Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Walsh have quickly made Rivers-Marie one of California’s most sought after Pinot Noir labels. The winery was founded in 2002 and the first release was the Rivers-Marie Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir. Rivers-Marie also does several single vineyard Cabernets and a Chardonnay. In addition to making his own wine, Thomas serves as a consultant for a number of wineries including Schrader, Outpost and Black Sears.
The fruit for this version of the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was sourced from Riddle Vineyard, Lancel Creek Vineyard and Occidental Ridge Vineyard.
Ruby red in color. 14.1% ABV. Red fruits, orange rind and Christmas spice on the nose. Lean with mouth watering acidity. Cherry, plums, cola, earth, mineral and mushrooms on the palate. Exceedingly long finish. Exceptional wine from what most declared a below average vintage. Drink over the next 1-3 years while you wait on the single vineyard lineup.
My rating: 92 points.
This wine is only $25 and is undoubtedly the best Pinot Noir for the price in all of California.
Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. The 2012 version of this wine was released last week.
I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.
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