2018 Rivers-Marie "Summa Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, USA

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I felt like this was the most complete wine in the lineup at bottling and that continues to be the case today.  At 20 years of vine age, there is no longer an impression of this being the baby Summa bottling.  Better farming and vine maturity have eliminated all the holes found in previous editions of this wine.  It has also provided nuance that makes this wine more and more similar to its Old Vines sibling every year.  This once again is richer and a little deeper than that wine but it is beginning to catch up on the ethereal side of things.

"It's all about the site."

That is the main motivator for Thomas Rivers Brown when it comes to his own personal project, Rivers-Marie. Thomas Brown, today one of California’s foremost Winemaker/Consultants makes mostly Cabernet based wines for labels such as Shraeder, Outpost and Maybach. Yet, it is his Rivers-Marie label, which he shares with his long time partner Genevive (who’s middle name is Marie), where Thomas expresses a more delicate and restrained style of winemaking that’s inspired by his true love for traditional Burgundy and Barolo.