With new owners and a new winemaker, what are the wines like now compared to five or six years ago?
More expensive…
I think they seem pretty similar.
This may be heretical: if anything, they seem a little leaner, less overt cola.
Also maybe heretical: they reminded me of Sea Smoke in the past, just as a potential reference.
I’m usually AFWE, but I like them!
I wanna go see their new facility.
They’ve changed a lot since their early 2000s splash on the scene.
Around 2007 or so, they dialed back from huge to medium or medium/large, with alcohols in the 14.5% range. Still darker and more extracted than “traditional” pinot, but less sweet, more acid.
Then I think with last year’s releases, they’ve moved down to around 14.1% or so. I haven’t tried those yet though.
Hey, wow, I thought I was gonna get yelled at.
Thanks for posting that.
Im over the wines. At those prices Id drink Dehlinger for less which I like better. Still got a bunch of appellation and SV to finish off anyway. Have been to the new facility at the Barlow twice. Its a nice modern facility but tour and tasting are pretty ho hum. Basically a canned spiel given by a marketing intern. Better to go to Porter Creek, pop in and drink with Paul. More variety of wine and more fun. Or Merry Edwards also a pop in and still free tasting.
I used to like these but gave all mine away. We opened a bottle of 12 rosellas last year and it was underwhelming.
The prices have gone up 10 dollars a bottle on the appellation wines in the 5 years I’ve been buying. I like their wine but the prices are getting annoying
I was pretty much nodding at both your posts. My last bottle in my cellar is an '07.
Was steady with them for a bit, then the price of fame (and shipping, Jesus that skyrocketed) plus wanting something new made me leave.
Another difference is that they seem much more readily available at retail. Not sure if they’ve drastically increased production, but I see them all over the place here in AZ (that was NOT the case a few years ago).
On that same note, I haven’t bought from them since then 2011 vintage, and I got another email today basically saying I could place an order. ‘Wish list only’…but considering they’ve sent me that same email for the last 3 years in a row…I’m guessing my chances of snagging some bottles would be pretty high if I wanted em.
Just like Kongsaard or Peter Michael. I think I bought a 3-pack maybe 4 years ago and I still receive an allocation email every year, for way more than a reasonable person would buy. I know scarcity doesn’t always mean quality, but you’d think price would have some correlation to supply/demand curves. They don’t seem too. I equate these wines to the Angels picking up Albert Pujols. You’re paying his salary now based on past performance - he’ll never earn his current contract value.
I echo the sentiments above. We recently opened up some KB Sonoma Coast (14 or 15, I forget which) and it was less ripe than the wines from the past. Still well made. I’m passing this year because I’m just not going to pay $72 plus tax and shipping for an appellation Pinot.
I’ve been buying since the 2009 vintage. I have passed on the more expensive SVD’s but we still really enjoy the appellation wines. With some age, I have experienced some nice complexity and spice in the profile and the appellation wines are still in the same dollar range with most of the other Pinot we enjoy and purchase. We made a visit to the new winery last fall and were very impressed - they have an optical sorter now. If the appellation wines go up much more, we will need to reevaluate the perceived value - everything is relative though. Cheers!
I just looked at the two bottles of 16 Keefer I bought last fall, and they’re 14.1%. I’m curious whether I’ll like them more or less than the riper ones from preceding years.
Wow. More expensive than Littorai!
Definitely a timely post. Thanks for asking this Q.
I finally received an allocation (small, but still exciting since I’ve been waiting a few years).
Almost fell off my seat when I saw the email 
We love the wines. These and Cirq are our favorite pinot’s, but we like big pinot noir. Cirq probably gets the edge here. KB has definitely dialed back from the beginning, where they were more syrah like. I don’t care for the appellation wines nearly as much as the SVD’s. Expensive, but worth it if the tariff doesn’t put you off.
I was a buyer from the 2004 vintage to the 2014 Vintage.
I much enjoyed the wines and have a few bottles remaining.
Over that time period, the rich, sweetness of the wine seems to have been dialed back, allowing some more spice notes to come through. . I found, however, that, in some vintages, the Single vineyard designates were not particularly distinctive. My last vintage of the SVDs tasted was 2012, so things may have changed.
I have not purchased since the 2014 appellation offering primarily due to cost. .
Shane Finley.
So the KB releases have gotten into the very borderline zone for me as the price keeps rising, but I’ve been hanging around buying 2 or 3 bottles twice a year the last few years.
I’ll be interested to try the newest iteration of styling/ripeness and see if my interest rises or falls.