2013 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Roberto Corona Vineyard

Coming from a steep hillside vineyard in the western Oakville hills, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Corona Vineyard is a backward, almost first-growth Pauillac style of wine, with notes of lead pencil, licorice, wet stones, cedar wood and fruitcake. Fine-grained tannins are significant, giving the wine considerable grip and earthiness. This is a big, backstrapping, broodingly primordial style of wine that clearly will benefit from 5-7 years of cellaring and keep for three decades or more.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Corona Vineyard has also turned out beautifully, which is indeed saying something, as Corona is a site that does not perform consistently from year to year. Dark cherry jam, graphite, blueberry compote, tobacco and sweet French oak blossom in a powerful, radiant Cabernet endowed with real breadth and volume. I suspect the Corona will drink well earlier than some of the other wines in this range, specifically the Calistoga and Lore Cabernets. This is one of the very best Coronas I can remember tasting at Rivers-Marie.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Corona Vineyard is rich, powerful and explosive in the glass, but not quite as exotic as the 2012. Today the flavors are quite primary, suggesting the 2013 is going to need some time to fully come together. The ripeness and freshness of the vintage are both quite evident in a striking, huge wine loaded with potential. A finish laced with expressive jammy black fruits round out this stylish Cabernet Sauvignon from Rivers-Marie.