“These rich, powerhouse wines are made by Thomas Rivers Brown. They don’t come cheap, but they’re brilliant wines across the board.” – Jeb Dunnuck

Jeb, my man - you are SO right. $175 is A LOT of dough. Let’s take some meat off that bone, shall we? $100 off should help put this within reach of us mortals.

Fred Schrader and TRB are famous for pedal-to-the-metal Napa Cabernet. But they also team up on a few other side quests. One being Boar’s View. And here they turn loose similarly styled, big, beefy Pinots from a site overlooking the Marcassin Vineyard.

Wine Spectator has full scoop: “Fred and Carol Schrader’s new label could easily have been called Boars’ View of Marcassin, because that’s the story behind its name. The Schraders’ Boars’ View looks out at Marcassin (which is French for young wild boar), the adjacent vineyard and winery owned by Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer in the Fort Ross-Seaview appellation of Sonoma Coast. It’s in a remote, tree-shrouded area, a few miles inland from the Pacific, but clearly warm enough to fully ripen grapes… Fred Schrader, who considers Helen Turley among California’s most influential winemakers, observed the development of Marcassin and purchased the property next to them before planting it five years ago.”

Echoed by Jeb Dunnuck “Founded in 2007, the estate was planted by Ulises Valdez with the help of Thomas Rivers Brown, in the same geological bowl as Marcassin in Fort Ross-Seaview. The wine style is a significant departure from the supple and elegant wines of Rivers Marie in that they are modeled after the aesthetic of Schrader’s style of Cabernet. These are brawny wines with a more obvious stamp of oak influence and opulence, and are reflective of their more mountainous, coastal terrain.

Fred Schrader knows what Thomas Rivers Brown is capable of: Wine Spectator, “His biggest asset is that he’s amazingly intuitive. He has a sixth sense about the vineyard, when to pick, and when to drop fruit. He has ‘Helenesque’ attention to details.”

A stunning and heavy package aside, this dark plum to bright garnet in colored beauty boasts elegant floral and spice tones. It’s reminiscent of Vosne-Romanée’s raspberries, forest floor, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, broad, fleshy, complex, and provocative, this is truly a Grand Cru-styled Pinot Noir to drink now and will continue to provide immense pleasure for at least another decade. A transcendental showstopper…

While it lasts.

94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “Superb, the 2019 Pinot Noir The Coast reveals a deeper purple, almost opaque color to go with a powerful bouquet of mulled black cherries, roasted herbs, forest floor, and leafy herbs. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it brings plenty of density and depth, it has a wonderful sense of freshness and purity as well as a lengthy finish. Another beautiful wine from this team, it will benefit from short-term bottle age and drink well for a solid 8-10 years. Drink 2022-2032.”