Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2022

From the Winemaker:

Comprised entirely of Panek Vineyard and Vidovich Lane Vineyard, both in St. Helena, this wine received quite the upgrade of fruit sourcing due to the vintage. Both wines were a hair short of making the single vineyard cut due more to the sameness imparted on sites by the vintage rather than overall quality. Panek just didn’t taste like the Paneks of the past. Sitting in roughly the hottest part of the valley, the heat really limited site expression here. The same could be said about VLV but due more to vine age than precise location. What these wines produced were really great examples of the St. Helena AVA rather than individual sites within.

They both featured bright red and blue fruits, sweet tobacco, sandalwood, caramelized brown sugar and a varietal herbaceousness that usually takes a few years to come out in bottle. Color here can be deceptive, checking in at a decidedly medium hue that belies the palate impact that follows. As these lots rested in barrel, structure and fruit density increased every time we sampled the wines culminating in a layered, forward fruited wine that well represents the vintage experience for the entire Napa Valley.