Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2022

Thomas Rivers Brown is winemaking royalty here in the Napa Valley. And this reigning King Midas with the Golden Touch will not be dethroned anytime soon. Not while he continues to craft velvety, elegant, and bold Cabernet Sauvignon like the one we're highlighting this weekend...

The Napa Valley bottling from Rivers Marie has consisted of new sites Thomas is trialing, declassified barrels from single vineyard wines, and vineyards that fell out of contract along the way. It's a diverse mix, but the common thread is there has always been a minimum of 4 sub-AVAs represented in every edition, giving a broad geographic view into the vintage as a whole. This has always been an early drinker giving reason to open this wine before the single vineyards to understand better what lies ahead in the more expensive, site-driven bottlings.

2022 can best be described as GENEROUS, with a long heat spike around Labor Day as the defining characteristic of the vintage. The extended heat took the token ripeness of Napa Valley up three notches, and the results are juicy, ripe, and ready to drink. The palate is upfront and expressive, with notes of stewed red fruits, chocolate, and herbs. Charming and crowd-pleasing, this is a wine the whole dinner table will enjoy!

The Rivers Marie wines are rarely made available to retailers, but a few chance run-ins during Premiere Napa Valley unlocked ten precious cases for us. This is a weeknight wine by the illustrious Thomas Rivers Brown - need we say more?