The 2006 Rivers Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard Old Vines was the winning bottle in the June Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. This bottle was opened and poured immediately.
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.
Light red in color. Almost translucent. 14.2% ABV. The nose is absolutely gorgeous with scents of pine needles, cranberry, sassafras and baking spices. Light and delicate with perfect acidity. Great texture and mouthfeel on the palate. Flavors of bing cherries, orange rind, cloves, nutmeg and cranberry. The finish is long and seamless. One of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve had this year. Drink over the next 2-3 years.
My rating: 95 points.
Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. The 2015 version of this wine will be released next Spring and is expected to cost around $75. Based on this bottle I will be sure to add this to my order.
I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.
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