Riverain Vineyards
Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley Syrah
Bennett Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA
Riverain is Steve Nordhoff and Dean & Laurie Gray’s label that produces just a few hundred cases from some select vineyards in Northern California, including a Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Gamble Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.
According to Dean Gray, Riverain is a historically French term meaning “local & friendly people who reside near the river.” @Greg Ballington deserves credit for the reco, and while I’ve had a handful of Syrahs from the Cardiac Hill Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley, this is my first that’s made by Thomas Rivers Brown.
Screams old world, particularly Northern Rhône. Loved it from the get-go, but the acceleration at 90 minutes open is significant. Campfire grilled meat, finely ground pepper, black olive, and creosote, with a core of savory black fruit, and a beautiful secondary combination of cedar and lavender. There’s a distinctive combination of balance, purity of fruit, and savory structure that’s hard not to recognize.
Riverain is Steve Nordhoff and Dean & Laurie Gray’s label that produces just a few hundred cases from some select vineyards in Northern California, including a Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Gamble Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.
According to Dean Gray, Riverain is a historically French term meaning “local & friendly people who reside near the river.” @Greg Ballington deserves credit for the reco, and while I’ve had a handful of Syrahs from the Cardiac Hill Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley, this is my first that’s made by Thomas Rivers Brown.
Screams old world, particularly Northern Rhône. Loved it from the get-go, but the acceleration at 90 minutes open is significant. Campfire grilled meat, finely ground pepper, black olive, and creosote, with a core of savory black fruit, and a beautiful secondary combination of cedar and lavender. There’s a distinctive combination of balance, purity of fruit, and savory structure that’s hard not to recognize.
Ripe but with savory black olive and smoked meat to keep it from being cloying.
Ripe but with savory black olive and smoked meat to keep it from being cloying.
Nov 9th, 2017
Black olives in your face, extremely dry finish. Love it
Black olives in your face, extremely dry finish. Love it
Jan 8th, 2017
Teeth staining depth with blue fruits, spice and gobs of tannin here that will take a few years to integrate and unleash all the promise
Teeth staining depth with blue fruits, spice and gobs of tannin here that will take a few years to integrate and unleash all the promise
Dec 3rd, 2016