In Search of Kosta Browne

One of my goals when visiting wine country recently was to find (and taste) a Kosta Browne's 2004 Pinot Noir. Ideally the Sonoma Coast Kanzler Vineyard Pinot, ranked #1 '04 Pinot Noir by Wine Spectator, it received a whopping 98 points.

98 points!

And most recently. Kosta Browne's 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was ranked 7th in the world.

Lest you think that '04 was just a very good year for Pinot (and it was), six of their '05 Pinots were ranked 90 points or higher from Wine Spectator. Seems Dan Kosta and Michael Browne might just have a knack for this wine-making thing. Pretty good for two guys who worked in a Napa Valley restaurant and saved up their tip money for two months to buy their first half ton of Pinot Noir grapes.

To my disappointment, Kosta Browne does not yet have a tasting room. Nor could my concierge at Meadowood obtain a private tour of the facility. So, we couldn't try their wines at their tasting room; we couldn't find their wines at any store in the Valley; none of the restaurants we went to had the 04 Pinot. Seems that the ranking - and cover shot on Wine Spectator caught them a bit off guard. They were sold out of the stuff before the magazine even hit the newsstands.

Just when we had given up hope, we dined at La Toque in Rutherford. Presented with what looked like a wine bible by a very serious looking Sommelier, we thought that we might be in luck. To our dismay, there was no Kosta Browne wine listed. My husband got the attention of the Sommelier and asked if perhaps they had the wine and it just wasn't on the menu. The Sommelier appeared quite insulted. Apparently he prides himself on having a diverse and well stocked wine cellar. He claimed that of course he had the '04 Kosta Browne and grabbed the wine list out of my husband's hands. He flipped through the pages, scratched his head, mumbled something and abruptly disappeared for about 10 minutes. He returned with not one - but two bottles of Kosta Browne 04 Pinot and a victorious look on his face.

The wine was divine. We had the Amber Ridge '04 Pinot from Russian River Valley (93 points). The tasting notes describe the wine as having a palate that "explodes with spicy cherry, vanilla and raspberry...an element of five spice that starts on the mid-palate and stays throughout the long finish...intense...a velvety suppleness that coats and seduces the palate." My tasting notes, scribbled on the sides of the La Toque menu simply say "wine envelopes the mouth with perfectly balanced berry...the most smooth and velvety wine I have ever tasted." It has been a month since I drank the wine featured in the picture above and it is, in fact, the velvety taste and ultra smooth finish that I remember most.

We tried to buy the other bottle to take with us as a gift for the person who first told us about Kosta Browne, but the Sommelier would not budge. He said we would have to send them to La Toque if they wanted to taste the Kool-Aid. So we took the picture you see above, of me pouring the very last drop out of the bottle and sent it to our friend. We figured that the next best thing to him actually tasting the vino perfection was to see that we had enjoyed it for him. Actually we just wanted to torture him - and it worked!

So if you can find a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir - either 04 or 05 - buy it by the case (and send me one while you're at it). And if you can't find it, hurry up and book dinner at La Toque.

Cheers!