22 Aug From Sonoma and to Burgundy, Kosta Browne Pinot Noirs Express Terroir

Pinot Noir is a grape that expresses its sense of place, also known as terroir. Since its founding, Kosta Browne Winery has roots that run deep in the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley but Burgundy, the birthplace of Pinot Noir, has played a role in their love for the variety. And in 2020, Kosta Browne began to produce Pinot Noir in Burgundy, France.

The connection between Burgundy and the New World is not new. When New World producers first started making Pinot Noir, they looked to Burgundy as their inspiration. Over the years, regions in California, as well as Oregon, have established their own identities and styles and Burgundy took notice. In Oregon, Maison Joseph Drouhin owns Domaine Drouhin and Maison Louis Jadot owns Resonance. In California, the Faiveley family of Nuits-Saint-Georges bought a minority stake in Williams-Selyem Winery in Sonoma. It is rarer for California-based wineries to invest in Burgundy, but Kosta Browne had been exploring the idea of making wine in Burgundy for more than a decade.

Founded in 1997 by Dan Kosta and Michael Browne, Kosta Browne began in the Russian River Valley. In recent years, the brand has expanded into other regions in California, focusing on producing wines that represent the individual expression of California’s finest growing regions. Today, they source Pinot Noir from the rugged and diverse Sonoma Coast, the foggy Russian River Valley, the chilly Santa Lucia Highlands, the wild, untamed Anderson Valley, and the coastal proximity of the Sta. Rita Hills. All these regions are known for their cool climate and diverse soils which produce grapes with complex flavors and character. Expanding to Burgundy is the next step in their exploration of terroir.

Since 2012, winemaker Julien Howsepian has crafted the elegant, complex, and nuanced wines of Kosta Browne. Howsepian, whose heritage is from Burgundy, and Kosta Brown General Manager Neil Bernardi had long been thinking about expanding to Burgundy. And in 2020, the chance came. While the world went into lockdown, the pandemic forced people to think outside the box. And Kosta Browne did just that. Over the years, the Kosta Browne team has developed relationships in Burgundy. And in 2020 they found a partner who would help them acquire fruit and produce the wine under the Kosta Browne label.

The wines were vinified and aged in Burgundy, under the guidance of Howsepian. After barrel aging, the wines were transported via temperature-controlled containers to Kosta Browne in Sebastopol, California where they were ultimately bottled. In 2020, there were five different bottlings of Burgundies made, for a total of 4,000 cases.

The five bottlings include a Pommard Pinot Noir, a Volnay Pinot Noir, and a Meursault Chardonnay, as well as a Gevrey-Chambertin Pinot Noir and a Beaune Premier Cru Pinot Noir. The 2020 Gevrey-Chambertin Pinot Noir comes from the hallowed limestone soils of Gevrey-Chambertin in the Cote de Nuits. The wine was aged in 30% new French oak and has dark blackberry and leather notes. On the palate, the wine has smooth tannins and an elegant richness. The 2020 Beaune Premier Cru Pinot Noir is made exclusively from Premier Cru-classified vineyards and is aged in 25% new French oak. This wine has red fruit and spice notes that carry through on the palate, as well as textured tannins and a mouthwatering finish.

Kosta Browne made a name for itself with its elegant Pinot Noirs with a sense of place and with their new Burgundy series, they have come full circle. Neil Bernardi says it best, “All roads lead back to Burgundy. The work done in Burgundy over the last 1,000 years sets the stage for what Pinot Noir is in the New World.”