The Wine Insiders "Outstanding 93" points: 
"This new vintage is deliciously complex, luscious and defines Brown’s legacy for creating “Fun in a Glass” red wines anually! Starting with full throttle Zin flavors that include Brown’s trademark combination of ultra ripe fresh blueberry, blackberry, and vanilla cream that combine to pack a "punch" (at 15% alcohol this year) but maintain a relative elegance that is rare among Napa Zinfandel these days. This remarkable experience will age into an even more perfectly decadent experience over the next 2 years, peaking around 2012 in our estimate. 

PORTHOS INSIDER SCOOP: 
This wine has built up a “cult” following so don’t miss this rare opportunity to purchase a few bottles because it will sell out prior to public release! Brown is known to produce the most complex Napa Zins, winning crowd favorite every year at ZAP (the nations biggest Zinfandel tasting in San Francisco.) 

BRIEF HISTORY: 
In 1980, the Brown family bought 40 acres in the scenic Chiles Valley Mountains on the eastern side of Napa Valley to have a place to “relax” on weekends away from their home in L.A. In 1985, they began selling their Zinfandel grapes to noted wineries Grgich Hills, Green and Red, and Rombauer. Once Grgich Hills winery made son David Brown aware of the fact that their Zinfandel fruit was “very special,” winemaking suddenly became much more than a hobby for the Brown family. Today, Brown Estate is a family winery in the true sense with vineyards, winemaking, sales, and marketing a family affair run by three generations of the Brown family. Brown Estate Winery have been producing the most lavish Zinfandel in Napa for years and just started producing a Cabernet in the 2000 vintage. Brown Estate Winery Zinfandels and Cabernet have become such popular Collector wines they were the only American winery invited to pour at Charlie Trotter’s world-renowned Chicago restaurant anniversary last year. The Browns attribute their success producing uniquely elegant Cabernet and Zinfandel to 1) the dramatic daily temperature swings in their vineyards (100+ degrees in the day, 50 at night during the summer) and 2) exercising a bit of “restraint” during harvest and production avoiding the temptation of producing over-ripe 17% alcohol “fruit bombs.” 

FUN FACTS: 
David Brown manages Brown Estate’s vineyards and works closely with Duane Dappen (D-Cubed Zinfandel) to produce a wine that is quickly gaining a “cult” following among Bay area Zinfandel lovers. While David Brown is clearly a “rising star” among Zinfandel producer in America, his career in the wine business started quite ignobly: When the Brown’s and their three children spent weekends in Napa at their vineyard ranch during the early 1980’s, whichever child misbehaved the most had to spend time tending the vines as punishment. Son David’s infamy as a poorly behaved youth led to a great deal of hands-on training among the vines, which, combined with his obvious natural talent, has led to his ability to produce world-class wine without any “formal” training!