The 2009 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon was the winning bottle in the March Installment of Pick My Next Bottle.
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.
Purple in color. 14.5% ABV. Stunning nose of red and black fruits, saddle leather, cigar box and herbs. Rich and full bodied with perceptible tannins. Lush and refined. Cassis liqueur, black currants, plums and licorice on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. I have not opened any of the single vineyard wines from ’09 but this only bodes good things. Just an outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet from TRB that was a bargain at the $70 or so on release. Best over the next 2-3 years.
My rating: 94 points.
Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. The Cabernet lineup is consistently excellent and exceedingly fair priced. Sign up for the mailing list if you have not done so already.
I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in the 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings and Updates from Rivers-Marie.