Winter Winetasting February 2019; 7 California Cabernet and 1 Merlot Blind; 8 Tasters: This showed quite well; the second choice for second place after Arnot Roberts. Big nose, promised much going on and there was—definitely open for business. Straight-down the middle classic cab, perhaps slightly thin on the mid-palate but decent finish. B+/A-
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14.1% abv. Dark ruby, expressive aromas. Plum, cassis, coffee, dark chocolate. Noticeable tannic structure, deep rich and long. Enjoyable now, but will benefit with several more years of age.
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14.1% abv. Dark ruby, expressive aromatics. On the palate, red and blue fruit, cassis, graphite and a hint of mint. Excellent depth and length. A beauty from the Riverain team that should continue to improve for years.
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Riverain Winemakers Dinner with Steve Nordoff (FMIII in the OC): Lighter of the three vintages. Cassis and pepper on the attack but a red berry note is lurking behind. Add some dark plum for good measure. This almost looks like a RRV Pinot. I like the leaner elegant showing.
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Riverain Dinner (My House In The South OC): Tasted next to the 2012 and 2013. This 2011 is the leanest and most different of the three, as it is juicier, less opulent. Sitting next to Brig Campbell, his tasting indicator of "dark raspberry" was an astute way to characterize the fruit. Also got the sense of some coffee and maybe a cherry type note, too. Certainly in the 2011, the vintage speaks, as much as it does beautifully in the 2011 Riverain Syrah.
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The nose has some oak, cherries, and a hint of fig. The palate is medium to full with red fruits and nice acidity. Nice tannins with a bitter edge. Young but promising. Very trb.
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Poured blind. Unfortunately, this was poured next to a 2005 left bank Bordeaux. The result of this created a palate mismatch, where the Riverain came off as big boned, as compared to the leaner and more old world styled Bdx. The wine was brought by Steve, the owner of the label as many of us may know, and he had the courage to not only bag the wine and let it rip but pair it as he did next to that Bdx. For even a 2011 cab, for a leaner year in Napa, it wasn't a great pairing. The Riverain ended up displaying a riper quality, with the oak also showing more this time. Funny, the last time I had the wine was over the 2013 holidays, when this same Riverain was up next to both levy McClellan and another Napa cult, and Steve's wine was the better balanced of those wines that night. Shows the power of style and context for how wines can exhibit themselves.
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Great nose. Tannins are fairly resolved and there's a touch of coffee and dark fruit with cassis. Medium plus weight and a coating mouthfeel. Finish leads me to a more mature wine and a bit of caramel.
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Pretty aromatics of sweet blueberries and black raspberries. Palate shows some pure red and blue fruits with the blueberry up front. Mid-palate somewhat muted but glass time helped. After some time I got some crushed rocks, red currant and worn leather. Decent balance with tannins hiding behind the bluish fruits. A nice wine made in a difficult year.
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Tasted from magnum. Was tasting this next to Ryan Curry, who knows TRB's wines quite well and I have to agree with his comment that this had some Rivers-Marie aromatics in it, like the pine needle and orange peel of what comes through the RM pinots. There is a lot of spicy cherry in this wine, acid running through it. Imagine, acid in Cabernet? The fruit has mostly red tones with a little bit of a blue edge and then into the finish, the same spicy cherry, some vanilla, finishing with a bit of tang. This will appeal to those who seek Cab that runs outside some of the hype and Big Flavor elements, to borrow the Jon Bonne term. Good job to Thomas and Steve on the wine.
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2/12/2019 - Forest Floor wrote: 90 Points
Winter Winetasting February 2019; 7 California Cabernet and 1 Merlot Blind; 8 Tasters: This showed quite well; the second choice for second place after Arnot Roberts. Big nose, promised much going on and there was—definitely open for business. Straight-down the middle classic cab, perhaps slightly thin on the mid-palate but decent finish. B+/A-
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3/6/2018 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 92 Points
14.1% abv. Dark ruby, expressive aromas. Plum, cassis, coffee, dark chocolate. Noticeable tannic structure, deep rich and long. Enjoyable now, but will benefit with several more years of age.
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10/2/2016 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 94 Points
14.1% abv. Dark ruby, expressive aromatics. On the palate, red and blue fruit, cassis, graphite and a hint of mint. Excellent depth and length. A beauty from the Riverain team that should continue to improve for years.
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10/4/2015 - brigcampbell wrote:
Riverain Winemakers Dinner with Steve Nordoff (FMIII in the OC): Lighter of the three vintages. Cassis and pepper on the attack but a red berry note is lurking behind. Add some dark plum for good measure. This almost looks like a RRV Pinot. I like the leaner elegant showing.
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10/4/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Riverain Dinner (My House In The South OC): Tasted next to the 2012 and 2013. This 2011 is the leanest and most different of the three, as it is juicier, less opulent. Sitting next to Brig Campbell, his tasting indicator of "dark raspberry" was an astute way to characterize the fruit. Also got the sense of some coffee and maybe a cherry type note, too. Certainly in the 2011, the vintage speaks, as much as it does beautifully in the 2011 Riverain Syrah.
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10/1/2014 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
The nose has some oak, cherries, and a hint of fig. The palate is medium to full with red fruits and nice acidity. Nice tannins with a bitter edge. Young but promising. Very trb.
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5/2/2014 - RMundell Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice.
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3/28/2014 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Poured blind. Unfortunately, this was poured next to a 2005 left bank Bordeaux. The result of this created a palate mismatch, where the Riverain came off as big boned, as compared to the leaner and more old world styled Bdx. The wine was brought by Steve, the owner of the label as many of us may know, and he had the courage to not only bag the wine and let it rip but pair it as he did next to that Bdx. For even a 2011 cab, for a leaner year in Napa, it wasn't a great pairing. The Riverain ended up displaying a riper quality, with the oak also showing more this time. Funny, the last time I had the wine was over the 2013 holidays, when this same Riverain was up next to both levy McClellan and another Napa cult, and Steve's wine was the better balanced of those wines that night. Shows the power of style and context for how wines can exhibit themselves.
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3/27/2014 - brigcampbell wrote:
Book Club - old world (Maro Grill, Laguna Beach): Blind - guess Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux / left bank. Sucker lied to me and said there were no California wines!
Great nose. Tannins are fairly resolved and there's a touch of coffee and dark fruit with cassis. Medium plus weight and a coating mouthfeel. Finish leads me to a more mature wine and a bit of caramel.
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2/26/2014 - King Cab wrote:
Pretty aromatics of sweet blueberries and black raspberries. Palate shows some pure red and blue fruits with the blueberry up front. Mid-palate somewhat muted but glass time helped. After some time I got some crushed rocks, red currant and worn leather. Decent balance with tannins hiding behind the bluish fruits. A nice wine made in a difficult year.
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2/25/2014 - ROrmand Likes this wine: 87 Points
Lovely nose is the best part of this wine. Lacks density and complexity on the palate. Pretty and pleasant and overpriced.
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12/23/2013 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasted from magnum. Was tasting this next to Ryan Curry, who knows TRB's wines quite well and I have to agree with his comment that this had some Rivers-Marie aromatics in it, like the pine needle and orange peel of what comes through the RM pinots. There is a lot of spicy cherry in this wine, acid running through it. Imagine, acid in Cabernet? The fruit has mostly red tones with a little bit of a blue edge and then into the finish, the same spicy cherry, some vanilla, finishing with a bit of tang. This will appeal to those who seek Cab that runs outside some of the hype and Big Flavor elements, to borrow the Jon Bonne term. Good job to Thomas and Steve on the wine.
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