TN: 2014 Riverain Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley

WINE TALK
1

2014 Riverain Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley (4/1/2018)
Now that’s a horse of a different color! Deep purple that is one shade from black, I expected something mouth coating, and also alcoholic. What I got was impeccably balanced, fruity, herbal and meaty. In other words I got textbook Syrah. It was quite irresistible, from my first sip as I was cooking in the afternoon, to my last sip after dinner.

Posted from CellarTracker

2

Very nice indeed!

3

Sounds like the first bottle I had from 2012. Sadly never experienced the same again. Happy to hear you enjoyed it.

4

Not had a Riverain Syrah before, David, but the BennettVlly is a very good/cold-climate area
for growing Syrah and it looks like this one fit that mold.
Tom

5

Tom, You should have followed us from the beginning champagne.gif

Thanks for the nice note David, I love that wine.

6

I have the 2015 on deck for next week. Looking forward to it.

7

Opened a 2015 this weekend. Very well made bottle of wine. More modern in style. Rich. Perfumed. Great mouth feel with long finish. Kicking myself for not buying more during berserkerfest.

8

I drank a 2014 a few nights ago, as part of a dinner I put on for some work leaders. I brought the wine and it was emptied quickly by the red wine drinkers we had at the table. it showed dark, flush with fruit, for sure not a fragile style of syrah, but we know that about Steve’s syrahs and how Thomas is making them. Not was boozy nor out of proportion with all the parts that made up the wine in the glass–just inky and intense. David’s note is good assessment, and I would simply underscore his remarks with my additional comments here.

9
  • 2014 Riverain Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley (6/10/2025)
    From my late father’s cellar, he picked up several vintages of the Riverain Syrah, and sadly/happily (depending on how you look at it) left almost all the bottles to me.

    It had been seven years since I last opened a 2014. I expected the wine to be further along in maturity, but it was still quite fruity. Some earthy/meaty stuff was in the background, and the wine was not as exuberant as several years ago, but still seems like there’s a ton of runway. Black fruit, a little bit of herb, and again just the barest bit of roasted meat. The structure is there, but well integrated. I’ll hold the last bottle for a while, as I prefer a more developed and savory expression of Syrah, and this seems to have good potential to get there.