2009 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a gorgeous, rich wine layered with mint, tobacco, spices, cedar and licorice. It shows gorgeous textural depth and tons of aromatic nuances. This is a fabulous wine loaded with class and personality. It isn’t the biggest wine here, but it is exceptionally polished. Wow! Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown and his wife Genevieve Marie Welsh are the duo behind the impressive Rivers-Marie wines. Brown is one of this generation’s most exciting young winemakers. His early work with Helen Turley and his first consulting clients, including Schrader, is well-known, but what is less well-known is the number of other winemakers whom he has inspired, directly and indirectly. Brown’s winemaking is deeply influenced by his knowledge and passion for the historic California Cabernets and Pinots of decades past, and the great reds of Burgundy and Piedmont, a perspective that is not too common among younger winemakers. The Rivers-Marie wines are made at Outpost, where Brown also makes the wines of his top-flight consulting clients. The Rivers-Marie Pinots will be reviewed in our February issue. For now, readers will find no shortage of great choices among these five stellar Cabernets. The only Cabernet I did not taste was the 2010 Napa Valley, which will be culled from the barrels that don’t make it into the top two selections. Tel. (707) 341-3127