Kosta Browne Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From a large vineyard (Gap's Crown is roughly 130 acres), the 2013 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard comes from a smaller 37-acre parcel owned by Kosta Browne, which lies at an elevation of 1,000 feet above sea level. Harvest all towards the end of September and aged 16 months in 51% new French oak, it has a slightly darker slant in its wild strawberry, black raspberry, spice and sappy flower stem-like aromas and flavors. Elegant, seamless and downright pretty, it grows on you with time in the glass and is a gorgeous Pinot Noir to drink over the coming decade.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and tight, with acidity and tannins imparting structure and definition. The core of raspberry, anise, cedar and red licorice are presented in a restrained manner, gaining depth and persistence on the finish. Drink now through 2022.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
On the compact side of things and a little slow to unfold on the nose, this energetic young wine hints at dried flowers and sweet oak while focusing on pert fruit. While it is built along fairly firm lines, it does not err to stiffness and shows great fruity persistence, and, if it is one of the least showy wines of its clan just now, it is rife with potential and limited only by its very obvious youth. Set it aside, tag it for aging a good four or five years and by all means avoid pulling its cork before it has had an opportunity to grow into its best.
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Founded in 1997, Kosta Browne is one of North America’s most revered wineries, recognized for making some of the world’s finest Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Located in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, and guided by an acclaimed team that includes renowned Winemaker Julien Howsepian, Kosta Browne makes appellation and single-vineyard wines from the most coveted cool-climate vineyards across the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Lucia Highlands appellations. In addition to partnering with the finest growers in California, Kosta Browne has an estate program that features 170 acres of vineyards through ownership or long-term leases that includes the Cerise Vineyard in Anderson Valley, Keefer Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, and a prized section of the Gap’s Crown Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. Kosta Browne has earned a place on Wine Spectator’s annual list of the world’s “Top 100 Wines” seven times since 2005, including “Wine of the Year” in 2011.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.