| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.9 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 61 notes) |
| | Tasted by lovemycab on 3/5/2022: 12 years later and still so much oak on this. Not much primary left, but even if there was with all this oak it's in the background for sure. (685 views) |
| | Tasted by matthewmayberry on 9/6/2020 flawed bottle: Bad bottle. Terrible (1309 views) |
| | Tasted by mschonholz22 on 4/5/2020 & rated 90 points: Drink now (1396 views) |
| | Tasted by wine247365 on 1/4/2020 & rated 92 points: Uncorked about 1 hour before tasting and this is better at a cooler temp. Golden color with very pleasing aromatics. It's in the secondary/teritiary stages of its life, but I believe it will still evolve for the next 3-5 years. On the palate, it's well-balanced, medium-bodied, with a medium minus acidity that's lost it's brightness, but is still fully integrated and became more apparent after 1 1/2 hours. On the palate, very flavorful and suggestive of lanolin on the mid-palate and finish, the caramel on caramel corn, orange marmalade, pear, and cut lemons that have been stored a few days. It was very enjoyable and I'd buy again. (1485 views) |
| | Tasted by rustyRudy on 8/29/2019 flawed bottle: Bad bottle, oxidized and oaky (1902 views) |
| | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 8/25/2019 & rated 88 points: Kiawah Trip 2019; 8/24/2019-9/4/2019 (Kiawah Island): Think I got a “meh” bottle. Premoxed? Over the hill (1649 views) |
| | Tasted by Acohen on 1/12/2019 & rated 91 points: Tons of tropical fruit with pineapple, pear and nice balance (1153 views) |
| | Tasted by Acohen on 6/10/2018 & rated 92 points: Nice smooth chard with tropical fruit, pear and long finish (1425 views) |
| | Tasted by Acohen on 6/20/2017 & rated 91 points: Rich style with tropical fruits, butterscotch nose and pear (1746 views) |
| | Tasted by Blake Brown on 6/5/2017 & rated 88 points: 2010 KOSTA BROWNE ONE SIXTEEN VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY CHARDONNAY- tasted blind; light yellow color; toast and flint in the nose joined by honeysuckle, apple and pear fruit in the taste; good feel, but it seems to close up by mid palate and the fruit dries out; most had it as CA and last in the flight as I did. (1427 views) |
| | Tasted by tfesmgk on 5/14/2017 & rated 88 points: A little flat (1575 views) |
| | Tasted by Acohen on 2/18/2017 & rated 91 points: Big rich chard style with lots of tropical fruit (1578 views) |
| | Tasted by Acohen on 12/11/2016 & rated 90 points: Big with apricot and pineapple type notes but opened well and had nice finish (1400 views) |
| | Tasted by tcarter on 5/22/2016 & rated 91 points: Big buttery flavor bomb. Lots and lots of oak. Underneath all that is citrus and fruit--lemon, peach, pineapple--some stone. (1797 views) |
| | Tasted by lvepicure on 11/27/2015 & rated 89 points: Similar notes to T.E.D.
Having had several bottles of the beautiful 2009 and a few 2011's which were gorgeous, i was left disappointed. Not bad, but for the price, expected more.
On the nose heavy new oak and little to no fruit. Thought it might need time and a little opening.
Half hour or 45 minutes later the nose was much the same save for a touch of guava and pineapple. On the palate, dull and heavy cream and a touch of burnt oak, little to no acid, fruit invisible behind the oak influence. Maybe just a bad bottle, will open another in a few weeks to find out.
Kosta Browne Chardonnay is usually the perfect balance of new world oak and Burgundian fruit and influence. Just the right touches of butter,acid, flowers, and fruit. (1928 views) |
| | Tasted by Senso-beak on 8/16/2015 & rated 89 points: Scrumptious and delicious this yellow citrine colored Chardonnay displays a Tropicana bouquet with citrus in the pineapple notes. A little Steely and missing some juicy fruits, this is holding well and not too powerful on the phenols. (1884 views) |
| | Tasted by prasm on 3/28/2015 & rated 92 points: Popped and poured, consumed over 1 hour. Nose: Medium expressiveness, lemon meringue, green apple, crushed rock and hints of licorice. Palate: Medium-full bodied, wonderful creamy mouth-feel, lemon pie and pear flavors up front, solid acidic back-bone and nice mid-palate flavor lift carries through the back-end. Finish: Medium-plus length dominated by lemon meringue and tart pear. (2192 views) |
| | Tasted by T.E.D. on 3/25/2015 & rated 92 points: Ditto my last review. A well made new world style Chardonnay with good Burgundian charectoristics. Nose of juicy citrus, palate a good mix of lush tropical fruit, with good acid on the back palate. (2127 views) |
| | Tasted by T.E.D. on 3/15/2015 & rated 89 points: Pale yellow color, viscous upon a swirl. Nose was initially big tropical fruit, with pineapple, some mango, crystallized ginger. With 45 of air more citrus notes started to emerge. The palate drinks very new world, with big buttery notes, vanilla and toasted oak, a hint of stone but nothing to create a necessary counterbalance. Big and brooding, mom wine for sure! (1874 views) |
| | Tasted by Andrew H on 3/4/2015 & rated 87 points: Medium yellow. Oak more than the light floral fruits come through most prominently. (1605 views) |
| | Tasted by schott on 2/25/2015 & rated 91 points: Excellent Chardonnay in a more fruit, less oak style which is my preference. Great overall balance. Drink it now. (1563 views) |
| | Tasted by WestJohnson on 2/25/2015 & rated 92 points: Pale gold color. Citrus aromas - lemon peel. Racy acidity and rich mouthfeel. Decent minerality. Have not had this wine in quite some time. It is holding well. Drinking beautifully at the moment. (1438 views) |
| | Tasted by skinut on 11/25/2014 & rated 89 points: As Dianne moves away from oaked chardonnay, we still have a fair number of oaked chardonnays in the cellar. It was pleasant enough, but nothing really stood out for her. (1572 views) |
| | Tasted by Barry Notes on 8/21/2014 & rated 90 points: PnP chilled. Clear, bright deep straw color that almost glowed. Fruity acid nose. Green citrus/apple, light oak, toast, pear, apricot. Not as balanced and integrated as I would like, needs a bit more time. Young, fresh, still a bit tight. $63 (2157 views) |
| | Tasted by mreinitz on 6/1/2014 & rated 91 points: A big fairly buttery Chardonnay with lemon and stone fruit flavors along with a little freshly cut grass. Fulliish mouthfeel. Definitely full throttle, but pleasant and enjoyable. (2127 views) |
| | Tasted by mthompson on 5/24/2014 & rated 92 points: A very nice, well balanced Chard with crisp apple and fig notes, along with a good mix of minerality and wet stone characteristics. (2270 views) |
| | Tasted by Rob MacKay on 6/3/2013 & rated 93 points: For me, this isn't nearly as buttery as some of the other tasting notes describe. Go drink some Rombauer aka 'cougar juice' and you'll see what buttery really means. This wine is very nicely balanced and one of the better examples of California Chardonnay that I've had. (4230 views) |
| | Tasted by CADomer on 5/4/2013 & rated 91 points: Similar note to my last bottle, but this bottle showed a bit more butterscotch on the nose and richness on the palate. (3124 views) |
| | Tasted by Neuman on 2/14/2013 & rated 92 points: very nice balance. opened nicely as it warmed. take the allocation (3381 views) |
| | Tasted by mmcdds on 2/9/2013 & rated 88 points: Lots of caramel and butterscotch and nice green fruit and spice. This is another big, bold Cali chard. It's quite nice if you like this style, but at $58 a bottle, the qpr is really very poor. (2949 views) |
| | Tasted by Schiffy on 2/1/2013 & rated 93 points: Full and rich, this buttery Chardonnay is quite delicious. The nose has strong butter and toast notes and a finish that lingers with a full mouthfeel. There are hints of apple and fig and do find this wine complex. (3142 views) |
| | Tasted by brujazz on 1/26/2013 & rated 90 points: I don't get the Kosta Browne mythology. I own a bunch of the Pinots and really like them. But, are they state of the art, classic wines? Sorry to tell you, they aren't. They're very, very up front flavor loaded and a bit short on the complexity. This Chardonnay amplifies the Kosta Browne mystic. It's flavor laden, but when you finish the swallow you say, what's the noise all about? The QPR isn't there. You can get Rombauer, Beringer, Simoneau, and a whole lot of others that are far more complex, elegant and ten to fifteen dollars a bottle less. You may disagree, but really, Wine Spectator be damned, let's be honest about this. (2596 views) |
| | Tasted by Mohsman on 1/24/2013 & rated 94 points: Beautifully balanced, smooth yet crisp, pear with hint of honeycrisp apple. Long finish (2530 views) |
| | Tasted by raydawgone on 11/23/2012 & rated 90 points: Drank at Thanksgiving, popped & poured with appetizers. Quince, mellon and ripe pear with smooth, buttery finish. Flavors really opened up as temp came closer to ambient. Recommend holding 2-5 years. (2413 views) |
| | Tasted by CADomer on 11/2/2012 & rated 91 points: Quite nice with notes of citrus and white flowers on the nose followed by apples and pears on the luscious palate. (2418 views) |
| | Tasted by CRAUBER4242 on 9/17/2012 & rated 92 points: A cool nose of bright citrus, jasmine and clove leading to a really nice mouth with an awesome finish and mouthfeel. No hard edges what so ever. A really nice chard that we enjoyed on its own. (2656 views) |
| | Tasted by beezer6 on 9/13/2012 & rated 92 points: California Wine Country with Jill for our 30th's; 9/9/2012-9/15/2012 (California): Private tour and tasting with Michael Browne.
Honeyed pear and lemons and banana. Lots of minerals, chalky and pure with focus.
Great balance. Long finish and really really nice. Understated. Great wine. (3529 views) |
| | Tasted by air guitar & pinot noir on 8/30/2012 & rated 91 points: Consistent with prior note. Bright, pure fruit with great acidity that counterbalances the oak. Very nice and inviting flavor profile with citrus, pear and apple components. Not overly complex, but certainly an enjoyable and well made Chardonnay. Clear quality of fruit is evident here. (2496 views) |
| | Tasted by clayfu on 8/22/2012: Two Burgundy lovers and their weekend in Napa Valley (SF/NAPA): Not surprising that this wine would have a boat load of vanilla oak on it. Really big pear and apple on the palate that's fleshy and round with a clipped short finish. Didn't change much over the hour. (4128 views) |
| | Tasted by air guitar & pinot noir on 8/11/2012 & rated 91 points: Nice bright yellow in color with light citrus notes and oak in evidence. Quality of fruit supercedes oak application to offer a nice combination of green pear, crisp apple and lemon oil. Nice mouthfeel with a precise delivery and finish. (2525 views) |
| | Tasted by air guitar & pinot noir on 7/13/2012 & rated 92 points: Bright apple and pear notes surrounded by a significant oak presence. It shows great purity of fruit and a nice light on the feet flavor profile. This has a chance to continue to evolve and allow the oak to integrate a bit more but drinks quite nicely right now. I like this a lot and look forward to both the current and future vintage evolution. (2637 views) |
| | Tasted by WineGeneral on 5/25/2012 & rated 90 points: A bit heavy on the oak, but overall, solid flavors of apple and pear plus, as noted below, hints of banana. Decent acidity on the relatively short finish. (2729 views) |
| | Tasted by gutt22 on 5/16/2012: 14.5% alcohol. Very young and showing tons oak. Medium yellow color. Heavily oaky on the nose, with ripe pear fruit behind it. In the mouth, an intense banana profile initially that falls out into more traditional but ripe apple and pear fruit. A bit monolithic at this point and not showing very much. B (2989 views) |
| | Tasted by air guitar & pinot noir on 5/11/2012 & rated 92 points: Lovely combination of citrus and oak intertwined into a larger than life Chardonnay. Great fruit is evident here with a great structure and precision that is to be be admired. This is an excellent sophomore Chardonnay effort for these Pinot magicians. (2807 views) |
| | Tasted by bonedoc on 4/22/2012 & rated 92 points: Nice ripe fruit profile, good acidity, something not quite balanced but the purity of the fruit made this quite enjoyable. (3064 views) |
| | Tasted by Tparker on 4/15/2012 & rated 94 points: - Yellow color with slow forming legs. It's balanced and has flavours of apple with a medium/full body. Smooth texture with a long finish. (3343 views) |
| | Tasted by mmcdds on 3/16/2012 & rated 89 points: Kosta Browne Friday at Home: Abit overoaked for my tastes. Pear and green apple, maybe some quince, some minerally undertones, and just enough acidity to keep it from being overly flabby. Nice, if big Cali chards are to your liking. Not sure it warrants the price tag. (3590 views) |
