Rivers-Marie
Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, USA
Extraordinary – my favorite of the night.
Extraordinary – my favorite of the night.
Feb 12th, 2021
Crushed red fruit, bramble, licorice root, sweet tannins.
Crushed red fruit, bramble, licorice root, sweet tannins.
Jul 10th, 2020
Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.
Really enjoyed my visiting with Will at Mending Wall where he poured Rivers-Marie as well as his personal label William & Mary.
Such a treat to try this side by side with the Summa. Very different. Quite a bit more sweet and ripe fruit here framed by good acidity and herbal crunch. Some blood orange and tangy red fruits mixed with blackberries and a great finish. Will get better, but hard to wait!
Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.
Really enjoyed my visiting with Will at Mending Wall where he poured Rivers-Marie as well as his personal label William & Mary.
Such a treat to try this side by side with the Summa. Very different. Quite a bit more sweet and ripe fruit here framed by good acidity and herbal crunch. Some blood orange and tangy red fruits mixed with blackberries and a great finish. Will get better, but hard to wait!
All the RM characteristics, but in a more elegant package. Great depth of fruit, but lighter body than the other SVs. This is the anti-jammy. Very good now, but no huge rush to drink the ‘14. It should age almost as well as the Summa.
All the RM characteristics, but in a more elegant package. Great depth of fruit, but lighter body than the other SVs. This is the anti-jammy. Very good now, but no huge rush to drink the ‘14. It should age almost as well as the Summa.
Dec 3rd, 2017
This is one of CA’s premier Pinot producers and this one didn’t disappoint.
This is one of CA’s premier Pinot producers and this one didn’t disappoint.
Jul 25th, 2017My 2016 Rivers Marie Pinots are about gone…SummaOV is left. Occidental, Silver Eagle and SummaOV are always my favorites. I’m between a 93-94 here.
Great example of a Pinot that has a lot of power but plenty of balance. Deep black cherry colored in the glass but the aromatics are much more savory than expected. There’s an animalistic/feral quality to this initially (that I love) showing a smoked meat flair alongside dark blood orange and ripe black cherries. Commanding mouthfeel and great acidity. Continual back and forth of dark berry fruit and savory/herbal notes. The use of whole cluster is noticeable but it does a good job complimenting the wine (more high toned) and not taking center stage (as in, not overly stemmy/green). Wonderful lengthy finish. More brooding and savory than Silver Eagle but certainly not in the vein of a “cab lovers pinot” style. This was delicious and likely hangs in this window for at least 5+yrs.
My 2016 Rivers Marie Pinots are about gone…SummaOV is left. Occidental, Silver Eagle and SummaOV are always my favorites. I’m between a 93-94 here.
Great example of a Pinot that has a lot of power but plenty of balance. Deep black cherry colored in the glass but the aromatics are much more savory than expected. There’s an animalistic/feral quality to this initially (that I love) showing a smoked meat flair alongside dark blood orange and ripe black cherries. Commanding mouthfeel and great acidity. Continual back and forth of dark berry fruit and savory/herbal notes. The use of whole cluster is noticeable but it does a good job complimenting the wine (more high toned) and not taking center stage (as in, not overly stemmy/green). Wonderful lengthy finish. More brooding and savory than Silver Eagle but certainly not in the vein of a “cab lovers pinot” style. This was delicious and likely hangs in this window for at least 5+yrs.
Wine workout. Very primary and tight right now. More open on day 2 and flavors of dark red raspberry, orange rind and cedar flow more freely. Hold and let it percolate some.
Wine workout. Very primary and tight right now. More open on day 2 and flavors of dark red raspberry, orange rind and cedar flow more freely. Hold and let it percolate some.
Jan 28th, 2017
Definitely a no holds barred-style PN made by a gifted CS winemaker (whom I'm happy to call a friend).
Once you get past any comparison to Burgundy (which admittedly I as a reference point for PN always struggle with) this is in its own right a great CA Pinot!
Will this evolve gracefully over time?
I have no idea as I drink mine way too fast.
Definitely a no holds barred-style PN made by a gifted CS winemaker (whom I'm happy to call a friend).
Once you get past any comparison to Burgundy (which admittedly I as a reference point for PN always struggle with) this is in its own right a great CA Pinot!
Will this evolve gracefully over time?
I have no idea as I drink mine way too fast.