Rivers Marie Panek and a question

I opened my first Rivers Marie Panek this weekend (2014 vintage). I had read others notes saying that it needed a lot of air, so I popped the cork at noon and poured into the decanter. A quick initial sip before any air was very tight, lean, and acidic. Seven hours later I poured my first glass, and consumed over the next 4 hours. This showed a deep/dark ruby color with a purple rim. I got some not too ripe blackberry, cassis, red currant, and spice box. This was medium to light weight for a Napa cab, restrained with nice balance. Lots of higher toned flavors and higher acid, on the opposite end of the spectrum what I typically expect from a big Napa cab. The finish had a palate coating vibrant tanginess with no major oak notes. Over the course of the evening it continued to open up and fill out. A very well-make wine that I was enjoying very much, but wasn’t wowed by it. I had about 1/3 of the bottle left for the second day, where I found it to be less vibrant, softer, and IMHO less interesting. If rating, I’d say 93+. For the price, I was hoping for a bit more.

This bottle represents the top of my price point, and I only purchase half a case of cabs in this range ($65-$100) a year. So, the decision I’m now trying to make is if this wine didn’t wow me, where should go instead? Or was the 2014 not as great a vintage for this wine and I should stick with R-M? I’ve been buying the Becklyn NV which I’ve enjoyed very much and plan to continue to purchase. If you could point me to one more Napa cab in this price range, what would it be?

Some I’m considering:
Quivet Kenefick Ranch (tasted the 2015 and enjoyed it very much, but wonder if it is too big/fruit forward?)
Quivet Pellet
Myriad Three Twins
Scarlett NV
Myriad or Quivet NV (I feel like both of these are somewhat similar to the Becklyn - I’ve bought/tasted the Myriad, but not the Quivet)
others I’m not thinking of???

I think the rest of the Myriad & Quivet SVDs are above $100 now, but please correct me if I’m wrong.

For me, the choice would be Three Twins. It’s my favorite sub-$100 wine that Mike Smith makes.

is the issue the wine, the vintage, or the fact 2014 is a little bit young to drink now?

Jean Edwards Stagecoach and Rutherford are fantastic and both on the low end of that range.

The Sojourn Oakville cab is $70-ish and fantastic (albeit in an earlier drinking style).

I also would advise trying other RM cabs. The SVDs are all distinct and very good QPR. 2014s might be a bit young as yet.

Washington tends to be really strong at that price point, too.

I haven’t opened mine yet, but some CT users are of the opinion that this wine was much better younger, and might be a little shut down right now.

I had a 2012 NV Cab recently that rocked!

Throw a rock at a wall of Mike Smith’s wines, you won’t miss. I’m partial to Myriad.

I’ll echo some of the above statements. I’ve had experience with Myriad and Scarlett and think both are quite fantastic. I find the Myriad to be a bit darker focused than Scarlett, for what that’s worth.

Not meaning to hijack a thread, but shouldn’t we be expecting a RM mailer soon for the ‘16 cabs?

Quivet LPV

Great stuff, but I thought the question was for <$100 recommendations?

Agree with the statements above, but I will add the following. In general, I hold the SVD’s longer and drink the NV’s earlier as most do. With that said the following has been my experience in the last year:

2012 Rivers-Marie NV-Excellent and Wow
2012 Quivet NV, Pellet and Kenefick were all excellent, the Pellet showing best (I am partial to the 2012 vintage)
2013 Becklyn Cab, good but I expected better
2013 Scarlett Cab, checked in on it, but it was way too tight and tannins were as expected. Needs more cellar time.
2014 Quivet NV, ok, but somewhat disappointing

[quote=“Tim Dennis”]I opened my first Rivers Marie Panek this weekend (2014 vintage). I had read others notes saying that it needed a lot of air, so I popped the cork at noon and poured into the decanter. A quick initial sip before any air was very tight, lean, and acidic. Seven hours later I poured my first glass, and consumed over the next 4 hours. This showed a deep/dark ruby color with a purple rim. I got some not too ripe blackberry, cassis, red currant, and spice box. This was medium to light weight for a Napa cab, restrained with nice balance. Lots of higher toned flavors and higher acid, on the opposite end of the spectrum what I typically expect from a big Napa cab. The finish had a palate coating vibrant tanginess with no major oak notes. Over the course of the evening it continued to open up and fill out. A very well-make wine that I was enjoying very much, but wasn’t wowed by it. I had about 1/3 of the bottle left for the second day, where I found it to be less vibrant, softer, and IMHO less interesting. If rating, I’d say 93+. For the price, I was hoping for a bit more.

This bottle represents the top of my price point, and I only purchase half a case of cabs in this range ($65-$100) a year. So, the decision I’m now trying to make is if this wine didn’t wow me, where should go instead? Or was the 2014 not as great a vintage for this wine and I should stick with R-M? I’ve been buying the Becklyn NV which I’ve enjoyed very much and plan to continue to purchase. If you could point me to one more Napa cab in this price range, what would it be?

Some I’m considering:
Quivet Kenefick Ranch (tasted the 2015 and enjoyed it very much, but wonder if it is too big/fruit forward?)
Quivet Pellet
Myriad Three Twins
Scarlett NV
Myriad or Quivet NV (I feel like both of these are somewhat similar to the Becklyn - I’ve bought/tasted the Myriad, but not the Quivet)
others I’m not thinking of???

I think the rest of the Myriad & Quivet SVDs are above $100 now, but please correct me if I’m wrong.[/quote

Tim, you seem pretty locked in on the Mike Smith wines, which is fine, but why not branch out a little bit? Drinkward Peschon, Anderson’s Conn Valley, Keenan, Chappellet signature, Emerson Brown, Robert Craig, Turnbull Reserve, Patria Oakville are all examples less than $100 from different wineries and wine makers that I personally love. Outpost is another TRB wine to try.
]

Thanks for the responses so far. I agree that it might have been too early to open this, but I did it to try to get a feel if I wanted to keep purchasing or not. I don’t think there was anything wrong with it at all after it got enough air, just maybe not what I was expecting.

Jeremy, thanks for the reminder about Jean Edwards. I meant to have that on my list as I tasted there last year and enjoyed the wines a lot.

For around the $50 mark, Venge’s Silencieux is fantastic. Big cab. Not overly complex but always impressed with the flavor profile and pop-and-pour capability (if you enjoy those types of wines). ACV, Chappellet Signature are great suggestions as mentioned above too.

I think the RM Panek is advertised as being on the lighter side. I believe the 3 Twins is right at $100 now. I like and purchase Myriad NV and Quivet Kenefick. Won’t be long until anything NV will be $100+… Chappellet Signature is good juice, but IMO it needs more time. Ramey NV is also an option - it definitely gets better with a few years in the cellar (as does the Kenefick) but I haven’t had one in awhile. Cheers!

Seven hours decant seems like a verrrry long time for a Cal cab.

A 2014 now can probably decant for 2 days.

Seems like you’re kind of dialed in on Mike Smith wines. I would echo the sentiment to branch out a little… Rivers Marie Napa is my go-to wine under $70 but Teeter totter by Benoit Toquette (Realm) and Meli-melo by Philippe Melka are contenders as well. Of the Mike Smith wines out there on the high end of your price range, the Carter fortuna ($95) is pretty special.

Yes, the 7 hrs was not too long for this wine. I checked in on it a few times along the way and it kept opening up and getting better. I’d say it was drinking best 8-10 hours after opening. Although, the additional time back in bottle over night was too much as it was a bit flat the second night.

I forgot to mention that I’ve also had a 2013 Rivers Marie Calistoga about 6 months ago and felt similar. Here was my note:

Deep purple and ruby color. Initially getting some blackberries mixed with bacon fat on the nose, along with violets. Tasting red current, blackberries, and tobacco. This is an elegant, old world style with nice acidity. Definitely leaner than I was expecting and a style that would appeal to those looking for more balance in a Napa cab.

I’m not at all set on a Mike Smith wine, it just seems like those tend to get recommended a lot. Some other cabs I have in my cellar for context: Keenan, Smith Madrone, Jean Edwards, Ridge Estate, Anderson’s Conn Valley, Elyse/Jacob Franklin, Becklyn, Mira, EMH.

Tim, Mike Smith wines do get recommended a lot, certainly here on this board. If that style works for you, there are plenty to choose from as you noted. Venge Silenciaeux, noted above, is similar imo. You mentioned others in your cellar- have you tried them, and which do you really like? Maybe that information would drive some more focused recommendations.

Totally different but at the $60 price point the Ridge estate cab is great if you prefer more classic cabs