Kosta Browne vs. Rivers-Marie Aged Pinot Noirs

Please join Cheryl and myself at Nice Matin for a night of aged New World Pinot Noirs. This will be an 8-person dinner comparing Pinot Noirs from two masters of California Pinot Noirs. 2 different Pinot Noirs from both Kosta Browne and Rivers-Marie all from the 2006 and 2007 vintages. The first two wines will be "entry level" Pinots, followed by each winery's higher end entry. Plus the obligatory white wine starter will also come from Rivers-Marie.

Here is a link to their menu:
Nice Matin Dinner Menu

Nice Matin is located at 201 W. 79th Street, the corner of Amsterdam Ave.

** The cost of this event is $42 and is for the cost of the wines.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). You will be expected to order at least 2 dishes (an appetizer and a main, or main and dessert) to help support the restaurant.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2021 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard Anderson Valley ($65) - CT 91.7, JD 94 points, ") The 2021 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard takes on a touch more of a golden hue and has a lifted, smoky perfume of wild herbs, resinous earth, lime candy, and yellow apple. Medium to full body, with ripe, rounded texture as well as notes of chamomile, banana rind, and Mirabel plum, it’s broad and drinking well now. 2023-2030"

2006 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($46) - From the winery, "Our 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is a blend of four vineyards. AROMATICS: Complex and enticing. Ripe black cherry, lush blackberry with earthy undertones of mushroom, smoke and a
dusting of cocoa. ON THE PALATE: A true expression of Sonoma Coast, the 2006 vintage is deep and exotic with layers of ripe black and red fruit and a touch of pie crust. This dense wine fills the palate and yet exhibits hints of minerality, with a lengthy finish. The intense flavors of blackberry, green tea and earthy notes are a prelude to a very long, elegant finish.

2006 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast ($35) - From the winery, "14.1% alcohol, 33% new French oak. This actually showed the best at bottling. In 2006, we racked and returned each barrel
individually so we could evaluate the oak program and how each vineyard responded to different coopers. It also allowed us to declassify anything that we felt didn’t work for each vineyard. Though the individual parts were what didn't make the vineyard cut, the sum of these parts actually makes for quite a good wine. The blend is roughly 3 barrels Occidental Ridge, 2 barrels Summa and 3 barrels Willow Creek. The wine is an interesting mix of both red and black fruits, rhubarb and sassafras. The acidity is naturally high providing nice length to the finish. The wine, like all the other bottlings, is firm on the finish and will require a bit of patience before all the acid integrates.

2006 Kosta Browne Kanzler Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Noir ($75) - From the winery, "Our first vintage of Kanzler Vineyard was in 2002. Since then, the vineyard has proven to be unique and extremely consistent. The Kanzler Vineyard is located in Sebastopol, just south of Bodega Highway, on a very cool, gently sloping site. Consisting of clones 115, 667 and Pommard, this vintage continues to deliver complexity, strength, yet pure Pinot Noir flavors we expect from Kanzler. We recommend cellaring this wine for 2-3 years and enjoying over the next 5-7 years."

2007 Rivers-Marie Summa Old Vines Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast ($65) - From the winery, "13.4% alcohol, 100% new French oak Every year a couple of the 100 or so lots I’m responsible for press off in a state that hints at their youthful greatness. In 2007 that was the 1.5 tons of Summa Old Vines. You could smell and taste the vine age in the wine. It’s an amped up version of the regular Summa bottling but more than anything it just possesses more depth and Pinot sap than all the other wines. All the components integrate nicely from the highly expressive nose and big entry to the sappy middle and forever finish. All the normal descriptors are there, red fruits, orange oil, lavender, wintergreen, sassafras, rhubarb, violets, but it’s the weight of the
wine that makes it the best wine we bottle every year. It’s a wine to contemplate as it opens. It’s youthfully sublime, what we always come back to with a glimpse into the future and its coming greatness."