In today’s episode of Unexplained Vinous Phenomenon we explore something so completely implausible it has even our lifelong Agents of Wine in a state of disbelief. The deepest of deep state government recesses may never be able to explain this…

A Thomas Rivers Brown Cabernet! That’s just the tip though. From a much-vaunted vineyard that is quite literally adjacent to Screaming Eagle in the heart of Oakville - TENCH. A wine that you rarely see in the wild. And one that has NEVER been attainable for under $100.

This is such a prolific offer that we need to bust out a few bullet points for maximum comprehension:

🍷 This wine is NEVER discounted. Well, almost never. Today you have a shot, but you must use coupon SIXTYSIX to get $66 OFF. Even that puts our lives on the line.

🍷 Every Riverain vintage since 2015 scored 95-99 points with Jeb Dunnuck, who says “I love Tench Vineyard from this estate, which has Thomas Rivers Brown making the wines.”

🍷 Only a choice few others make wine from this Screaming Eagle adjacent vineyard: Bevan, Addax, Alpha Omega, Fairchild, Tench Estate.

🍷 Those all sell for $165-$250+.

At a Cab-heavy lineup recently this was the clear, no-contest, head and shoulders standout. The terroir effect here is certainly evident, as The Wine Independent states, “Located off the Silverado Trail, near Oakville Cross Road, and below Dalle Valle and Tench VIneyards, hundreds of unsuspecting drivers pass the unposted Screaming Eagle Vineyard each day.”

And the first bottle to be drained, minutes after. Perhaps in record time. I’m not certain, but I think days later I can still taste the finish - that or it’s just ingrained in my mind forever. Like Jordan or Tyson in their prime, nothing came close to it. And there were plenty of good options on the table…

Riverain is a younger project, started in 2011 by a few friends who had the money and connections to make such a profound launch a reality. Steve Nordhoff and Dean Gray partnered up, along with Dean’s wife Laurie. Their son Scott works on the winemaking side and leveraged his experience working under Thomas Rivers Brown at Outpost and Mending Wall to bring him on board the project.

They started with just two wines, the Tench Cab being the flagship. To this day production remains tiny, with under 1,000 cases made. As mentioned above, every vintage of this very wine earns a hefty 95-99 points. While this baby ‘22 has not been scored yet, it’s destined for the upper end of that spectrum.

Ink black fruit forms the core, with deep black plum and black currant at the center. A deep orbit of tilled earth, iron ore, walnuts, black olive, and savory herbs extend outward from there. The balance of every element is off the meter, and while it’s a big, brawny wine, it never seems unwieldy or overblown in any sense. It’s so ludicrously good, that we struggled against the urge to squirrel away every last bottle for ourselves.

There’s a chance you could put this up against the Eagle in a blinder and see who’ll take the crown. It’s really that good. Just spectacular stuff, and no amount of superlatives will fully capture how good it is.

With that said, there’s an almost 100% guarantee it sells out, because we could only secure the bare minimum to justify a full offer. Don’t hesitate to claim yours before it’s gone. And remember, use coupon code SIXTYSIX to get $66 off the price, dropping it to just $99! Just don’t tell anyone.