Erin Brooks in the Wine Advocate: "This is a project from Michael Browne, co-founder of Kosta Browne winery, which was purchased in 2018 by Duckhorn Wine Company. Browne recently bought a property in Windsor that he is remodeling; it will become the new home for the Cirq brand. Although he has made some single-vineyard wines under this label, beginning in 2017, he says there will be only one wine made: a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. 'I did the vineyard-designate thing for years,' he explains, 'so now I will make one wine. That gives me more leverage and opportunity to take what I think is the best fruit from a vintage—no matter the vineyard—and make the best wine from that. Yes, it’s about the region, but really to me, it’s much more about the vintage. Vintages pop out to me more than site. I want to focus on the best wine I can make in a given vintage from the best fruit I can get. Whatever that means as to vineyard.'" (12/2019)