In 1980, The Brown Family acquired land in the hills east of Rutherford in the Napa Valley. In 1995 they decided to make wine under their own label. The following year the first vintage of Zinfandel was produced and subsequently they have added Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Petite Sirah to their lineup. First and foremost, Brown Estate is known for their exceptional array of Zinfandels.
Brown Zinfandel is near and dear to me. I’ve had all the Estate Zinfandels from the 1997 vintage forward, and my wife and I served the ’99 Zin at our rehearsal dinner at PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn in 2000.
Purple in color. 15.2% ABV. Savory nose of black fruits, plums, earth and pepper. Big and full bodied with ample acidity. This Zin is all about jammy, sweet fruit. The palate is electric with black cherry, raspberry liqueur, baking spice and licorice. The finish is long and sweet. Just another delicious Zinfandel from Brown Estate. Best over the next 2-4 years.
My rating: 93 points.
Look for the 2017 version of this wine at retail and the winery. Pricing is around $42 per bottle.
It should be noted that the front label of the wine has a #BROWNZIN hastag. The winery was an early adopter of Twitter in their marketing endeavors.