Rivers-Marie Silver Eagle Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, USA 2021
The introduction to this site kicked off our relationship with the amazing Valdez family. We’ve moved around a bit in this vineyard over the years but the meticulous farming has always remained a constant here. Early to harvest, this is usually the most forward wine in the single vineyard lineup. Black fruited and juicy by nature, a little whole cluster addition starting in 2012 has given this wine more texture and completeness in recent years.
Silver Eagle was the only site for us that came in light in 2021 at just under 2 tons per acre. It is one of our earlier vineyards so there’s a chance it flowered in a period of erratic weather at the very beginning of the bloom cycle. We knew it was light from first glimpse seeing nice, open clusters and small berries. What this also meant in a warmer, drier harvest was an earlier than normal pick. All three of our blocks at Silver Eagle came in on August 30th, a full 10 days before we picked anything else. The wine is incredibly concentrated, not unusual for this vineyard, but there’s a fruit purity that stands out making this instantly recognizable as Silver Eagle. The spectrum runs from deep red to purple fruits with elements of plum, sweet black cherry, pomegranates and black raspberries. We went a little higher on the whole cluster percentage in 2021 to help balance the concentration and add some mid-palate texture and aromatic pop. Even at 20% though, it’s hardly noticeable through all the palate weight. Somewhere deep down I’m sure there’s impact. The wine’s trajectory stays very focused and the mid-palate has a savory, textural component that adds smoke, graphite, mint, orange peel, lavender and spice to the framing tannins on the finish.