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I think it’s possible that I’ve been unduly ambivalent about Kosta Browne wines in the past couple of years.  In fact, I’ve called some of their past releases pretty awful things.  I think the words “overripe”, “flabby”, overrated”, and “grossly overpriced” have entered into my Kosta Browne discourse of late; and I think I’ve been unfair.

The glass of wine I’m drinking right now has me reconsidering everything negative I’ve ever said about KB wine.  Except the “overpriced” bit.  I’ll remove the “grossly” part though.  Fact is, I think I’ve had unwieldy expectations when it came to KB wine.  They’re so hyped up, so hard to get, that I was pretty much expecting every bottle to reach down and service me while I was pouring it.  Feeling cheated out of a oenological happy ending has seemingly ‘tainted (apostrophe intentional as a reference to the ‘taint that ‘taint your balls and ‘taint your ass either) my KB drinking experience in the past.

When I think back to the many bottles of KB wine I’ve enjoyed over the years, one thing comes to the forefront:  I’ve judged all others against KB (along with MacPhail and sometimes Kanzler).  They’re they bar, and they have been the bar for me since their first vintage.  So why have I been so negative about them over the past year or so?  Answer:  I’m a jackass.  I had a couple of minor KB bummers:  the 04 Cohn comes to mind right off the top, as does meeting their Director of Marketing at Pinot on the River; and these bummers colored my experience.

I know: I sound like a little bitch.  What kind of wine drinker am I?  Every wine maker from here to hell and gone has had one go south on him/her, or has tried something that the “fan base” didn’t much like.  Shit happens.  And hey, there’s a damn long wait for an allocation of KB wine, and they didn’t even have to be at Pinot on the River, so who cares whether I liked the guy pouring?  They were there, the arrogant fucker poured me a nice tall taste and I drank it and liked it.  So fuck it.

Anyway, I’m off-topic.  My wife made an orgasm face after her first sip of this ‘06 Russian River Valley blend, and I agreed completely.  Watch this video.  That’s the way we looked.

The nose is pure ripe fruit and Russian River spice, heavy on black fruit in the ripe plumb realm with undertones of clove.  One the palate there’s some toast– I get some cigar/tobacco in just the right amounts.  The mouth feel is soft enough to let you hold it on your tongue long enough for the thick layers of plumb, blackberry and black cherry to daisy chain into a gustatory orgy, the end result of which is a seminal explosion out the back of your fully-gratified skull.

Now that’s fucking good.

Do I have to give it points?  Ok.  150 points for the load I shot in my pants.  Subtract 25 for the price tag.

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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