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.
Dark crimson in color. 14.2% ABV. Big nose of dark red fruits, citrus, damp forest floor and minerals. Full bodied with strong acidity. Well balanced. Plush and fruit forward. Black cherry, blood orange, cranberry and baking spices on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. Less approachable than recent vintages of Sonoma Coast but absolutely delicious. Best over the 3-5 years.
My rating: 91 points.
Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. Sign up for the mailing list if you have not done so already. The 2018 Pinot Noir release was just a few weeks ago.
I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in the 2018 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings and Updates from Rivers-Marie.