2016 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

The 2016 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills was aged nine months in 47% new French oak. Pale to medium ruby, it opens with bright cranberry sauce, pomegranate liqueur, red and black cherries, cured meats and peppercorn with potpourri and earthy touches. It's light to medium-bodied with bright, fresh, crunchy fruits accented by spices and earthy notions. It has fine, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and spicy. 2,400 cases produced.

While it’s easy to think of the appellation blends as being the entry-level cuvées, with the quality always being higher with the single vineyard release, don’t make that mistake. The appellation blends can often surpass single vineyard releases and, in my experience, can age just as gracefully. The 2016 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is a beautiful wine well worth your time and money. Offering classic cherry and framboise fruit, complex spice, forest floor, and rose garden nuances, medium body, and a seamless, savory personality, it’s going to keep for 8-9 years. Winemaker Nico Cueva continues to fine tune his approach at Kosta Browne, experimenting with new vinification and aging vessels. While the wines were richer and more upfront in the past, today, they have slightly more freshness and tension while not abandoning the beautiful fruit and texture that defines California wines. As I hope these notes show, these are distinctive, singular wines up there with the crème de la crème of the region.

The 2016 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is delicate, perfumed and nicely lifted. It is also one of the most restrained Pinots I have ever tasted from Kosta Browne. Bright red berry, chalk, white pepper and flowers add to the wine's distinctly bright, savory personality. This is a decidedly understated style for an appellation that tends to excel with more fruity, rich Pinots.