Hmm - surprised by the ‘Jammy’ comments. IIRC an interview with Thomas on Grape Radio (?), he said that unlike many of his peers, the berries are not hyper selected/sorted and that plenty of green berries make it into the must. Anecdotally - this seems true to me. All the wines I’ve had show plenty of acid, energy and verve. They are plenty concentrated, especially the (Summa OV and Occidental), but never blowzy or short on structure. Often, you can actually see tartrates in suspension in these wines. These are not quite as polished as Rhys, but not as loose as KB either. Maybe somewhere in between?
+1 on the SC being quite possibly the greatest QPR in all of CA!
+1 on the Summa and Old Vines and agree the QPR of the SC is really great. I am interested in trying the Kanzler. I wouldn’t call them Jammy, but do find them a very Cali I like the team, Great people great service.
I have found fairly consistently the fruit from Summa to be on the Red Berry side, with notes of cake spice and cinnamon.
Not really, I am just being very hopeful. My first year on the list so I doubt I am getting anything more than anyone else. Although I am from Sumter just like Thomas, maybe this will be the only benefit to being from there.
3 recent impressions, using 2011 as the context–OR, Summa and SC, a good RM cross section. These IMO were not jammy, and I like the jammy style in pinot less and less…
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/29/2013)
Showed terrific for my tastes. Lots of RM signature with citrus peel, cranberry and some pine needle. With more air, some ripe notes of raspberry and blueberry add to the palate of the wine and it went great with food. Listed on the bottle at 12.8%, too. A kiss of vanilla in the finish suggesting some new oak but fit right in. Yet another very nice 2011 CA pinot, lower in alc with good clean flavors and weight.
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/1/2013)
Tasted blind. Have this wine in my cellar but had yet to try one. So, to have it circle through the blind 2011 CA Pinot format we had put together, it was nice to see this come out of the bag after we had voted. Tangy. Pomegranate, zesty apple and high acidity. Then blueberry, zesty strawberry. I really like what TRB did with the 2011s, here is yet another example of how he got it right.
2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (10/7/2013)
Opened y/day. I really enjoy this bottling, and as said many times before (by me and others), the QPR on this is ridiculous–how many vintages now has the wine been $25? This is pretty fleshy for a 2011, showing a denser palate than many of the 2011s I have liked. There is plum and blueberry here, along with a meaty note that pokes through, then a finishing of some pine. The finish then carries with notes of blueberry skin, red apple, loam and that same gamey note. Good amount of compexity here, yet also juicy and fleshy, with a kiss of vanilla. I just don’t find CA pinot with these kinds of flavors, vintage after vintage from Thomas. Pretty remarkable consistency, one that I have not seen matched by anyone else.
I am in this camp as well. While I admit to only having sampled a few wines over a few vintages, they were not to my liking. For reference, my California favorites include Rhys, Copain, Kutch, and the occasional Anthill. Matter of fact, the '09 Summa Old Vines I had last Saturday seemed quite big and sweet next to a '09 Copain Kiser “en Bas”.
A few folks have mentioned the 2009 vintage as a marker. For me, even if you put in focus Copain, Kutch, even RM, all of those wines reflect greater weight and perceived ripeness, and are less to what I enjoy in CA PN. If we want to talk about comparing style, this is not the year to do it IMO.
It is our policy to remove folks from the list after 4 consecutive offers without a purchase. That gives two opportunities to purchase from each offer (Pinot in the Spring, Cabernet in the Fall), as I would hate to think someone would pass on a mailer for whatever reason then feel compelled to buy from the next - one they may not want just to remain active. I extended this one additional year as I received a significant amount of hesitation/apprehension regarding the 2011 vintage. There is always the ability to remove oneself from the list should they no longer wish to receive our offers through the website or by contacting me directly.
