LAST CALL!!

Here’s the final small pile of Tench Cabernet by Riverain. You really don’t want to miss this last chance to secure a total SHOWSTOPPER. It can compete with and probably take down many of the best, most exclusive, and most expensive cult cabs from Napa.

The 2021 was rated 98 points by Jeb Dunnuck, who knows how high he’ll go when he finally gets to this one, and who cares really, as it will be long gone by the time someone gives it a near perfect score.

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:

🍷 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 neighbor: Bevan, Addax, Alpha Omega, Fairchild, and Tench Estate itself.

🍷 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, when this batch is gone, so is all that remains of the 2022 vintage.