2009 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (2/2/2019)
90 minute decant followed for 4 hours. Decant necessary to avoid sediment and it needed air. This wine is currently a bit subdued, which is of course unusual for a Thomas Rivers Brown wine. I was looking for Howell Mountain spice, but there wasn’t any. Duh! The vineyard is on the valley floor east of St. Helena Highway. Integrated assorted red fruit palate. I can’t point to a particular fruit flavor. It’s not like “Oh, this is grenache raspberry.” A balanced integrated whole. Extremely smooth with no hint of oak. The tanins are softening but no sweetness. There is also an acidic citrusy component to this wine at first approach.
I think this wine needs another five years or more before it peaks. It is ascendant and reaching the first level of maturity in that it has lost its baby fat and roughness, but still to blossom into what is still a bit hidden. (94 pts.)
Your review seems a generous one, Jay,
I hope you are right; I’m beginning to wonder about some of these wines TBR releases under his own labels. The ones that I have recently had have not been, well…especially, special–sort of as you seem to be describing this one.
Joshua, just curious but which wines in particular? I’ve had quite a few R-M cabs, started buying with the 2007 vintage.
I will say that the 2009s and 2010s haven’t been my faves, they’ve always seemed more monolithic vs. 2007-2008 (just one Cab tho) and 2011-2015. I’ve always chalked that up to the 2009s/2010s needing cellar time to soften but I could also see how one might think they’ll never really develop much in the way of complexity.
Thanks, Alex,
For your helpful (and hopeful) post; the ones I am thinking of are a bit younger than Jay’s: '12 Panek and a '13 Mending Wall. But maybe these both needed still more time? Nevertheless, I did find them a little muted, and a touch disjointed, and I am not someone by any means whose looking for for bigness in cabs per se.
Muted, yes. Disjointed, no. They are not head bangers. I have the RM Cabs back to 2003. TRB responded to me in about 2007 when I asked about when I should decant a 2003 something like “NOW, you can’t give that wine too much air.” I believe that the “style” has gradually morphed into a less “in your face” approach. The morphing started with the 2008 vintage, give or take a year.
Just another data point on the '09s, this time the Napa cab…I opened one last night and found it was excellent with about 30 min. of air. That was my third bottle in the last year or so, and all were showing well. I don’t have any of the '09 Panek, but do have an '09 Corona that I’m hoping to open in the next few months if CT notes show it’s performing well.
I had the 08 Napa over the weekend. It was my 7th or 8th time having it. It was enjoyable but not particularly complex. Tannins were resolved, there was a nice lift from good acidity and a strong currant fruit flavor profile. While it was not profound, I thought it was a good bottle of wine.
I figured I’d resurface this older thread as I just finished the last glass of the 2009 Panek tonight, and man did I dig it.
I popped the cork last night, drank half of it with dinner and left the second half in the cellar for tonight which really let things unfurl nicely.
Jay - I keyed in on the same red-fruit components you noted, along with the citrusy-acidity that kept the whole palate fresh and vibrant. The tannins are certainly softened, yielding a nice plush mouthfeel that, again, is kept fresh by that acidic streak. There’s some savory tobacco elements in the background, too, but I kept honing in on the red fruit spectrum and the delicious acids that kept that finish rolling in the back of the mouth. Super enjoyable.