2016 Rivers-Marie "Herb Lamb Vineyard", "Lore Vineyard" & "Panek Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon Horizontal

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard is another brilliant wine that has full-bodied richness and power, yet still glides across the palate with no sensation of weight or heaviness. Notes of cassis, dark chocolate, cold steel, and some bloody, meaty, iron notes all emerge from the glass, and it changes and develops beautifully with air. A wine of incredible purity and complexity, it’s a thrill a minute today yet has the capacity to evolve for 2+ decades.” (01/2019)

“Rivers-Marie works with five acres of the Panek Vineyard, with the clonal mix of 169, 7, 4 and 6. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard reveals pronounced notes of crushed red and black currants, Morello cherries and baker’s chocolate with hints of eucalyptus, salami, tapenade and violets. Full-bodied, rich and wonderfully concentrated, with a firm, grainy texture and layer upon layer of black fruit and savory nuances, it finishes with fantastic persistence. (LPB) 95+” (07/2019)

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard has turned out beautifully. There is a sense of energy to the red cherry and plum fruit that gives this wine a natural measure of pure excitement. Red cherry jam, raspberry preserves, mint, spice and pomegranate meld together in a racy, sensual Cabernet that captures all the best vintage has to offer. Two thousand sixteen is a terrific vintage for the Panek. (AG)” (12/2018)

“A huge array of crème de cassis, blueberries, flowers, and spicy, sandalwood-like characteristics emerge from the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb, which has more than a passing resemblance to a great vintage of Château Margaux. Showing more tobacco and herbal characteristics with time in the glass, this full-bodied, multi-dimensional, seamless 2016 has everything you could want from a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.” (01/2019)

“Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb Vineyard opens with crème de cassis, blueberry tart and boysenberries with touches of dried mint, lilacs and star anise plus a waft of bay leaves. Full-bodied and yet surprisingly elegant and vibrant in the mouth, the plush texture beautifully frames the bags of black fruits and floral sparks, finishing long. (LPB) 96+” (07/2019)

“Time has been kind to the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb, a wine that is positively stellar today. Dark and explosive, with tremendous energy, the 2016 has so much to offer. Beams of tannin give the 2016 a backbone of energy and structure that will allow it to develop nicely in bottle for many years to come. Thomas Brown and his team crafted a striking wine that captures the essence of one of the most singular sites in Napa Valley. (AG)” (12/2018)

“Blackcurrants, dark licorice, spices and lemon and orange undertones. The palate is very racy, driven forward by minerality and tense acidity through fine layers of fruit, right to the medium-long finish.” (02/2019)

“Another legendary wine from Thomas Rivers Brown, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard matches the perfect 2015 and is as good as Cabernet Sauvignon gets. Reminding me a great vintage of Schrader’s Old Sparky, its deep purple color is followed by a sumptuous, other-worldly bouquet of crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, spring flowers, and camphor. Full-bodied and powerful, it’s the purity of fruit, poise, and balance that make this wine so special. With fine tannins and no hard edges, it satisfies both the intellectual and hedonistic parts of the brain and is magical stuff.” (01/2019)

“High above the Rudd Winery in the eastern hills of Oakville, Lore Vineyard is a steep, rocky site with multiple afternoon exposures. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard is a little closed to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal notions of freshly crushed blackcurrants, redcurrant jelly, minted blackberries and mulberries plus wafts of espresso, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice and violets. Full-bodied and very firm, with wonderfully ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, the palate is packed with muscular fruit, finishing long and layered. This should age fantastically! (LPB)” (07/2019)

“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Lore Vineyard is sensational. Dark, powerful and explosive, the 2016 expresses all the best this rugged hillside site has to offer. Graphite, crushed rocks, menthol, licorice, smoke and dark spice explode from the glass. In most vintages, the Lore is massively tannic, but the 2016 has tremendous purity of fruit and exceptional balance. It is one of the best – maybe the best – Rivers-Marie Cabernet I have ever tasted. (AG) 97+” (12/2018)