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.
Golden in color. 14.1% ABV. Outstanding nose of stone fruits, lemon oil and butterscotch. Full bodied with ample acidity. Rich, plush and creamy. Pear, apple, Meyer Lemon and a hint of vanilla on the palate. Tremendous length on the finish. As always, a great value for the $35 price. I should be buying more than three bottle of this. Best over the next several years while we hold off on the single vineyard wines.
My rating: 92 points.
The 2023 version of this wine will be released early next year and should cost around $35.
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 A Visit to Rivers-Marie.