2011 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard

(this vineyard is located in what winemaker Brown called a "warm pocket" in Occidental): Good medium red, the clearest of these 2011s. Complex, perfumed nose offers red cherry, mint, blood orange, minerals, crushed rock and licorice; conveys a strong impression of site specificity. Very densely packed and velvety on the palate, offering excellent energy to the flavors of red fruits, minerals and spices. The serious, sappy finish features firm fruit tannins that I did not find in the other 2011 pinots here. Winemaker Brown told me that this was the only "fully realized" pinot in the portfolio this year: "There were no weather issues here, and we picked by October 1 without being rushed to bring in the fruit." The crop level was just one ton an acre.

The 2011 Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard is the most complete of these Pinots. Dark cherries, plums, spices, menthol and licorice are woven together in this totally seamless, impeccable Pinot. Bright saline notes underpin the fruit beautifully. The 2011 captures the vibrancy and coolness style of the year, but with more fruit and better overall harmony than the other wines in the range. Layers of sweet, perfumed fruit wrap around the highly nuanced finish. Silver Eagle is farmed by Sonoma vineyard guru Ulises Valdez. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2021. Rivers-Marie stands out for many reasons, not the least of which is the exceedingly fair prices set by owners Thomas Rivers Brown and Genevieve Marie Welsh. Like all of his colleagues, Brown struggled to achieve normal levels of ripeness in 2011. The crop set was poor, and there was no heat to speak of the entire year. The Pinots were harvested in October, exceedingly late by Pinot standards. Yields came in at a tiny. 75 to 1 ton per acre. As for the wines, they are quite pretty, if naturally a bit more slender than normal. Tel. (707) 341-3127