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 several single vineyard Cabernets and Chardonnay. Thomas is in high demand and serves as a consultant for a number of wineries including Schrader and Outpost.
Silver Eagle is a thirty-acre vineyard situated among the rolling hills north of Occidental, in the Green Valley viticulture area, at the western edge of the Sonoma Coast.
Dark crimson in color. 14.1% ABV. Gorgeous nose of dark fruits, cloves, cherry cola and forest floor. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Dark and brooding. Black cherry, baking spices, earth and minerals on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. My favorite wines in the RM Pinot Noir lineup lean a little more red fruited that this Silver Eagle but it is still hard to resist what is in the bottle. Best over the next 2-4 years.
My rating: 92 points.
The 2021 version of this wine was made available to the mailing list earlier this month. I was a buyer.
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.
I am scheduled to visit Rivers-Marie in early August. Stay tuned for updates and notes.