2005 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (3/30/2007) Oh boy, I will take a lot of flak for this note...didn't like this wine at all. Granted, I opened this on the day of delivery, but this wine was so unbalanced that I can't explain that with travel shock. Nose was actually good, but on the palate, this was a mess. The alcohol really stood out and there was noticeable heat. For a vintage that's been hyped to be all about balance, I can't believe that this monster was created. A wall of tannin and a finish that is so dominated by alcohol that I have a hard time seeing this integrate. I may be alone, but this is KB's worst wine I've had. Reminds me of the 03 appellations but not as good. At $45, I consider this a strong pass and fans of the bigger style of Pinot will likely rejoice over this.
Can you post the tasting notes from the UPS driver?
___________________________________________________ It's good to try them young too and then let them age - James Suckling Infanticide can be very satisfying - Robert Parker I drink mine young to avoid disappointments - James Laube
Posts: 4976 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: Jun 03, 2004
Steffen - thank you for another beautiful note, please keep them coming.
Grünesdrazi - Do you have Tasting Notes for Ein dummer Kopf Cuvée Juveniles Dry Grown Shiraz South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley I am asking you as you seem to know how to push the search button.
I hearing quite uniformily--including a number of winemakers--that the '05s are going to need a year in the bottle to shine. I look forward to the note on your next bottle.
And I do believe that "bottle shock" from both bottling and shipping (same day!) didn't help.
Originally posted by Ne Kulturny: And I do believe that "bottle shock" from both bottling and shipping (same day!) didn't help.
I’m not really sure that I understand the concept of “bottle shock.” I know that older wines throw off sediment and wines that are unfined/unfiltered usually should be stood upright for several days before popping. However, what happens to other wines when they are shipped that cause this “shock” that everybody always talks about? I know that I have experienced it myself when I opened a wine on the same day that it was received. The second bottle that was consumed several months later was much better. I just don’t understand how the jostling of a wine bottle can adversely affect the taste.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Altaholic,
__________________________ Alta is for skiers!
Posts: 1932 | Location: o-HIGH-o | Registered: May 05, 2005
Your observation about the '05 is similar to mine about the '03 upon release. I haven't opened another one since, but I believe (from what I read) that the '03 is just now entering its drinking window with years of improvement ahead of it. I'll still pop a young cab now and then just to appreciate its power and to gauge its longevity in the course of a few days, but I've discovered that the silkiness and floral aspects of pinot that are so essential require time. Some hit their stride in 18 months, others take 5-7 years to unfold, but I don't get much appreciation out of brand new pinot. Still, I enjoy reading other's observations and I let them influence my purchases. It's years before I know if I spent wisely, though. At least with pinot...
--------------------------------------------------------- "Daddy, you made that grace your bitch!"
Posts: 1194 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Oct 28, 2001
im not suprised this wasn't showing well... Kosta Browne suggest on their website you let both of the newly released 05's sit a good 6 months prior to opening, and if you do open before that time period, to decant a minimum of two hours...
not to mention also that Jamie Kutch posted on Wino Depot that while the 05' RRV was delicious a few days after bottling, the 05' Sonoma Coast shut down like a "tortoise in its shell"
i was originally planning on opening both along with an 05' Kutch in a couple weeks, but after seeing Jamie's & KB's comments, ive decided to let the 05' Sonoma Coast sleep until the fall
Originally posted by Altaholic: I’m not really sure that I understand the concept of “bottle shock.” I know that older wines that throw off sediment and wines that are unfined/unfiltered usually should be stood upright for several days before popping. However, what happens to other wines when they are shipped that cause this “shock” that everybody always talks about? I know that I have experienced it myself when I opened a wine on the same day that it was received. The second bottle that was consumed several months later was much better. I just don’t understand how the jostling of a wine bottle can adversely affect the taste.
Alta - you kind of talk about two separate (at least in my opinion) things - travel shock & bottle shock. bottle shock i associate with newly released wines, i.e., the wine goes through a "shock" period from being displaced from the tank to the individual bottles & needs a little time to settle into it's own space. now, i'll be honest and say i've had wines that showed well the day i, or the retail store, received them, and i've had wines that were terrible as well... how i personally get around this issue is to just wait, usually a month minimum, to the let the wine "settle" before trying... its worth mentioning this is across all varietals as well.
Altaholic--controversial area. Some dispute bottle shock all together, some accept it only for the bottling process itself (i.e. newly bottled wines do not show well) and others feel shipping, especially over a number of days, can throw a bottle off.
It is not an issue of sediment or filtering, but a sense that the rough handling has somehow disjointed and muted the wine. I don't know of any studies that have demonstrated the chemical or physical reactions that "cause" the problem.
All you can do is rely on your own palate. For me shipping effects the wine and so I let them rest--up to 6 months for a Burgundy and a few months for Calipinot. CA Cabs probably don't care if you throw them in a blender.
I suspect that the "travel shock" is a myth when it comes to new wines. Very convenient myth as far as wine makers are concerned, as instead of holding the bottles for 6 months at the Chateaux, Estate, Domaine, etc, and release the wines when ready, they try to convince us, the consumers that we should: pay for the wines 6 months - a year before wine is ready store and clog our wine cellars instead of theirs, all under disguise of...travel shock. I have wine shipped to me from London on the regular basis and I haven't tasted the bottle which was ready to go, had little or no sediments and showed "travel shock" signs.
I read on WA board everybody enjoying Kutch wines after opening them the day it was received with Squires being one and only notable exception. Everybody told him: "Travel shock! but , if you held the bottle for 6 months, you'd enjoy it as much as we did"
This is the reason I maintain a cellar. Believe in travel shock or not, why take a chance.
The impatience I see especially with allocated wines that you aren't likely to get any more without paying a large premium (so why taste today) is always amusing to me.
Open something out of the cellar instead.....
-------------------- "One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."
Marcel Ayme`
Posts: 6207 | Location: The Left Coast | Registered: Dec 01, 2001
I don't know the science behind "bottling shock," but it's been repeated so often it is no undisputed among wine drinkers, who neither ask nor offer science to back up the claims. Travel shock, I see no evidence of. I have never had a bottle of wine that was "terrible" upon release and great 6 months later. I just don't buy it.
I suspect that the wine is simply young. Recently bottled wines are by definition young wines, displaying primary aromas, flavors and the lingering effects of wine making. To say you tried a wine upon release and it was "terrible," and tried the same wine a year later and it was better does not follow.
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"Asking government to fix this crisis is like asking the arsonist to put out the fire." -Thomas Sowell
Posts: 4510 | Location: Dubai | Registered: Dec 20, 2002
I'm in the "YES, travel shock exists" camp, albeit I have only anecdotal evidence. Now I'm not talking about new, young wines here. I buy older wines and have them delivered, too. I've even had to transport older bottles over rough terrain to a campsite and they all had the same disjointed effect. Try taking 2 bottles of the same wine, shake one vigorously before opening, and see if you don't find the same thing.
*********** You never see crazy people walking the streets, screaming about atheism, do you?
Posts: 3179 | Location: Everett, WA | Registered: Mar 08, 2002
No worries. Opening the wine this early deserved thread drift. I've been retasting the wine for 2 days and I can tell you that it is definitely better now than it was on night 1. I will also state though that this is still a monster of a wine, so folks who love finesse will not find this wine very appealing I believe.
Wine changes (in bottle) over time. Everyone accepts this. The question is are they on an arc where they steadily improve, peak, and then begin to decline. In my experience, they are not, but I also accept that my own experience could be nothing more than an occasional off-bottle. Fun to debate... but (to my knowledge) no one has undertaken a controlled experiment yeilding strong conclusions. A million lifetime wine drinkers could still be wrong.
--------------------------------------------------------- "Daddy, you made that grace your bitch!"
Posts: 1194 | Location: San Francisco | Registered: Oct 28, 2001
