Paul Lin

Paul's interest in wine extends beyond simple appreciation and enjoyment.  As an academic, he's never without his notepad and pen, and he loves to analyze a wine the way a scholar might pore over a fine piece of literature.  After being bitten by the wine bug during graduate school, Paul embarked on his wine journey out of a sense of intellectual curiosity and romantic self-indulgence.  Recently, he has turned his sights from simply drinking and writing about wine to actually making the stuff.  In 2007, under the label Terra Novus, Paul produced his first barrel of Pinot Noir from grapes from the Sonoma Coast. 

Eric Anderson

Eric first became interested in wine in 1983, after sampling the 1982 Bordeaux vintage. It was a watershed event, and he immediately began to accumulate a library of wine books, and spent the next several years attending as many wine tastings and seminars as possible. Since 1990, Eric has chronicled over 600 visits to wineries, both in the U.S. and Europe. Aside from simply enjoying the beverage, he found his interactions with winemakers and proprietors has further enriched his life, and continued to nourish his interest in wine. Eric is also part of GrapeRadio, the James Beard nominated podcast series.

Everyone would probably agree that wine tasting is a subjective matter - maybe even highly subjective. One person's "stunner" might be another person's "blah." Yet, there are also occasions when there is a meeting of the mind as to what is in the glass. We've always wondered just how much and how often tasters will differ in their opinions of the same wine. With that in mind, we felt it would be downright interesting, if not instructional, to have two tasters sample the same wines and write tasting notes on each - for side-by-side comparison.

Overall impressions: the Rivers-Marie lineup offered an interesting opportunity to taste through as many as seven different vintages of the same bottlings.

Our two tasters agreed, relatively speaking, on several of the wines poured at this tasting. Yet, they obviously had differing opinions about some of the other wines - some quite notable. In fact, when reading the notes, you might even wonder if they were tasting the same wine. So, who's right? Well, if you learn one thing from this episode, there is no right or wrong - just differences. There are differences in how we each perceive aromas and flavors, differences in how we think one thing compares to another, and so on. There are also external forces at work at most tastings. For instance, the fact that this was also a dinner tasting with food components could have easily swayed one into a positive or not-so-positive opinion about a given wine. So, let's take a look at the same wines from 'both sides now.'

Flight #1 - Whites
Assorted Hors d'oeuvres
Spicy Ahi Spring Rolls
Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Flight #1 - Whites
Assorted Hors d'oeuvres
Spicy Ahi Spring Rolls
Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

2005 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Mount Carmel - Santa Rita Hills
15.4% alcohol. Plenty of citrus (lemon, lime) and tropical (pineapple, kiwi) influences here - in both nose and mouth. Not shy on oak, with a beautiful smoky quality. Nice juicy finish - if a bit short.

2002 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
44 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.4% alcohol. Compared to the regular Summa, the super silky Old Vine Summa makes the former wear like a cotton shirt. Predictably deeper and richer and my WOTN, in part I think because it is drinking so well right now (whereas the others need more time to come together and/or mellow out). Enchanting aromas of dried cranberries, black cherries, pomegranate, and just a hint of sweet tobacco followed by gorgeous mouth-filling strawberry and cranberry fruit. The oak is perfectly integrated and gives the wine a complexity that is hard to describe. All I can say is that it's there without being there. Finishes with a nice kick of acidity that prepares the palate for food and keeps you returning for more. Delicious. (93 pts.)

2002 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
44 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.4% alcohol. Sappy and sinewy in the nose, there is an obvious sense of "old vine" spice here. Beautiful mouthfeel and flavors, with wild strawberry, cherry, and hints of citrus. Vibrant long finish.

2003 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - Sonoma Coast
101 cases produced. 50% new French oak. 13.3% alcohol. This bottle may have been slightly off because it seem rather herbal on the nose and thin on the palate. Beneath the herbal notes, however, I did detect some notes of wild strawberries, sous bois, and wood smoke. The midpalate seemed a bit hollow, although it finishes rather well. 86-87 points. (86 pts.)

2003 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - Sonoma Coast
101 cases produced. 50% new French oak. 13.3% alcohol. There was an odd vinyl aroma in the background, but the citrus and fruit come through nicely on the palate and long finish.

2003 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
44 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 13.8% alcohol. This Old Vine Summa showed a darker fruit profile than the 2002: aromas of plum, boysenberry, and dark cherry fruit with shadings of caramel and sweet vanillin oak. Nice texture and structure. Richer and more opulent than the 2002. Finishes with a juicy burst of red fruit. Delicious and just a hair behind the 2002 OV. 92-93 points. (92 pts.)

2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast - Sonoma Coast
180 cases produced. 50% new French oak. 14.2% alcohol. Deep notes of dark cherry, wet earth, spice box, and sweet tobacco on the nose, which continue on to the palate with an added layer of black raspberry and minerals. Nice structure. Slight touch of citrus on the finish. 91-92 points. (91 pts.)

2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - Sonoma Coast
130 cases produced. 75% new French oak. 14.1% alcohol. This wine was surprisingly similar to the previous wine, although what did distringuish it from the SC pinot was a certain purity and intensity of fruit, one that will hopefully develop additional layers with more time in the cellar. As of this tasting, the SC just seemed a bit more open and ready to drink. Dark cherry, wet soil, and wet leaves on the nose. On the palate, black raspberries, blackberries, and forest floor. 90-91 points. (91 pts.)

2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
60 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.2% alcohol. This wine was extremely dense and concentrated, almost to the point of being monolithic. But age should loosen it up a bit, and when it does, it will be a beauty, perhaps at a level surpassing the 2002 Old Vine. Intense aromas of dark cherry, wet loamy soil, and cola. The palate delivers more dark cherry, some ripe plum, and good heaping of wet earth. Finishes with cranberry and pomegranate fruit. The intensity of fruit is quite remarkable. I hope to be able to try this again in 5 years because it has a lot going for it. 92+ points. (92 pts.)

2004 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
60 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.2% alcohol. Ripe nose, with and interesting asphalt/licorice hint - almost, dare I say, Syrah-like scent. None of these traits seem to be noticeable in the mouthfeel, where the fruit and citrus work together in beautiful balance.

2005 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Occidental Ridge Sonoma Coast -
140 cases produced. 67% new French oak. 14.2% alcohol. This wine is wide open for business and tasting really great. Aromas of ripe strawberries, raspberries, and spice. A burst of juicy red fruits on the palate coupled with bright acidity. A charming wine with a lot of youthful appeal. Perhaps a bit simpler than the Summa wines, but why knock simple when it brings such instant gratification? (92 pts.)

2005 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Summa Vineyard - Sonoma Coast
45 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 13.7% alcohol. This wine seemed rather closed as it was not giving up much. Perhaps it was not decanted enough, which may indeed be the case. But as it was, it was a rather hard pinot to drink. Dark, almost cabernet-like aromas of currant, plum, and peppercorns. The palate mirrors the nose. Kind of unyielding and tough and, ultimately, one of my least favorite pinots of the evening. (86 pts.)

2005 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
54 bottles produced. 1 new quarter barrel. 14.1% alcohol. What a treat to sample this rare bottle of wine! At the same time, what a shame that it was opened so young as it clearly needs about 5 more years in the cellar. Interestingly, however, it was more open than the regular Summa. Exotic and profound layers of black cherry, kirsch, wet soil, stone, pine, sour cherry, and cranberry. Finishes with an interesting tartness (lime?). There is huge potential to this wine. I just wish that I will be fortunate enough to taste another another of this ever dwindling supply. 92-93 points. (92 pts.)

2005 Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir Old Vine Summa - Sonoma Coast
54 bottles produced. 1 new quarter barrel. 14.1% alcohol. Obviously, at 54 bottles, this was a wine that very few of us were offered to buy (duh!). So, it was with "god, I hope I don't like this" enthusiasm we all sat waiting patiently for our pour of this wine. Effusive, perfumy, nice sap and loam notes, with lovely brown spices. Ab Fab nose! As lovely and almost femine as the nose was, the mouth was a whole 'nother beast. Huge and chewy, with a mouthwatering balance of acid and fruit, impeccible balance and finish. Well, as we used to say in the hot rod world, this completely blows the doors off the rest of the competition.

2003 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
50 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.9% alcohol. This wine sort of got eclipsed by the wines of the previous flight, which I felt were a little more interesting than this one. While still very young and tight, I did get dense notes of currant, blackberries, molasses, and crushed rocks. Not a bad wine, but I ended up abandoning it for more of the Old Vine Summa. (89 pts.)

2003 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
50 cases produced. 100% new French oak. 14.9% alcohol. Not a easy task - seguing from Cab from Pinot. But, this was a very nice Cab, and although I longed to dance once more with the '05 OV Summa, that ship had sailed, and it was time to look at other things. Dark dusty currant, with light notes of toast and vanilla. Very nice concentration and fine-grained tannins in mouthfeel, excellent balance and finish. No milkshake here, this is honest to goodness Cab, the way Cab ought to to smell and taste.

2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Sadly, our bottle was corked.

2003 Château Suduiraut - Sauternes
Thick and unctuous and bit flabby for me. Needs more decanting.

2003 Château Climens - Barsac
Similar to above, but a little more honeyed, these two just seem to be too young to escape that clunkiness.