Obviously TRB has been around for a while - I have been drinking Schrader only since the 2007 Vintage and really only in the last year did I decide to try expand my knowledge of his wines. He consults on so many wineries now, but these four stand out at least a bit for me. Foremost, Schrader and Outpost have been wines he has consulted on since their beginnings - 1998 (roughly?), his eponymous Rivers-Marie is from 2002, and Riverain is a relatively late comer at 2010. I am not sure when he started making Cabs at Rivers-Marie but not withstanding his expertise at CS, I have been led to believe his first love is really PN, and I have had his RM versions and they are quite good examples of New World Pinot. In hindsight, I probably should have thrown in a Maybach in this tasting where he has consulted from the beginning in 2004.
And for those that eschew opulent Cabernets, then you probably can stop reading now - all these wines are relatively bold but not quite the fruit bombs that I associate with some other wine makers - I wonât call anyone out, but for those who have had a lot of Cali Cabs over the years, I think we have all been there. On the other hand, these wines as a whole donât remind me of Bordeaux at all - and the alcohol levels for these four wines are at 14.8% to 15.4% vs Modern Bordeaux where 14% is high for a left bank although 14.5% is pretty common for a Right Bank wine. Not withstanding that, none of these wines tasted hot - they are big but in balance and so the alcohol didnât stand out on any of them.
But fundamentally, the essential feature of TRB wines for me is the tannin management. They always just seem to have a great finish and Schrader especially so for the best wines. To quote the late Jim Laube, they aim âto avoid overly aggressive or heavy-handed wines, instead preferring plush-textured charmers. Itâs a popular style aimed at offering immediate pleasure and not expecting consumers to cellar a wine for a decade and hope the tannins ease.â
I would concur with this assessment. I did have a 2013 Schrader recently that seemed like it could use a bit more time in the bottle, but in large part these wines drink pretty well a few years after release and hold easily for a decade (at least for Schrader where I have had a decent amount over the years.)
As usual, I donât tend to write detailed tasting notes - I mean they all taste the same to me regarding black fruits, cassis, some mocha, dark chocolate, yaddy yahâŚObviously, there is some nuance - and I didnât pick up any heavy oak notes on any of these wines (coconut, vanilla extract, etc. - although I am pretty certain none of these wines use American Oak.) This tasting was blind and the most experienced palate at the table (he manages the restaurant where we were eating and owns one of the best wine stores in town) tasted along. I did give him a taste of all the wines unblinded and then had him come back an hour later to guess. I had tasted the wines about 3 hours before - all double decanted.
In broad strokes - all the wines shared the TRB finish although none of them were quite at the heights of some of my favorite wines where there is just no tannin harshness whatsoever, yet there is a lingering astringency that lasts for over a minute. I will blame it partially on the vintage (3 of the wines were '22 and the other a '23). I do think they all could use a few more years in the bottle.
Outpost True Vineyard Howell Mountain 2022: When I first popped this I felt it kind of exploded out of the glass - what you might expect from a Howell Mountain fruit wine. Whatâs interesting is after a few hours this had settle down and probably ended up being the least favorite of the night.
Schrader Wappo Hill 2022: For those who have been drinking Schrader for a long time this is a relatively new addition since 2019. You may also be familiar with Realm Moonracer (a tribute to the Wappo Tribes - Scott Becker can probably give more details!) which sources from the same area. This wine had a good balance but the finish was just a bit sour - it honestly did not stand out among this group and given the higher price point was relatively a disappointment. Still a fine wine in all regards but a 2019 of the same wine I gave much higher accolades earlier this year. Could be vintage or maybe just a bit more time in the bottle would round this wine out.
Rivers Marie CS M-Bar Ranch 2022: This was the most fruit forward of the wines - perhaps just so slightly out of balance but nonetheless, the best wine for me of the four. Great all around, nose, mid palate, finish, tannin management. Four out of Seven votes for WOTN. AFAIK - this is sourced from the Round Pond estate - an estate that TRB has worked with for close to 2 decades.
Riverain CS Tench Vineyard 2023: From southeastern Oakville bordering Stags Leap District. This competed as the best WOTN - Perhaps the most round and balanced of the lot - the fruit was close to the RM but not as forward. The tannins were a bit more grippy but ripe and maybe seemed most characteristic of a TRB wine. 3 out of 7 votes for WOTN.
What was left of the bottles I retested completely blind the following night. (black glasses and a lazy-susan.) Honestly, the wines had changed a bit but still there were more similarities than differences - I really struggled to pick out the wines - the first night I got 2 out of 4 correctly identifying the Schrader and the Riverain. On the lazy Susan, I went round and round and I think I picked the Schrader out correctly maybe twice out of the four times. Between palate fatigue and just being stupidâŚ
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