Final of three bottles. A bit muted on first evening, even with a 4 hour decant. Still pretty tannic, with dark fruits. Improved overnight while in the decanter measurably—really opened up and became more interesting. 90 on night one and 92 on night two: so 91 overall.
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Second bottle, about a year after I opened the last one. Dark, opaque purple in the glass. Dark fruits with spice, turning to a briny olive on the palate. Still pretty tannic, long finish. On night two, some of the fruit had fallen away…but overall still great. I just find these Riverain Syrahs so, so fascinating.
Drank with 2 hour decant and was great. This have some of the northern Rhone flavours but this is clearly California syrah. This should continue to be great for many years
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Dark, almost opaque purple in the glass. Started out more primary with dark berry fruits, but over the evening more smoke and pepper came out. Not as savory as the 2012 version, but still delicious. (Convinced my friend who generally dislikes CA wines, too!) Will hold on to the other two bottles and see how they develop.
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This wine is gonna age well, based on the stuffing that is present today. Open a full day and it shows plenty of inky, earthy fruit that is framed by some whole cluster addition. Olive, tangy dark fruit, some cedary tannin and some structure that gives the Ione some proud shoulders. This is not delicate, and yet there is complexity inside the wine to tame it. Enjoyed this but please give it lots of air if you drink now.
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Dark and full wine. There's a lot of dark berry fruit on the nose without the palate being particularly fruit forward. Meaty and earthy and even refined while being a near meal in a glass. This feels early in the drinking window.
Coats the glass with a purplish red. Starts off with a little bit of caramel, then got savory on the nose with some meat, purple flowers and vanilla. Medium plus tannins (7/10) and medium plus bodied. Dark palate with berries, spices and gravel. Dry and long finish. Drink till 2024.
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Yes, it's infanticide, but I drank this tonight. Needs lots air. My favorite is still the 11 for its cooler vintage characteristics. Pretty darn good, though. I am going to hide the rest for 5 more years
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A muted nose of some dark fruit and some spice, midnight black in color. A full bodied very tight and young red, with blueberry, blackberry, licorice and spice on finish, needs a long decant to enjoy now. Best to wait a few years. www.winelx.com
Great work Steve and TRB. Only the second wine we have tried from Riverain.
Deep and dark purplish red. Lovely nose with some toasted elements with some black and white pepper, black olives, black cherries and cinnamon. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Very dry with flavors of dark berries, spices, olives, and light minerality. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2024.
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PnP - this has great potential and is just far too young at the moment - I was tasting with some 10 to 15 year olds that were presenting outstandingly and the youthfulness of this was clear.
This could add a couple of points in a few years. Light perfume on the nose to begin with strong tannins. Not yet fully integrated with good minerality and fruity (Not sweet) body
90 minute decant through an aerator. Deep purple (think "smoke on the water"). Pretty prominent nose of oak, nail polish, crushed black pepper and dark berries. Taste is more fruit forward but with a tannic dryness throughout with a bit of sour cherry tartness on the tail end. Medium to high acidity. Nice mouthfeel. Long finish. I think this will improve with age or more airtime. Will save a glass for tomorrow. 90-91.
Second day notes: no significant changes except fruit actually diminished and tannins increased. No change in overall rating and I don't think this wine is likely to change much with more airtime - needs more time in the bottle.
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Last time I drank one of these was Fall 2016 and it tastes very similar to that wine so for me, there is some TN consistency in my experience here. No decant but we did get this open at the start of the meal and it was my last wine tasted about 90 mins into the dinner. Black olive aromatic, with some riper styled fruit and this vintage seems more opulent to me than say 2012. Dark and inky in tone, with a tangy acidity. Charcoal, tangy blue fruit that fattens up with air, adding some power. This has plenty of stuffing and is the most opulent of the first 4 vintages of Riverain for me (11-14).
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Wow, this came out swing right from the bell. Like a punch in the face. I've had this wine before but with plenty of decanter time. This was a pop n pour, oops. This is REALLY young and wrapped around the axle serviced like we did. Everything about this wine is abundant, the fruit, the acid, and the tannins. Don't get me wrong, it's great and will definitely age forever but it probably needs 4-6 hours of air at this point.
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One year since last bottle. This time, I'll go over 2 nights and this will be the star--nothing else being tasted. Opened this about 3 hours ago, no decant just slow ox and several pours to watch my Ducks on NHL opening night. This is dark, flavor packed and bigger boned. I had my 2 previous TNs, and I pulled this wine b/c this is what I wanted in my syrah tonight. The 2013 for me has been the biggest of Steve's 4 vintages, this bottle shows that way so for FWIW, my experiences are consistent. There is some heat traces here on the aromatic, just a whiff (FWIW, this listed at 14.1%). The core of this wine is dark fruit, a mix of boysen and black, with a finishing distinct note of red cherry, too. Around this core is plenty of charcoal, along with a molten quality so think brooding, tarry, light bitter chocolate. Finishes with some tannin and black olive (which I wish was a bit higher but I realize that with this vintage, the trade off it seems is more fruit density exchanged for the olive/tapenade notes that make the 2012 so good)....Day 2, this is really delicious, squarely in the fruit centric camp. Inky, charcoal, purple fruit and some cherry with some iron. For a drink window, I would say fine now with air, to enjoy the density and fruit that is here, or let it age and soften a bit more. I like it now.
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Riverain Dinner (My House In The South OC): Drank this next to the 2011 and 2012. For me, these two wines at this stage outshine the 2013. The answer lies for me in palate preference, as similar to the 2013 I carefully and at length wrote up last April, the bottle we had last night was quite similar to that one, as were the tasting markers I jotted down without any bias from the April note. Taste indications like a molten quality, iron, richness and obvious fruit. It finishes with some dark chocolate, tannin and approaching full bodied. For me, this rings more true of the syrahs I used to drink, where fruit and ripeness are the core indicators, which is not the syrahs I drink in today's times. Without a doubt in my mind, this 2013 is going to appeal to the palates that like the richer CA style, and there are plenty of folks in that audience still these days. I just prefer the 2012 for richness, and the fact the richness of that wine is a level of measure below that of the 2013.
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Riverain Winemakers Dinner with Steve Nordoff (FMIII in the OC): Blackberry and very noticeable red berry at the backend. Shows more chalk than the other vintages yet still has the charcoal that I enjoy. Chewy tannins and slightly riper style than the 2011 which is expected.
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As I had to add this to the database, you can conclude this is an early look at a young wine. I opened this last night, cooked a meal around it and drained off about 1/2 the bottle. One of those nights when I wanted a syrah that was dark, both color and fruited. I got that wine. Left the remaining 1/2 bottle on the counter under the pulled cork. Roll forward one day, retasting again with a glass that is at room temp (68f). For me, I like my wines a bit cooler served than this but the flip side is this temp allows a wine to show what's there, plus and minus. What's here? A light hint of heat and I would think that if served at say 65f, this would be no factor so simply saying, if you drink it, put a slight chill on it. Some may call me soft or fragile, which I am with my palate, so take my comment as you wish. That said, this is a bigger wine, certainly moreso than the 2011, and even a touch bigger than the 2012. For the record, I own both those wines and have dug drinking both of them over the past 2 years, with a few bottles of each remaining to cellar and try over the next few years, too. This 2013 will be the biggest of the three, and it does carry the dark color of the 2012. Where it differs from the 2012, which for me shows better structure, this 2013 is more plusher, more accessible now. Has a suave texture, a good mix of some red fruit but mainly black. Tar, light creosote, a molten quality. Some charcoal and black olive in the finish, presumably from the whole cluster it sees. Finishes with some light grip, which for some may be more grip then I sense, as I am often told I drink my wines too early, yet I also seem to tolerate and absorb structure differently than others. Again, take my comment as you wish. Do I like the wine? I do, although it's bigger than the other 2 vintages and I tend to drink my wines now in the lower register of things (more acid, less alc, leaner) and this reminds me more of the wine from my earlier years, bigger, sexier and certainly is going to draw in the crowd that likes a more flamboyant showing. Age window? I'd say 2016 to 2018, with the caveat that I seem to absorb structure and like my wines younger.
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3/4/2024 - smorris291 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Final of three bottles. A bit muted on first evening, even with a 4 hour decant. Still pretty tannic, with dark fruits. Improved overnight while in the decanter measurably—really opened up and became more interesting. 90 on night one and 92 on night two: so 91 overall.
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5/22/2022 - smorris291 wrote: 91 Points
Second bottle, about a year after I opened the last one. Dark, opaque purple in the glass. Dark fruits with spice, turning to a briny olive on the palate. Still pretty tannic, long finish. On night two, some of the fruit had fallen away…but overall still great. I just find these Riverain Syrahs so, so fascinating.
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1/30/2022 - Geoff Weathersby Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark, inky and delicious. Still very young. Could use another 3-5 years.
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6/22/2021 - mdahar wrote: 92 Points
Drank with 2 hour decant and was great. This have some of the northern Rhone flavours but this is clearly California syrah. This should continue to be great for many years
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5/1/2021 - smorris291 wrote: 91 Points
Dark, almost opaque purple in the glass. Started out more primary with dark berry fruits, but over the evening more smoke and pepper came out. Not as savory as the 2012 version, but still delicious. (Convinced my friend who generally dislikes CA wines, too!) Will hold on to the other two bottles and see how they develop.
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8/30/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:
This wine is gonna age well, based on the stuffing that is present today. Open a full day and it shows plenty of inky, earthy fruit that is framed by some whole cluster addition. Olive, tangy dark fruit, some cedary tannin and some structure that gives the Ione some proud shoulders. This is not delicate, and yet there is complexity inside the wine to tame it. Enjoyed this but please give it lots of air if you drink now.
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4/15/2020 - gmbdds wrote: 92 Points
Dark and full wine. There's a lot of dark berry fruit on the nose without the palate being particularly fruit forward. Meaty and earthy and even refined while being a near meal in a glass. This feels early in the drinking window.
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4/6/2020 - mdahar wrote: 92 Points
Need about 2 hours to open.
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11/25/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 90 Points
Coats the glass with a purplish red. Starts off with a little bit of caramel, then got savory on the nose with some meat, purple flowers and vanilla. Medium plus tannins (7/10) and medium plus bodied. Dark palate with berries, spices and gravel. Dry and long finish. Drink till 2024.
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11/25/2018 - cab blends wrote: 91 Points
This is a fruity syrah in my style of syrah.
Some steely slate in the initial attack but red blue fruit on the mid palate.
N3/5 H3/5 F4/5
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10/4/2018 - arthrovine wrote:
Yes, it's infanticide, but I drank this tonight. Needs lots air. My favorite is still the 11 for its cooler vintage characteristics. Pretty darn good, though. I am going to hide the rest for 5 more years
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7/27/2018 - corkscrews Likes this wine: 90 Points
A muted nose of some dark fruit and some spice, midnight black in color. A full bodied very tight and young red, with blueberry, blackberry, licorice and spice on finish, needs a long decant to enjoy now. Best to wait a few years. www.winelx.com
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2/10/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 91 Points
Great work Steve and TRB. Only the second wine we have tried from Riverain.
Deep and dark purplish red. Lovely nose with some toasted elements with some black and white pepper, black olives, black cherries and cinnamon. Medium plus tannins (6.5/10) and full bodied. Very dry with flavors of dark berries, spices, olives, and light minerality. Long and lingering finish. Drink till 2024.
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2/10/2018 - cab blends wrote: 90 Points
PnP - this has great potential and is just far too young at the moment - I was tasting with some 10 to 15 year olds that were presenting outstandingly and the youthfulness of this was clear.
This could add a couple of points in a few years. Light perfume on the nose to begin with strong tannins. Not yet fully integrated with good minerality and fruity (Not sweet) body
N5 T8 F6 B7
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5/27/2017 - kgh wrote: 90 Points
A young wine which needs time to open, but shows potential. Dark fruit with nice balance of acid and tannins.
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2/25/2017 - Papillon1112 wrote: 90 Points
Not the star but makes you want to taste Thomas Rivers Brown's other winemaking projects.
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2/17/2017 - rockthomii@gmail.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
90 minute decant through an aerator. Deep purple (think "smoke on the water"). Pretty prominent nose of oak, nail polish, crushed black pepper and dark berries. Taste is more fruit forward but with a tannic dryness throughout with a bit of sour cherry tartness on the tail end. Medium to high acidity. Nice mouthfeel. Long finish. I think this will improve with age or more airtime. Will save a glass for tomorrow. 90-91.
Second day notes: no significant changes except fruit actually diminished and tannins increased. No change in overall rating and I don't think this wine is likely to change much with more airtime - needs more time in the bottle.
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2/5/2017 - J @ y H @ c k Likes this wine:
Keep hands off for 5 years.
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1/27/2017 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Last time I drank one of these was Fall 2016 and it tastes very similar to that wine so for me, there is some TN consistency in my experience here. No decant but we did get this open at the start of the meal and it was my last wine tasted about 90 mins into the dinner. Black olive aromatic, with some riper styled fruit and this vintage seems more opulent to me than say 2012. Dark and inky in tone, with a tangy acidity. Charcoal, tangy blue fruit that fattens up with air, adding some power. This has plenty of stuffing and is the most opulent of the first 4 vintages of Riverain for me (11-14).
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1/26/2017 - brigcampbell wrote:
Wow, this came out swing right from the bell. Like a punch in the face. I've had this wine before but with plenty of decanter time. This was a pop n pour, oops. This is REALLY young and wrapped around the axle serviced like we did. Everything about this wine is abundant, the fruit, the acid, and the tannins. Don't get me wrong, it's great and will definitely age forever but it probably needs 4-6 hours of air at this point.
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11/18/2016 - Knarles wrote:
Wrong year
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10/13/2016 - Frank Murray III wrote:
One year since last bottle. This time, I'll go over 2 nights and this will be the star--nothing else being tasted. Opened this about 3 hours ago, no decant just slow ox and several pours to watch my Ducks on NHL opening night. This is dark, flavor packed and bigger boned. I had my 2 previous TNs, and I pulled this wine b/c this is what I wanted in my syrah tonight. The 2013 for me has been the biggest of Steve's 4 vintages, this bottle shows that way so for FWIW, my experiences are consistent. There is some heat traces here on the aromatic, just a whiff (FWIW, this listed at 14.1%). The core of this wine is dark fruit, a mix of boysen and black, with a finishing distinct note of red cherry, too. Around this core is plenty of charcoal, along with a molten quality so think brooding, tarry, light bitter chocolate. Finishes with some tannin and black olive (which I wish was a bit higher but I realize that with this vintage, the trade off it seems is more fruit density exchanged for the olive/tapenade notes that make the 2012 so good)....Day 2, this is really delicious, squarely in the fruit centric camp. Inky, charcoal, purple fruit and some cherry with some iron. For a drink window, I would say fine now with air, to enjoy the density and fruit that is here, or let it age and soften a bit more. I like it now.
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9/18/2016 - Rktekt3 wrote: 90 Points
Very nice syrah. Good fruit beneath the tannins. I would wait another year to open these though.
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10/4/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Riverain Dinner (My House In The South OC): Drank this next to the 2011 and 2012. For me, these two wines at this stage outshine the 2013. The answer lies for me in palate preference, as similar to the 2013 I carefully and at length wrote up last April, the bottle we had last night was quite similar to that one, as were the tasting markers I jotted down without any bias from the April note. Taste indications like a molten quality, iron, richness and obvious fruit. It finishes with some dark chocolate, tannin and approaching full bodied. For me, this rings more true of the syrahs I used to drink, where fruit and ripeness are the core indicators, which is not the syrahs I drink in today's times. Without a doubt in my mind, this 2013 is going to appeal to the palates that like the richer CA style, and there are plenty of folks in that audience still these days. I just prefer the 2012 for richness, and the fact the richness of that wine is a level of measure below that of the 2013.
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10/4/2015 - brigcampbell wrote:
Riverain Winemakers Dinner with Steve Nordoff (FMIII in the OC): Blackberry and very noticeable red berry at the backend. Shows more chalk than the other vintages yet still has the charcoal that I enjoy. Chewy tannins and slightly riper style than the 2011 which is expected.
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4/10/2015 - ageverett Likes this wine: 88 Points
2015 Napa Trip - Day 2: 50% whole cluster
teeth-staining purple. Pepper and spice. Pretty solid grip.
Just seems a bit disjointed and overbearing right now.
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4/8/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
As I had to add this to the database, you can conclude this is an early look at a young wine. I opened this last night, cooked a meal around it and drained off about 1/2 the bottle. One of those nights when I wanted a syrah that was dark, both color and fruited. I got that wine. Left the remaining 1/2 bottle on the counter under the pulled cork. Roll forward one day, retasting again with a glass that is at room temp (68f). For me, I like my wines a bit cooler served than this but the flip side is this temp allows a wine to show what's there, plus and minus. What's here? A light hint of heat and I would think that if served at say 65f, this would be no factor so simply saying, if you drink it, put a slight chill on it. Some may call me soft or fragile, which I am with my palate, so take my comment as you wish. That said, this is a bigger wine, certainly moreso than the 2011, and even a touch bigger than the 2012. For the record, I own both those wines and have dug drinking both of them over the past 2 years, with a few bottles of each remaining to cellar and try over the next few years, too. This 2013 will be the biggest of the three, and it does carry the dark color of the 2012. Where it differs from the 2012, which for me shows better structure, this 2013 is more plusher, more accessible now. Has a suave texture, a good mix of some red fruit but mainly black. Tar, light creosote, a molten quality. Some charcoal and black olive in the finish, presumably from the whole cluster it sees. Finishes with some light grip, which for some may be more grip then I sense, as I am often told I drink my wines too early, yet I also seem to tolerate and absorb structure differently than others. Again, take my comment as you wish. Do I like the wine? I do, although it's bigger than the other 2 vintages and I tend to drink my wines now in the lower register of things (more acid, less alc, leaner) and this reminds me more of the wine from my earlier years, bigger, sexier and certainly is going to draw in the crowd that likes a more flamboyant showing. Age window? I'd say 2016 to 2018, with the caveat that I seem to absorb structure and like my wines younger.
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