Start to finish, we thought this was an excellent wine. Not extraordinarily heavy, but not light but any means - well balanced. Plum, cherry, black raspberry. Not subtle, but also not in-your-face. One flavor did not overpower any other flavor in our opinion. Chilled overnight, decanted for 50 minutes prior to pouring. Finished bottle about 2-1/2 hours after opening and it just simply got better. This vintage has years of life left and will only get better in our opinion.
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Tasted blind on first night, then revisited on following night (at which time I knew the wine's identity). Two compare the two nights, I like the wine more this evening than last. My notes from yesterday say blue fruited, punchy, with maple and a tangy finish. Yet today, as I revisit the wine, the shoulders and muscles have fallen into place and the wine has added the weight it needs to show as I would expect. There is some added density, to join the blue and red fruit (of note, I do not find any black tones in this wine). Finishes with some cedary oak, zingy red fruit, some light chocolate and plenty of freshness. Of all the Riverain Cabs I have tried, this one seems to be ready to drink, and it trades some of the power of the other vintages for something that is more immediately pleasing to me. Based on both night's tastings, I'd say this vintage can be consumed now and enjoyed.
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My last bottle. Drinking awesome. Big blackberry, cedar, and earth taste with some pepper and spice on the finish. Medium plus acidity and tannins. Nice. Solid.
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Rich and fruity with a nice bit of spice, mostly dark fruit but with enough red fruit to keep it interesting, the oak seems to express itself mostly in the spice rather than in sweet vanilla, which allows the fruit to express itself nicely. The tannins are soft and largely in the background and acidity brings a little freshness to the finish. Big Napa cabs aren’t normally my style, but Riverain consistently works for me.
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This rich but diffuse Cabernet is drinking fine right now, but it seems too open-knit and laid-back to be that impressive. Dark purple in color; medium in body; nose of boysenberry, graphite, and new leather. Tastes of blackberry, espresso, anise, and gravel, with a grainy and soft finish. 14.8% alcohol.
I've loved some of the Tench wines, including the extracted and explosive ones made by Russell Bevan (under his own label and Addax) as well as the more earthy yet ripe ones made by Andy Smith (DuMOL). Here, at least in the 2014 vintage, TRB's more polished hand seems to obscure the edge and opulence the vineyard can produce - not in a good way. This is good, but not exciting.
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Decanted 3 hrs but needed 5 hrs. At 3 hrs nice pieces and parts but disjointed and somewhat muted. It turned a switch at 5 hrs and everything was on. Gained weight and texture. Dark with fine chalky tannins, oak in the background. Red fruit, black cherry, raspberry, black raspberry, hint of blackberry, iron and charred earthed notes - definitely Tench. These are a steal at Berserker Day prices. Not as good as the ‘13 we had last, but lots of potential.
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Riverain (Oakville): A generous tasting lineup of the 2013, 2014, 2015, and a new 2016 BBS Tench Cabernets.
Quite the contrast to the 2013, this 2014 version was all about accessible red berry fruit. No hard edges and an inviting medium-bodied attitude that welcomed near-term consumption. Red and black cherry and some black raspberry fruits dominate, with some cedar notes to round it all out. A fairly plush and fruity wine, but with enough frame to maintain focus.
Drink now and over the next 3-5 years.
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2nd wine at K Laz Warm, lush, & opulent bouquet. Diving in dark cherry comes across the palate, similiar to the Keever, though with more power and substance, and a noticeably longer and more balanced finish. This is a high quality entry cab from Thomas Rivers Brown, originally the wine maker at Schrader.
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First stop on our eighth day in Napa Valley is to our friend Aaron to taste through some of the wines from Myriad Cellars, Bench Vineyards, Steltzner Vineyards, Riverain Vineyards and Flint Knoll. Ninth wine is from Riverain Vineyards and is their 2014 Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all the 337 Clone.
Dark ruby core with garnet edges. A bit closed down on the nose with a bit of cinnamon. Heavy tannins (8/10) with full bodied. Layered palate with red currants, bark, gravel and spices. Dry and grippy with a long finish. Drink till 2030.
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Night one - Initial nose of hint of red fruit and mint, not huge nose. Low acidity, trace amount of tannins, red fruit and jam in the palette. Medium to full body. Medium finish. Night two - Nose opens up, plum, dark fruit. Cedar box, smooth and big fruit. No noticeable acidity. Same body and finish.
Pop and pour and followed over 5 hours. Tasted first alone, then with food, and then without food. Dark purple color. Nose shows some vanilla along with dark black fruits. Nose is quite inviting. Big, round fruits - black cherry, blackberries and some chocolate notes. There is a bitterness, however, on the back end - like biting into the grape skin. Otherwise, a nice wine.
TT(W)TG (brief notes, blind wines) (Enfield): Deep purple. Bramble and dark fruit on the nose. So very big and ripe. A very modern cabernet, without the structure or complexity that I would expect at this price.
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Followed this bottle over the course of two days. Really an opulent dense purple color with a very strong nose of black currant, blueberry pie and hints of oak. It is big and plush -- not over extracted, but certainly a modern version of cabernet. The tannins are sweet and integrated much better as it received more air. There is still some oak to blow off. It stands out for its density and concentration, with a sexy long finish. I wish it had a bit more structure and nuance, but all in all this is a very good bottle of wine. Notable that 6-12 hours of decanting seems best, because after too much time open it fell apart a bit. I think it needs a couple years at least to hit on all cylinders, but very approachable now with some air.
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Darn it, had I known these were not released yet I would have taken a detailed tasting note. Steve had 4 or 5 of these just sitting out on the table with the rest of the afternoons ensemble. Deeply saturated color. Very good concentration, black currant, blackberry, medium toast, chewy tannins and surprisingly approachable for literally pulling the cork and dumping into the glass. The Warden gave two thumbs way up on this wine, her favorite of the day, and she's the Cabernet connoisseur in the family. Additionally, I heard a rumor that this wine just received a nice fat score if you follow those things.
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3/7/2021 - lw3369 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Start to finish, we thought this was an excellent wine. Not extraordinarily heavy, but not light but any means - well balanced. Plum, cherry, black raspberry. Not subtle, but also not in-your-face. One flavor did not overpower any other flavor in our opinion. Chilled overnight, decanted for 50 minutes prior to pouring. Finished bottle about 2-1/2 hours after opening and it just simply got better. This vintage has years of life left and will only get better in our opinion.
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12/11/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasted blind on first night, then revisited on following night (at which time I knew the wine's identity). Two compare the two nights, I like the wine more this evening than last. My notes from yesterday say blue fruited, punchy, with maple and a tangy finish. Yet today, as I revisit the wine, the shoulders and muscles have fallen into place and the wine has added the weight it needs to show as I would expect. There is some added density, to join the blue and red fruit (of note, I do not find any black tones in this wine). Finishes with some cedary oak, zingy red fruit, some light chocolate and plenty of freshness. Of all the Riverain Cabs I have tried, this one seems to be ready to drink, and it trades some of the power of the other vintages for something that is more immediately pleasing to me. Based on both night's tastings, I'd say this vintage can be consumed now and enjoyed.
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10/11/2020 - RockyII Likes this wine: 93 Points
My last bottle. Drinking awesome. Big blackberry, cedar, and earth taste with some pepper and spice on the finish. Medium plus acidity and tannins. Nice. Solid.
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1/8/2020 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rich and fruity with a nice bit of spice, mostly dark fruit but with enough red fruit to keep it interesting, the oak seems to express itself mostly in the spice rather than in sweet vanilla, which allows the fruit to express itself nicely. The tannins are soft and largely in the background and acidity brings a little freshness to the finish. Big Napa cabs aren’t normally my style, but Riverain consistently works for me.
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10/26/2019 - msuwine wrote: 92 Points
This rich but diffuse Cabernet is drinking fine right now, but it seems too open-knit and laid-back to be that impressive. Dark purple in color; medium in body; nose of boysenberry, graphite, and new leather. Tastes of blackberry, espresso, anise, and gravel, with a grainy and soft finish. 14.8% alcohol.
I've loved some of the Tench wines, including the extracted and explosive ones made by Russell Bevan (under his own label and Addax) as well as the more earthy yet ripe ones made by Andy Smith (DuMOL). Here, at least in the 2014 vintage, TRB's more polished hand seems to obscure the edge and opulence the vineyard can produce - not in a good way. This is good, but not exciting.
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4/13/2019 - Geaux Tigers Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 3 hrs but needed 5 hrs. At 3 hrs nice pieces and parts but disjointed and somewhat muted. It turned a switch at 5 hrs and everything was on. Gained weight and texture. Dark with fine chalky tannins, oak in the background. Red fruit, black cherry, raspberry, black raspberry, hint of blackberry, iron and charred earthed notes - definitely Tench. These are a steal at Berserker Day prices. Not as good as the ‘13 we had last, but lots of potential.
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1/6/2019 - JJB007 Likes this wine: 95 Points
you can taste peppers and pepper, licorice, cherries, chocolate, and tannins
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9/29/2018 - csimm wrote: 92 Points
Riverain (Oakville): A generous tasting lineup of the 2013, 2014, 2015, and a new 2016 BBS Tench Cabernets.
Quite the contrast to the 2013, this 2014 version was all about accessible red berry fruit. No hard edges and an inviting medium-bodied attitude that welcomed near-term consumption. Red and black cherry and some black raspberry fruits dominate, with some cedar notes to round it all out. A fairly plush and fruity wine, but with enough frame to maintain focus.
Drink now and over the next 3-5 years.
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8/13/2018 - J.S Likes this wine: 94 Points
2nd wine at K Laz
Warm, lush, & opulent bouquet. Diving in dark cherry comes across the palate, similiar to the Keever, though with more power and substance, and a noticeably longer and more balanced finish. This is a high quality entry cab from Thomas Rivers Brown, originally the wine maker at Schrader.
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6/3/2018 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 92 Points
First stop on our eighth day in Napa Valley is to our friend Aaron to taste through some of the wines from Myriad Cellars, Bench Vineyards, Steltzner Vineyards, Riverain Vineyards and Flint Knoll. Ninth wine is from Riverain Vineyards and is their 2014 Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all the 337 Clone.
Dark ruby core with garnet edges. A bit closed down on the nose with a bit of cinnamon. Heavy tannins (8/10) with full bodied. Layered palate with red currants, bark, gravel and spices. Dry and grippy with a long finish. Drink till 2030.
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6/3/2018 - cab blends wrote: 89 Points
This seems to be closed at the moment.
Some acidity in the finish - better than the 2015
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3/16/2018 - tonyhuang Likes this wine: 90 Points
Night one - Initial nose of hint of red fruit and mint, not huge nose. Low acidity, trace amount of tannins, red fruit and jam in the palette. Medium to full body. Medium finish.
Night two - Nose opens up, plum, dark fruit. Cedar box, smooth and big fruit. No noticeable acidity. Same body and finish.
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9/29/2017 - t_moderne wrote: 86 Points
Pop and pour and followed over 5 hours. Tasted first alone, then with food, and then without food.
Dark purple color. Nose shows some vanilla along with dark black fruits. Nose is quite inviting.
Big, round fruits - black cherry, blackberries and some chocolate notes. There is a bitterness, however, on the back end - like biting into the grape skin. Otherwise, a nice wine.
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5/27/2017 - Rktekt3 wrote: 92 Points
Very nice but probably should wait another year.
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3/22/2017 - indiscriminate palate wrote:
TT(W)TG (brief notes, blind wines) (Enfield): Deep purple. Bramble and dark fruit on the nose. So very big and ripe. A very modern cabernet, without the structure or complexity that I would expect at this price.
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3/8/2017 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Followed this bottle over the course of two days. Really an opulent dense purple color with a very strong nose of black currant, blueberry pie and hints of oak. It is big and plush -- not over extracted, but certainly a modern version of cabernet. The tannins are sweet and integrated much better as it received more air. There is still some oak to blow off. It stands out for its density and concentration, with a sexy long finish. I wish it had a bit more structure and nuance, but all in all this is a very good bottle of wine. Notable that 6-12 hours of decanting seems best, because after too much time open it fell apart a bit. I think it needs a couple years at least to hit on all cylinders, but very approachable now with some air.
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10/30/2016 - brigcampbell wrote:
Darn it, had I known these were not released yet I would have taken a detailed tasting note. Steve had 4 or 5 of these just sitting out on the table with the rest of the afternoons ensemble. Deeply saturated color. Very good concentration, black currant, blackberry, medium toast, chewy tannins and surprisingly approachable for literally pulling the cork and dumping into the glass. The Warden gave two thumbs way up on this wine, her favorite of the day, and she's the Cabernet connoisseur in the family. Additionally, I heard a rumor that this wine just received a nice fat score if you follow those things.
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