2013 Knez Winery Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard Anderson Valley 750 ml

In 1997, Dan Kosta and Michael Browne pooled every nickel they’d saved while working the floor at John Ash & Co. in Santa Rosa to cautiously launch a small winery in Sonoma. Then, just a decade later, in one of the more talked-about wine deals of its time, the self-taught winemakers sold a controlling interest in Kosta Browne to an investment group for almost $40 million!

Most would have taken their fortune and kicked back a bit, started enjoying early retirement. But not Kosta and Browne. Instead, the two superstar winemakers embraced their new partnership, not only raising the bar in the winery, but also taking full advantage of the investment firm’s deep pockets, seeking out the most prestigious and sought-after Pinot Noir vineyards on Sonoma’s chilly coastline.

In short order, Michael and Dan purchased or entered into long-term vineyard contracts with an All-Star roster of California Grand Cru Pinot Noir sites, including Kanzler, Gap’s Crown (the backbone of Kosta Browne’s 2011 Wine Spectator “Wine of the Year”), Pisoni in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and Keefer Ranch, Cohn, Giusti, and Koplen in Russian River.

But Peter Knez’s Cerise Vineyard, considered by many to be the most extreme and extraordinary Pinot Noir planting on one of the coast’s coldest perches, remained off-limits to Kosta Browne. That is, until the deal we learned about on August 5, 2016, when Wine Spectator broke the story that turned the heads of serious American Pinot Noir collectors from the Bay Area to Madison Avenue.

Finally, Kosta Browne had laid claim to the greatest Pinot Noir prize of all, acquiring Cerise Vineyard for an undisclosed sum.

Why was Kosta Browne so focused on this extraordinary land grab? When we first visited Cerise Vineyard in 2009, we wondered why Peter Knez ever believed that Pinot Noir would grow in such an unaccommodating locale. The vineyard sits among 800 acres of undulating hillsides, stretching up to 1,100 feet in elevation. Even in mid-summer, the winds off the Pacific keep daytime highs in the mid-70s. Foggy mornings and evenings slow down the maturation cycle, extending the growing season. Berry size is tiny, as are yields — rarely exceeding 1.5 tons per acre — making for prohibitively high farming costs.

Despite the daunting economics, Knez threw caution to the wind and pressed on, farming Cerise Vineyard fastidiously. Peter’s investment paid off in rave reviews from Parker, Tanzer, and Galloni for Knez single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and high-profile placements from The French Laundry to Le Bernardin.

2013 provided a picture-perfect script for Cerise Vineyard. Despite drought conditions and bright sunshine, temperatures remained mild. Chilly maritime winds refreshed and cleansed the vines. Clusters ripened slowly, sugars climbing incrementally as acids remained firm. When the call to harvest was made, skins were thick, but with no sign of desiccation. Berries were ultra-sweet, “loaded with sugar.” While finished alcohol came in at a modest 13.6%, pH remained firm at 3.5 — numbers far more akin to a warm year in Gevrey-Chambertin than the Sonoma Coast.

The 2013 Knez Pinot Noir “Cerise Vineyard” is gorgeous. Brilliant ruby to the rim, infused with mouthwatering aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, and violets, gently touched with new-wood cedar. Rich and juicy on the attack, filled with a voluptuous wild-berry mix of dark cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, and blood orange, finishing with riveting cool-climate vibrancy and length.