The 2015 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast was the winning bottle in the June installment of Pick My Next Bottle. I did not decant this wine.
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. In addition to the line up of Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs, Rivers-Marie also makes a few single vineyard Cabernets and Chardonnay. Thomas is in high demand and serves as a consultant for a number of wineries including Schrader and Outpost.
The 2015 Sonoma Coast consists of parcels from of most of the Single Vineyard sources.
Crimson in color. 14.1% ABV. Gorgeous nose of red fruits, cloves, pine needle and forest floor. Medium body with acidity in spades. Tremendous texture and mouthfeel. Cranberry, strawberry, pomegranate and blood orange on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. If memory serves this is a bigger wine than recent versions and might be more cellar worthy. That being said I will will have a hard time keeping my corkscrew off of these. Hands down the best value in California Pinot Noir. Drink over the next 3-5 years.
My rating: 92 points.
Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. The 2017 version of this wine will be released early next year. Sign up for the mailing list if you have not done so already
I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in the 2017 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings.