanced pinot, showing nice typicity.
PS this as drunk at cellar temp (58 degrees) and that really helps minimize the effect of the relatively high alcohol.
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9/22/2018 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fully mature now but otherwise consistent with notes of 10/5/2014 - good for 2-3 more years at least
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9/22/2018 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pretty red berries and lifted and lively frame.
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9/10/2018 - Backdoctor wrote: 93 Points
Everyone loves this, well balanced, great nose and red fruits on plate
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9/3/2018 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. Full bodied, dark cherry in your face. Surprisingly well balanced, decent finish and in prime. Certainly has the backbone for another decade. My preference is burgundy so I may save my remaining bottles for another 5-10 years and see if the fruit becomes a bit more subtle.
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9/2/2018 - JS199 wrote: 94 Points
This was delicious. Rich with great texture that unfolded with lots of spice on the finish.
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8/31/2018 - corka Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still very fresh, drinking quite nicely now, could probably still age for some time as well.
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8/30/2018 - Amerique wrote: 94 Points
Rich, delicious, round dark strawberry fruit with cola flavors, excellent structure, long finish, very ready to drink
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8/18/2018 - bigdogflow Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very bright and youthful. Drinks much younger than a 2012. Bright raspberry. Medium finish.
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8/15/2018 - Arch57 wrote: 89 Points
Brought to dinner at Bill and Robin's and I'm finding that I like my KB's on the younger side as they seem to lose that brightness with age but not necessarily gaining complexity.
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7/30/2018 - Matt T wrote: 91 Points
Dark fruit profile. Surprisingly reserved and a bit rustic. I think this still has time to go.
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7/4/2018 - bonedoc wrote: 93 Points
Dark fruit profile, but good cut. Oak undetectable, and no sense of sweetness as some of these wines can have. Well done.
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6/29/2018 - Rjaiven Likes this wine: 93 Points
Deep red color, balance of fruit and mild tannins
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6/24/2018 - joet626 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very good. Nice dark fruits. Smooth. Mmmmmmm!
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6/20/2018 - StarM Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice. Holding well with fruit. Not much fading once opened & poured.
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6/9/2018 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Cherry central, but darker fruit and less cola central than some other Kosta Browne. More earth when I first opened it. Baking spices and vanilla. So well integrated.
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5/25/2018 - Schwarzer Hund Likes this wine:
dark red color, floral, spicy, dark berry nose, ripe concentrated fruit, very smooth, some spice and minerals. Tannins are mostly integrated now. Finish was very smooth, fruit filled and medium long. pretty tasty stuff.
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5/24/2018 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium purple. Beautifully done, dark fruit, baking spice , and vanilla on the nose. The fruit has really toned down and integrated over the last few years achieving great harmony and balance. Perfect with steak and veggies.
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5/12/2018 - azwino Likes this wine:
Excellent bottle of wine. Fruit forward with some raisin/prune notes on the aroma; Strawberry, sour cherry with some vanilla / oak on the palate. Very fruit forward, not as much cola as the Russian River bottling. Does not taste like it is over the hill or fading. Paired well with soy / ginger salmon grilled in cedar paper. Day 2 - fruit has faded a little, or vanilla/oak is stronger, more mellow, rounder body.
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5/12/2018 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great expression of a California pinot. Ruby red color.
Big round nose of strawberry and some spice. Very delicious wine. Seems a bit flabby, and has lot of weight, but a good example of a new world pinot.
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4/27/2018 - blaine wrote: 89 Points
This was good, powerful without being heavy. Simple. Would have liked to see more, hate to say maybe past its prime, best quality of this wine I believe to be youthfulness. I'd drink this up
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4/11/2018 - Griffeyfan04 wrote: 85 Points
Good fruit to start with a hint of sweet but the sweet oak took over with air and the Carmel finish was just too much for me and couldn’t finish my 2nd glass.
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3/13/2018 - mmcdds wrote: 90 Points
Very nice and drinking beautifully almost immediately after opening.
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3/10/2018 - CADomer Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic KB perfumed fruit but this seemed to have a little more of the Sonoma Coast cool climate energy than usual. Quite nice.
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2/16/2018 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 91 Points
Deep ruby color. Nose of cherries, plums, sweet cola, roses and potpourri. Rich texture, chewy but some acidity to keep it fresh, still decent grip from the tannins but it's smooth and pretty. Cherries, raspberry jam, with cola, rhubarb, roasted coffee, cedar, violets, coffee. Notes of floral potpourri and clove come out with time, a hint of mushroom, too. This is aging nicely and will continue to do so for a few more at least, but this is lovely now.
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2/14/2018 - tomlee wrote: 93 Points
Light red in color. 14.5% ABV. Pretty nose of red fruits, cloves, baking spices and damp forest floor. Medium body with ample acidity. Decadent and fruit forward. Exceptional balance. Cranberry, bing cherry, strawberry and pomegranate on the palate. The finish is long and silky. Simply delicious, well made Pinot Noir. Another home run from Kosta Browne that only bodes well for the single vineyard wines from this vintage. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
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2/13/2018 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle!
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1/30/2018 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black cherry and earthy aromas and flavors on the palate with hints of oak and spice culminating in a savory finish. Drinking beautifully!
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1/26/2018 - Tangokaren wrote: 92 Points
Another beautiful KB Pinot with all we have come to expect. The cherry cola really came out about 2 hours after opening. Served with rack of lamb.
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1/25/2018 - Barry Notes Likes this wine: 91 Points
Amana Skiers
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1/21/2018 - Hover low 64 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I must have opened this about two years early. It tasted good, not great, on the first night. It had light, bright red fruit...cherry mainly, with no depth. Thin, unimpressive. The second night, she revealed herself in full, displaying a sinewy, chewy core of dark, black fruits -- currant and blackberry -- with raspberry and cherry as an added layer of complexity. I tasted vanilla and cinnamon too, and nice acidity and tannins in harmony, which raised what would have been a solid 90 to a superb 93. Be patient with this little lady, because she will amaze you if given the time and the chance. Target date for my last bottle is 2020. If I can wait that long!
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1/20/2018 - bjschmitt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Served with grilled veal chops over pureed parsnips. Decanted 30 minutes before pouting.
Ruby red, nice deep color.
Luscious cherry nose, almost sweet, with undercurrent of lively fruit.
Earthy cherry palate, acid to balance, soft tannin. Good finish.
This wine grew with time - strawberry/raspberry/leather. Very nice, went well with the veal.
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1/11/2018 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle!
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1/7/2018 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid Pinot. A bit rounder than typical Sonoma Coast appellations, more like a RRV Pinot. Silky soft with great saturation. Strawberry cream notes.
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12/7/2017 - Babik Likes this wine: 91 Points
PNP, decanted; no sediment. Nose took a little coaxing, but this wine is earthy and deep, with rice dark cranberry and cherry notes. Not good QPR; drink now.
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12/3/2017 - tann0008 wrote: 95 Points
Blackberry and leather on the nose. Rose petals with a hint of cinnamon on the palette. Mild tannic finish. Drinking well now.
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12/3/2017 - Tudz Drkl Likes this wine: 90 Points
A nose of cola, caramel and red cherries. The palate is rich, balanced and well integrated at this point. A pleasure to drink.
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11/30/2017 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black cherry and earthy aromas and flavors on the palate with hints of oak and spice culminating in a savory finish. Drinking beautifully!
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11/25/2017 - Dr. Bee Likes this wine: 89 Points
Properly cellared since release. Decanted 2 hours. Served with local smoked pork. On it's own, very lackluster. With the pork, Sha Bam! Opened into a classy blend of floral and spice! Very delicate! Time to drink! Very overpriced however! It's fading fast!
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11/24/2017 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 93 Points
Medium garnet, translucent. At first, simple, one-dimensional, pleasant and drinkable but nothing very memorable. However, several hours later it had opened nicely to show more pronounced sweet, acetic mostly red fruit aromas. Very soft and round raspberry/strawberry flavors, not at all tannic, very smooth and medium-full bodied. Excellent, but not worth twice what I pay for Walter Hansel's North Slope!
Ric
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11/6/2017 - Djfermentation Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking fantastic right now. This paired perfectly with a honey mustard smoked porkloin last night.
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10/20/2017 - Pquaker wrote: 94 Points
Smooth, almost supple. Not overpowering although not very aromatic. Dark deep ruby color. Drinking well now, I would not wait much longer. Showing some signs of thinning out.
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8/25/2017 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle!
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8/13/2017 - PinotPaul Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful. Nice fruit, great balance, clean finish.
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8/7/2017 - Dalton_Noble Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely. At forty bucks. But it cost more like 70. Not worth it.
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7/21/2017 - ELH wrote: 91 Points
Dark cherry, strawberries, with a whiff of plums. Full bodied. Great food wine.
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7/10/2017 - brianofthevine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Black cherry, strawberry, and plum flavors up front with a nice core of caramel, cherry cola, red licorice, earth, and spice box. Nicely structure wine, good finish to it.
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7/7/2017 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely full bodied Pinot. Great intensity of red cherry flavors and red licorice. Silky smooth with a long finish. Yummy.
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7/2/2017 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank on the deck with a grilled veal chop and Italian country bread. Unmistakeable KB big nose. Fruit packed, spicy cherries, raspberry jam, tart, concentrated , and a long clean finish. Delightful!
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7/2/2017 - slywka7 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 45 minutes. Aromas of brown sugar, cherry, strawberry and sassafras. Flavors of sarsaparilla, wild cherry, strawberry shortbread and a touch of herb. Ends with a 25-30 second finish. Started off a bit muted but came on once I started to drink it.
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6/29/2017 - Dalton_Noble wrote: 90 Points
Perfectly fine. Nothing particularly notable. Drink now.
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6/20/2017 - theharve wrote: 92 Points
relish. try in 1 yr
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5/31/2017 - mmcdds Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking well tonight.
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5/30/2017 - mye wrote:
Not fair to drink this next to 4 bottles of GC Burgs. This basically tasted like cotton candy grape juice. Not a fan on this night, but i think could be quite crowd pleasing in general.
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5/23/2017 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black cherry and earthy aromas and flavors on the palate with hints of oak and spice culminating in a savory finish. Drinking beautifully!
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5/13/2017 - budman Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow!!!
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5/2/2017 - SMZ wrote: 94 Points
Spectacular wine. Ultra rich and complex. Deep concentrated flavors. Drinking beautifully now.
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4/16/2017 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 93 Points
Easter Weekend Wines; 4/15/2017-4/16/2017: Deep ruby color. Great aromas of tart pomegranate and red cherries mixed in with sweet plums, cola and lavender. Rich but not dense this is juicy and delicious with moderate acidity and some bold grip to the tannins. Plums and tart cherries, rich but not sweet or cloying at all, and the fruit is backed up by cola, roasted herbs, coffee, pipe tobacco and cedar box. Wow, this is a full-on Pinot but it shows a lot of freshness despite its bold presence. Delicious over a few hours in the decanter, but I'll hold my other bottle for two-to-four years.
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4/15/2017 - nkirsch Likes this wine: 92 Points
Young and bright. a little tart but in a good way. Loads of fruit but still a clean finish
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3/13/2017 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
consistent with notes of 10/5/2014 - drinking very well right now.
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3/6/2017 - pjhr wrote: 92 Points
Ripe black cherry and earthy aromas and flavors on the rich palate with hints of oak and spice culminating in a tasty finish. Enjoy in the near term as I don't see this one as a cellar candidate.
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2/12/2017 - jaumealaska Likes this wine: 93 Points
cherry and red fruit in the nose, showing some spice--cola notes to the body, lots of fruit with still firm tannins, great balance. Good finish. Had opened for 2 hours before drinking and changed a little in the glass. Still would give this a few years, but showing well now.
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2/5/2017 - Andrew H wrote: 94 Points
Super Bowl wine, helped soften the first half blow.
All-pro wine, deep red (New England cranberries), loads of dark red fruit (ripe cherry, raspberry), vanilla, hints of spice, finish lingers.
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1/21/2017 - PinotPaul Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fabulous Pinot. Very nice nose of cherry cola. Good acidity with good fruit. Very long finish. Very well balanced.
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1/12/2017 - Griffeyfan04 wrote: 90 Points
Decent Pinot but for the price tag a little hesitant to buy more. It has good cola flavors and some subdued fruit but not anything of a wow factor. Will try the others with a good decant and see why comes of them
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1/1/2017 - travelme Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice and smooth with some cherry and spice box on the palate. A pleasant wine and it went quickly at a large birthday gathering.
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1/1/2017 - haldolugr wrote: 92 Points
Raspberry and cherry fruit. Well structured and showing good right now. Don't see it improving much from here. IMO - Drink em if you got em.
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12/24/2016 - t_moderne wrote: 92 Points
Pop and poured into a decanter and immediately served.
Ripe fruit in a rich style but with good acidity to carry the fruit. Layers of flavor, leaning ripe strawberries and red cherries. Hint of forest floor to balance out the fruit.
Delicious.
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12/10/2016 - TC16 wrote: 92 Points
This has mellowed out somewhat, but still unmistakably a big CA pinot. Moving from a big cherry cola to having secondary notes of spice and mild herb. Rounding into something more exciting than a couple of years ago. Will hold onto my last bottle for several more years to see what happens.
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12/9/2016 - gew71walsh wrote: 92 Points
I found this a pleasurable drinking wine. As opposed to others, I did not find this a heavy Calif. Pinot in comparison to other California Pinots--it is red cherries and berries on the nose and palate, rather than darker berries and plums. It is balanced, but not overly complex. I don't have the benefit of having tasted earlier KB wines, as my allocations began in 2011. I find it an easy drinking wine with or without food, and, generally, a crowd pleaser.
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11/30/2016 - tastark wrote:
Screams "California Pinot!"
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10/21/2016 - Counselor Chris wrote: 93 Points
Dark cherry and cranberry, bay leaf, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg. The finish is crisp and avoids heaviness. Really nice. 14.5%. Defies what you might assume 2012 KB would be.
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10/2/2016 - JR_Boston wrote: 92 Points
Too much acid
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9/11/2016 - krhaugh Likes this wine: 94 Points
First KB Sonoma Coast. Decanted about 2 hours and served with grilled lamb chops. Brought me back to the first time I tried KB. Dark ruby coloring in the decanter. Big red fruit with a hint of smoke. A heavy Pinot that holds its own with grilled meat. Excellent wine that is drinking very well right now. Drink or hold a while longer. I don't think you can wrong either way.
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8/31/2016 - nkirsch Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lots of bright fruit. I often drink Kosta's that are older but drinking a younger wine reminded me how lively the flavors can be.
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8/26/2016 - JC Cab wrote:
Excellent pinot. Well balanced red fruit and spices, soft tannins and long finish. Drinking very well right now.
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8/22/2016 - grapist wrote:
In a blind flight, it was my number 6 out of 6! Behind three Burgs, and an Oregon Pinot and another Cali. No question that it was New World. It just seemed simple, fruity and sweet as well as a bit thin. The damned thing is, that I have liked this quite a lot when had by itself with food!
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7/31/2016 - Enzo D wrote: 91 Points
Enjoyed by all with bbq chicken after brief decant. Smooth, silky, big and fruity. Not your quintessential Pinot, but a very fine wine nonetheless.
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7/27/2016 - brianngibson wrote: 93 Points
Black cherry, baking spice, tea ... Early but drinking well already.
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7/26/2016 - Longhorn Dennis Cellar wrote:
Perfection. Clean finish, full-bodied with Syrah-like quality.
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6/17/2016 - Navyweaver wrote: 95 Points
Loved this one. Typical to the variety. Good for another few years. Well balance with cherries. Damn. That's all I can say.
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6/11/2016 - RockinCabs wrote: 91 Points
Rich pinot fruit, bruised strawberry/ blueberry with a nice allspice, nutmeg and spicy oak profile. Rounded and suave in a very new world way. Big crowd pleaser with lunch.
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6/11/2016 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Similar tasting note to what I wrote back in January, but this time it is showing more finesse and elegance. The pieces seem to be integrating now into a nice wine. This still is a jammy fruit bomb, but I found it a treat to drink it along side a filet of Copper River Salmon.
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6/9/2016 - awise45 wrote: 93 Points
Ruby red color and a really smooth, rich collection of light berries and spice. Really nice.
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6/4/2016 - Farnelicous Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very good wine. PnP to get those KB smokey initial flavors. Medium/light red color and light body. Strawberry, raspberry & cherry ripe fruit smells and flavors, with some subtle cola, herbs and granite. Food friendly with high acidity. Low tannins on medium-long, smooth finish.
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5/28/2016 - gmbdds wrote: 90 Points
Cherry, strawberry, spice and wood notes. Seemed to me to be a good KB representative. Not the best of them, but well made, not overdone and maintained plenty of varietal character.
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4/6/2016 - frisbeedog Likes this wine: 94 Points
Getting better with time.
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4/4/2016 - City Squirrel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Too tempting to keep my hands off opening a 2nd bottle when it's drinking so well now. Pnp poured at dinner out with friends...definite crowd pleaser. Certainly would rate higher if there was some additional complexity, but still very good juice ....just sad that I'm now down to one :(
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4/3/2016 - City Squirrel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pnp. Excellent right out of the gate. As recommended by KB for their Pinots, at the 2 year mark from release, this wine is now finally coming into its prime drinking window. Classic earthy noise, great velvety mouthfeel across mid palate, balanced acidity, both red and blue fruits, noticeable but not lengthy finish, with a great weight that isn't always synonymous with classic Pinot...but that unique style from KB that makes you aware you are drinking something special and wishing / glad you have a lot more!
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4/3/2016 - lasimon73 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Prefer this over the RRV of the same vintage. Deep fruit, cherry, lingering finish.
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3/28/2016 - GTFreek wrote:
Blind tasted. Lots of fruit layers, red/black/blue all there. I actually thought it might be Malbec, but the color wasn't that deep and the fruit was cherry driven, even if it was a lot of dark cherry or cola.
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3/28/2016 - KenPlace wrote: 91 Points
Cherry cola. Entry level Sonoma Coast label for KB. Good overall wine.
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3/26/2016 - Arch57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Easter weekend and the kids are home from NYC and NH with spouse and girlfriend so I break out the KB Sonoma and it's definitely a conversation piece. I love it when a wine gets noticed and it is a testament to the winemaker that it is not just passable wine but able to make people take notice to what they are experiencing in their glass. Glad to be able to share this with the best people in our lives.
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3/6/2016 - DBunk Likes this wine: 92 Points
Really great bottle. Decanted for 1.5+ hours and served just above cellar temperature and this was singing. I've always preferred the RRV to this. This time this one stood out and was impressive. Dark berries, ripe strawberry with cola, licorice and hints of moss. Acidity was really nice and this had added body to it that previous SC bottlings have not. Perhaps the longer decant is to thank.
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2/27/2016 - csimm wrote: 91 Points
Same as my specific CT notes from 12/9/2015. A good Pinot; not an amazing Pinot. A little more high-pitched red fruit notes this time around. I will try to give my other bottles another year to see if the overall flavor profile deepens a bit more.
I feel like I'm just riding out what KB bottles I have left until they become yet another memory in a graveyard of allocation lists I'm ultimately letting go of. Always sad to see something with such initial momentum and promise turn into simply another winery that pumps out juice that is just tolerable and decent, but nothing remarkable or memorable.
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2/24/2016 - UofM Likes this wine:
Finally decided to pop open this baby. As most people will state, KB is more of a cab style pinot and this bottle definitely met that expectation. Full bodied, bright and red fruits, slightly extracted. Drank fine without food.
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2/15/2016 - TKS9 wrote: 89 Points
Although I like this better than the RRV bottling, with more varietal typicity, it may be a bit too overdone and one dimensional for my tastes.
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2/8/2016 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ruby color with black cherry, raspberry, dried rose and damp earth aromas. On the palate, its medium-bodied, concentrated, persistent and fresh with black cherry, red currant, plum and a hint of pomegranate flavors. Medium-long finish. 14.5% alcohol
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2/6/2016 - ColoradoAg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted side by side with KB Russian River. We preferred the RR.
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1/31/2016 - JSPuskar Likes this wine: 94 Points
Smooth, rich, plummy, lots of dark fruit on the palate. We decanted this for about 1/2 hour. It was special. Great wine.
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1/4/2016 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Burgundy lovers need not apply. This wine is not for you. Why do I continue to buy from this producer every year? Because it is one of the most extracted, full bodied Pinots ever made. Not my style of Pinot, but still fun to drink. You just need to be in the mood to drink it. Think of this as the obscure music selection on your iPod when you just want to listen to Nine Inch Nails to get your adrenaline flowing. It is a Steak lovers Pinot... It will stand up to a Ribeye. So packed full of sweet, expressive, and jammy Red fruit, it makes my salivary glands hurt in my cheeks when I drink it. Serve this to your lady and she will love you for it.
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12/31/2015 - Winedog1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This wine stole the show in the lineup.
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12/26/2015 - denisontb Likes this wine: 91 Points
Served at Christmas dinner. Nice, enjoyable, but not as complex or memorable as I was hoping. Decanted about 30 minutes, last glass was the best, so next time I'll give decant a bit more time. Will hold off on opening other 2 bottles for 6-12 months & see if develops further.
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12/24/2015 - winelover1808 wrote: 92 Points
poured at our holiday party! delish!
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12/20/2015 - angryphoton wrote: 90 Points
Good modern CA pinot, still very big but not a purple monster. Could use a bit more spice, a tad monolithic.
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12/19/2015 - gordoyflaca Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nice; but maybe needs time to gain complexity?
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12/19/2015 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 93 Points
Given an hour of air and this was drinking really well. Bright red fruits that were well balanced
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12/9/2015 - csimm wrote: 92 Points
Thankfully the 2012 KB Sonoma Coast is a different animal from the 2012 KB RRV bottling. While the RRV was a completely forgettable disappointment, the Sonoma Coast was able to kick out some of those signature KB notes of cherry, strawberry, plum, cola, and hints of baking spices (clove, cardamom, cinnamon) and ginger snap.
Still, a wine that was relatively medium bodied and not amazingly complex by any stretch. It became a little better with some swirling in the glass and about an hour decant in a small balloon decanter at cool cellar temperature (54).
A good wine that will likely improve over the course of a year or so and fan out some of the depth of flavors, but I would not expect too much beyond that. Acidic and tannic structure were smooth, but seemed to be lacking a bit; so this is certainly not a long-haul type of vino.
Though this wine helped ease some of my concerns about KB (as mentioned in my CT notes for the 2012 KB RRV bottling), I don't know that this Sonoma Coast offering is enough to reconsider them as a premier Pinot house anymore. The QPR just isn't there by comparison to other competitors in similar price points.
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12/7/2015 - Savannahman wrote: 90 Points
Very nice medium body, notes of cherry & vanilla with a slightly dry finish.
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12/2/2015 - rob3putt wrote: 95 Points
just won a huge pinot contest at wine group dinner with this wine
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10/22/2015 - Winedog1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nose of saline, leather, and orange. Great legs. Christmas spices. That varietal tang. Tart finish that is rewarding; not too sour. Actually a little sweet, but balanced. Cherry sauce that would go with ham. Strawberry. This is delicious wine, although nuclear at 14.5%. Straight to the head.
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10/18/2015 - BBencz Likes this wine: 93 Points
30 minute decant. Cherries and cut flowers on the nose. Long, pure finish. Not over-the-top. A well-balanced pinot drinking just fine right now.
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10/16/2015 - Genesis09 wrote: 92 Points
Everything you would imagine from this wine. Great start; Good finish; and kept getting better as the night went on. Beautiful with 2 inch think bone-in pork chops. A great evening.
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9/27/2015 - DesMarteau wrote: 94 Points
Drinking well now...25 mins of air
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9/15/2015 - jhieb Likes this wine: 93 Points
Rich and exuberant. I wasn't expecting the intensity and density of this wine. Impressive.
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9/14/2015 - Schiffy Likes this wine: 93 Points
For such a young wine, this Pinot Noir is silky smooth with a nose of freshly cut flowers and delicious cherry fruit with hints of strawberry. Unusually long finish for a Pinot Noir. Absolutely delicious.
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9/7/2015 - magic2coop Likes this wine: 93 Points
Good dark color combined with decadent blueberry pie flavor. Slight hint of earth and forest. This will evolve over the next 5 years.
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9/1/2015 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
consistent with notes of 10/5/2014
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8/26/2015 - newkid17 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious. This was singing from the onset. Fruit forward, cherry and some milk chocolate. Also ripe strawberries. Such a great, bold wine. Also had some one night 2 and it was more evolved with deeper layers. Great now, but would expect great things in the next 1-2 years.
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7/24/2015 - hkfoebee Likes this wine:
Pop and pour. I must admit, I was surprised how well balanced this bottling showed right out of the gate. No doubt this is a young wine but no reason to not share now amongst family and good friends...
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7/23/2015 - yasha Likes this wine: 93 Points
great wine, next one open in a couple years
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7/11/2015 - yeti575rider wrote: 90 Points
Good but a little underwhelming at this point. Carries a bit of a bitter note into the finish.
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7/7/2015 - unclebigtime wrote: 92 Points
A well executed big Pinot. Similar to the 2013 Sonoma, but it was less powerful and complex. A great bottle- It really only fails to shine because of my recent memory of the 2013!
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5/17/2015 - Drascher wrote:
NY Meeting
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4/25/2015 - Redteeth wrote:
This turned out to be a very nice bottle but it took a while to get there. It was not decanted and improved significantly after it opened up; rich and complex with a touch of earth. I definitely recommend decanting.
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4/10/2015 - Skip4wine wrote: 92 Points
Bright cherry fruit. Everything is well integrated. Layers of complexity but definitely a California Pinot. A fruit first effort. could use some smokiness or leather to score better but surely a first class effort.
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4/10/2015 - nzinkgraf wrote:
from 375ml.
charming fresh red fruit aromas. spice and tickle on the palate. suave with some mineral.
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4/9/2015 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
consistent with notes of 10/5/2014- gotta hold off drinking this so fast.
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4/7/2015 - DBunk Likes this wine: 94 Points
So good. Killer juice! Not an eloquent tasting note. Definitely a big bold CA pinot but definitely shows great cool climate acidity with good forest floor, cherry, rhubarb and some dusty strawberry.
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3/18/2015 - SMZ wrote: 92 Points
Not as deep purple color as other vintages, but very plush and flavorful
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3/17/2015 - lifewine wrote:
Fabulous, Rick, luscious taste
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3/17/2015 - lifewine wrote:
Delicious, beautiful, smooth, Rick taste
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3/14/2015 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
consistent with notes of 10/5/2014
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3/14/2015 - haldolugr wrote: 91 Points
No detailed tasting notes as we drank it a week ago - paired with the 2012 RRV - on a pop and pour - folks generally liked the SC a little better - but both were drinking great.
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3/4/2015 - gondrik Likes this wine: 94 Points
Have waited a year to try it, but with 2013s coming in it seems like the time is due. It is a 2012, so as expected it is a big fruity wine. It is a Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast, so as expected it is a well crafted wine. I loved the 2011 for its balance. The 2012 is much bigger and balanced in a different way. The complexity is not eclipsed by the fruit and I expect further development with time.
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2/22/2015 - BinVA Likes this wine: 94 Points
My last bottle, delicious again at Mark's Duck House
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2/20/2015 - BinVA Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious, both bottles we drank tonight
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2/17/2015 - B Paul wrote: 92 Points
The 2013 offering has been sitting in my inbox so thought I'd try this. Was in the mood for a bigger Pinot and this hit the spot. Really well made for the style. Drinking well, but should improve with a little age (2-3 years).
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2/12/2015 - tshepard wrote: 95 Points
Exquisite Pinot Noir. Not too heavy (as Kosta may be known to be). It is elegant and smooth with interwoven flavors. Dried cherry, pepper, tobacco. Medium body, light color. Drank next to a Belle Glos, which is much more jammy. The Kosta is one of my favorites.
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2/9/2015 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wines At Our Table; Week of February 15th, 2015; 2/9/2015-2/15/2015: Ruby color with restrained black cherry, blueberry, dried rose and damp earth aromas. On the palate, its medium-bodied, concentrated, persistent and fresh with black cherry, red currant, plum and a hint of pomegranate flavors. Medium-long finish. 14.5% alcohol
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2/6/2015 - hackey37 Likes this wine: 93 Points
The color is dense and purple with hints of purple, brilliant clarity, and translucent. The smells are loaded with red fruit aromas of cranberries, strawberries, and raspberries along with pepper, sassafras, and red licorice. The tastes are cherry liqueur, cola, pepper, red currants, anise, cinnamon, and floral notes. The tannins are very fine and the finish is long with sweet red fruit. This juice is delicious.
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2/6/2015 - TC16 wrote: 92 Points
Big, bad, and bold. Ripe cherry and cola. Low tannins. Some heat. All wrapped in an well-made package.
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1/19/2015 - mpricher wrote: 93 Points
Once again.. Wicked stuff!! Same as prior TN's
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1/19/2015 - Domer99 wrote: 92 Points
Always a crowd pleaser. So smooth, with great fruit. This vintage seems a bit more balanced than the 2010s and 2011s. As always, there are the great Christmas spices to this Pinot.
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1/17/2015 - jmull Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank this a few days after trying a few other splendid 2012 SC pintos from Neyers (Roberts Road) and Phelps (Fogdog). Three excellent wines with similar profiles, but what set this apart was texture, intensity and length. Beautifully done. 92-94.
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12/24/2014 - mclanew wrote: 92 Points
Lovely Pinot of cherry, licorice, and forest floor. Bright bold flavors, medium to full bodied and nice balance - lacking some of the over extraction of some of the earlier Kostas.
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12/7/2014 - jmrife Likes this wine: 92 Points
I don't think this is drinking as well as the Sonoma 11 right now - but the potential is there - or better. I'm holding till 2016. Agree with other reviews - very typical of KB style - very enjoyable.
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11/29/2014 - Griffeyfan04 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid Pinot with cherry, cola, sweet baking spice with a hint of vanilla and nice tannins with some grip for a balanced finish. Don't see what all the fuss is about of these wines being over the top. Perhaps a touch more expensive than other high end producers of Sonoma pinots but still a very enjoyable wine. I would drink from now through the next 7 years
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11/18/2014 - Screameagle Likes this wine: 92 Points
So good it has to be in its prime. Drinking great but it should drink well for at least another 3-5 years.
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11/9/2014 - mpricher wrote: 93 Points
This is a bright Rock Star of a wine.. Lots of show and Cherry fruit, but also some amazing balance, and secondary flavors of carmel, cola, some baking spice notes. Fun stuff. Based on my previous experiences with KB wines, they best shows within the first 2-3 years. Afterwards the fruit seems to decline. So, I say drink up now and enjoy this rock star!
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11/1/2014 - newkid17 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great wine - great long finish, smooth and great bold fruit (blackberry, some blueberry) and subtle smoke/cocoa. Easily the WOTN.
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10/5/2014 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 93 Points
Maria's favorite wine maker. Aromas of black cherry, cola, and sweet xmas spice. The flavors took a while to integrate - but that sweet mix of cherry and spice blends with forest floor and minerality to provide the trademark KB flavor.
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10/3/2014 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still needs time, fruit forward with high alcohol.
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9/2/2014 - Tom Warden Likes this wine: 90 Points
While I think the RRV is an excellent example of what those wines should be I found the Sonoma Coast to be all too similar to other SC Pinots I have had lately. Very good wine, but it didn't strike me as extra special.
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8/23/2014 - hackey37 Likes this wine: 92 Points
The color is pretyy ruby-magenta, with brilliant hue, and is deep color but is translucent. The smells are cola, sassafras, sweet cherry, sweet clove and cinnamon. The tastes are cherry, red licorice, herbs and sweet spice, cola, and dill. The tannins are like fine satin and fruity and there is some wood and cola on the finish.
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8/16/2014 - Rollerball wrote: 92 Points
Large-scale, well-made California-style Pinot. Needs time.
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8/8/2014 - brockley23 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Gorgeous wine. Depth, intensity, mid palate weight all great.
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8/7/2014 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Big but not overwhelmingly so. Young and tight. This needs a few years but was worth checking in. Dark fruits, some vanillin, baking spices and big intensity. It's all there. Retry in a year.
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8/4/2014 - yovinny wrote: 94 Points
Gonna get better!
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7/28/2014 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 91 Points
Decanted for an hour. Cherry pie, red licorice, vanilla bean and lychee. This is more inclined to be laid down for a few years and will harmonize even more. Surprisingly, the '12 Russian River is more open. Elastic and feathery tannins. Drink 2017 - 2022.
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7/27/2014 - nzinkgraf wrote:
RRV and Napa Visit; 7/7/2014-8/30/2014 (Napa and Sonoma): More back into cherry and dark cherry, leaves more room on the palate than the RRV ’12. More room for spice to express. More room for oak to express. Cherry cherry on the palate.
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7/6/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 91 Points
Rich creamy bright red fruit, chocolate and vanilla.
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7/4/2014 - milesdavis wrote:
tart raspberry, chewy, tannic finish with a bit of heat
not over extracted but ripe, indeed
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7/4/2014 - KingClint wrote: 91 Points
Too young. Let's see were it goes. I bet each bottle will be better!
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6/10/2014 - winelover1808 wrote: 92 Points
typically great KB. bright fruit, nice core of acidity - young but great long finish. served at a party of 30 people and all six bottles went fast!
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6/1/2014 - Vinophiliac559 wrote: 92 Points
90-92 pts; Solid pinot with well rounded tannins good structure and vibrant red fruit.
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5/28/2014 - nortonnose wrote: 90 Points
Norton, just wait, ok? :)
Was dying to try one young. Now I know we why we wait a few years on these! It was fine - better than average, just very primary and therefore, not yet KB
2015-2018 target
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5/28/2014 - Wine Sparty Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured with beef stir fried with asparagus. Aroma is a plum and black cherry, with a sense that it is going to be a bit hot. Has a bit of underlying cola and vanilla aroma, but not too prominent. The taste has the black cherry and plum as well, but it does have a bit of that alcoholic finish. I think this might need some more time to settle down, although it was pretty enjoyable tonight.
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5/28/2014 - fanglangzhe Likes this wine: 89 Points
Red fruits, spices, coffee, moderate oak.
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5/5/2014 - beezer6 wrote: 92 Points
Heritage Grand Wine Tasting (Ritz-Carlton - Chicago, IL): Pretty feminine styling. Strawberry and rose petals.
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5/2/2014 - Backdoctor wrote: 90 Points
opened an hour early and decanted. still very young, some earth. Black cherries came to mind when it opened up some.
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5/2/2014 - BinVA wrote: 87 Points
Seems to be totally different style than previous vintages. Something just seems off.
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4/27/2014 - Mithras wrote: 90 Points
Recommend decanting it for 2 hours
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4/27/2014 - Mithras Likes this wine: 90 Points
Surprisingly approachable at this young age.
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4/20/2014 - MartySD wrote: 93 Points
Not as full bodied as past vintages. Still delicious! It needs a few years.
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4/13/2014 - Cabforme Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not as concentrated as prior vintages
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3/30/2014 - rwalker82 wrote: 90 Points
Tasted at pickup party. Ranked 2nd of the three pinots. Slightly awkward stage - recently bottled. Red fruits - lighter stylistically - but should gain weight in bottle. I'd hold for six months.
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3/22/2014 - Redteeth wrote:
First time trying this wine. The bottle was decanted and given a couple of hours breathing time. It is a very enjoyable wine with a very nice bright aroma and full red and blue fruit flavors. To me it was more New World style than Burgundian.
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