Wine

Item Description

Triple Score from Rivers-Marie

--One 750 ml 2018 Summa Old Vines Pinot
--One 750 ml 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Panek Vineyard
--One 750 ml 2018 B. Thieriot Chardonnay
--One StellaReese Collections leather wine tote

For over two decades, winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has made an indelible impact on California wine. He has been named Food and Wine’s Winemaker of the Year, and has garnered more 100-point awards for his wines than any other winemaker.

The guiding principle behind the Rivers-Marie family of wines -- his own project with his partner Genevieve Marie Welsh -- is that they are single variety wines made to reflect the vineyard and vintage, and that a wine’s success is directly tied to the quality of the vineyards they come from. Here are three examples from the Rivers-Marie portfolio featuring some of the best fruit from the best vineyards that Napa and Sonoma have to offer.

2018 Summa Old Vines Pinot Noir is one of those wines that drinks well now, 5 years from now and 10 years from now. The characteristics of the wine are red/orange fruit, cut hay, pine needles, purple flowers, crushed rock, and wet earth. It has a lingering inner mouth perfume that pulls out more floral notes and a pure red fruit profile. There’s the usual weightiness without heaviness at the finish, complemented by the natural acidity of the site. Summa Old Vines is now in its 40th year, and Thomas expects even more mouthwatering power that only vine age can provide.

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, Panek Vineyard’s early ripening nature was a blessing in 2017. In this vintage there’s good red/black/blue fruit sweetness, a nice caramelized brown sugar component, wet stones, violets, and smoke.  This has a little bit of an old school feel with some savory notes of sage, liquid minerals and roasted meats. You’ll like the completeness and drinkability of this wine, which shines in light of the challenging year.

2018 B. Thieriot Chardonnay comes from a special site right across the street from Summa. Planted in 1990, Thomas has begun to see “old vines” qualities come out in this wine as this vineyard has weathered the droughts, deluges, and heat of the last several years. The Thieriot has a crushed rock minerality and its proximity to the coast provides saline and oyster shell notes that are more aligned with grand cru Chablis than California Chardonnay.  This special site has been the cornerstone of the Rivers-Marie Chardonnay program now for over 10 years.

And, you’ll have the perfect way to tote your cabs, chards and burgs to a restaurant or dinner party. The leather, 3-bottle insulated tote bag from StellaReese Collections has an interior for keeping everything temperature controlled. With such a stylish bag, you'll come up with many uses for it.

Item Special Note

Collection of California Sales Tax: Unless a valid resale permit is presented to seller prior to the sale, purchaser will be required to pay all state and local retail sales taxes applicable on the date of sale. Resale permits will be accepted only for businesses that are reasonably expected to buy and sell wine. Sales tax will be collected on the purchase price of each lot which contains tangible goods.

Shipping or Pick up of Wines: Shipping costs are the sole responsibility of the winner.

Non-Napa County winners must arrange for their wines to be shipped from The Packaging Company, beginning Friday, March 6, 2020. If you're the lucky winner, we'll call or email you with directions for making this happen.

Napa County winners of auction lots containing wine may pick up their wines at the St. Helena office of the UpValley Family Centers beginning Friday, March 6, 2020. If you are the lucky winner, we'll call or email you with directions and details.