2014 Riverain Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (17) Avg Score: 91.7 points

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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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