Bottle Notes, Pinot Noir

2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Welsh 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.

Summa Vineyard was first planted in 1979 by Steve Young on a pristine ridge top site on Taylor Lane west of the town of Occidental six miles inland from the Pacific coastline on the true Sonoma Coast.

Light red in color. A touch cloudy. 12.8% ABV. Fantastic nose of red fruits, pine needle, orange rind and earth. Medium body with exquisite acidity. Light, lithe and exceedingly elegant. Cranberry, strawberry, baking spices and cloves on the palate. The finish long and supple. Absolutely charming Pinot Noir. The range of wines made by TRB is really remarkable. From Rivers-Marie Summa to Outpost Howell Mountain Zinfandel. I’m such a fan. Drink this Pinot Noir over the next 1-2 years.

My rating: 92 points.

The 2019 version of this wine was released just a month ago.

I have been on the Rivers-Marie mailing list for well over 15 years. For me the Pinot Noir was always the main attraction here but the Cabernet program is really second to none when you factor in price and quality. Rivers-Marie wines are only available via their mailing list. Sign up for the mailing list if you have not done so already.

I’ve blogged about Rivers-Marie previously in the 2020 Zinfandel Chronicles Power Rankings and Updates from Rivers-Marie.

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