Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
92
/100
Reviews
14
professional
Vintages
1
2014
Other
92/100
Syrah
NV
Community Reviews
2424
Reviews
92.1
Avg Score
94
Highest
Taster #3905
· Jun 10, 2025
From my late father’s cellar, he picked up several vintages of the Riverain Syrah, and sadly/happily (depending on how you look at it) left almost all the bottles to me. It had been seven years since I last opened a 2014. I expected the wine to be further along in maturity, but it was still quite fruity. Some earthy/meaty stuff was in the background, and the wine was not as exuberant as several years ago, but still seems like there’s …
2014 vintage
Taster #8507
· Apr 12, 2025
93/100
Short decant. Just lovely balance of black fruits and savoriness. Sadly this is my last bottle of the 2014. It’s maybe a smidge behind the 2012 (which is a really special wine IMO), but still so, so good.
2014 vintage
Taster #5026
· Dec 7, 2022
Enjoyed these on PnP. Classic syrah- meaty and fruity.
2014 vintage
Taster #5496
· Nov 22, 2022
93/100
PnP. Still weighty with vibrant purple fruit and spice. Plently of life left -- I expect this to continue to improve.
2014 vintage
Taster #8507
· Jun 20, 2021
92/100
Decanted 2 hrs before drinking. Glad I did as there was a lot of sediment. Dark, almost impenetrable purple in color. Dark blue fruits, a bit of a floral note on the nose. Wine was dense but open at the same time—concentrated blue fruit flavors but good acidity lifts everything and keeps it from being too heavy. Loooong finish. As others have noted, this may not be as savory as some other vintages, but the balance is there and this …
2014 vintage
Taster #3846
· May 9, 2021
91/100
Deep opaque purple. Drank over several hours and noticeably improved with airtime so recommend a 1 to 2 hour decant. Nose and taste is smoke, ash and pepper dominated with mostly dark ripe plum and tart blackberries. Some initial jerky flavors (not my thing but know others enjoy) faded over time. High acidity. Long finish and full bodied. About 91-92.
2014 vintage
Taster #0217
· Feb 9, 2021
91/100
Full body with lots of fruit but not so over the top as to mask the other flavors
2014 vintage
Taster #6134
· Jan 20, 2021
91/100
Nose: There is nothing bashful about the nose, but it has also settled in at this point with black cherries, blackberries, liqueur tones, licorice, vanilla beans, violets, cocoa powder, charcoal, and black pepper notes. Taste: The feel is Full bodied with medium acidity and chewy, medium+ tannins. There is a sneakiness to the tannins with the alcohol showing a slight bit, but the feel has really smoothed out with plush tones of black cherries, blackberries, liqueur, cocoa powder, violets, charcoal, …
2014 vintage
Taster #5026
· Sep 22, 2019
Just fantastic Syrah! Full-bodied, not for the AFWE. PnP,.
2014 vintage
Taster #9858
· Mar 18, 2019
92/100
Big blueberry jam on the nose along with a hint of charcoal and rubber(pleasant). Low acidity. Lots of dark fruit and balance. The tannins grip you at the end and hang on for a good finish. At this point, it definitely needs a few hours in a decanter to open up. It should drink well for a few years.
2014 vintage
Taster #7501
· Dec 15, 2018
Marguet and Marie-Courtin, plus a little Savart and some Still Reds, Too (My House In The South OC) : Opened yesterday, and funny enough, was tasted alongside the 2012, which we had not planned. The 2012 this AM seems to be gone, so someone took the remnants with them and this 2014 seems to have been barely touched. We simply had too much red at the end of the night and I think many people got their palates tapped out. …
2014 vintage
Taster #4566
· Sep 29, 2018
94/100
Riverain (Oakville) : A very nice example of what can be accomplished out of Bennett Valley with this varietal. Blackberry and charcoal notes, with added flavors of meaty black olive and creosote. I appreciated the overall profile here; a domestic Syrah no doubt, but with some earthy characteristics that provided complexity and injected some old world into this otherwise modern representation. A chewy frame served to elevate the textural experience of this wine as well. Dark and primarily black fruited, …
2014 vintage
Taster #1922
· Jun 26, 2018
94/100
Leather, black olive, meat and blackberry. Delicious!
2014 vintage
Taster #1001
· Jun 17, 2018
90/100
Slow ox for 1 hr. Fruit forward. Enjoyed with burgers
2014 vintage
Taster #7501
· Apr 7, 2018
As could be expected, this has settled down in the past 2 years, as I last drank one in 2016 and found it bigger styled. There is color here, very dark. There is plenty of fruit and good structure remaining. I didn't take notes and the group I was with polished this off fairly fast but my synopsis is that the wine is coming together nicely. This won't get mistaken for old world syrah but what it does very well …
2014 vintage
Taster #3905
· Apr 1, 2018
Now that’s a horse of a different color! Deep purple that is one shade from black, I expected something mouth coating, and also alcoholic. What I got was impeccably balanced, fruity, herbal and meaty. In other words I got textbook Syrah. It was quite irresistible, from my first sip as I was cooking in the afternoon, to my last sip after dinner.
2014 vintage
Taster #7017
· Sep 17, 2017
91/100
Pop and pour and tasted out of Govino cups on a boat. Dark, deep purple color. Bright floral nose with dark cherries. Rich and round in the mouth with black raspberries, violet and lavender mixed in. Has sufficient acidity to give it lift. Flavors continue to unfurl with each sip. Enjoyable.
2014 vintage
Taster #1978
· Aug 19, 2017
93/100
Wow, this was above my expectations. Drank over two nights and it was slightly better on day 2. Deep purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, some black pepper, slightly gamey/roasted meats. It drinks middle of the road and riper than I expected for this vineyard. Nice texture; sinewy with a just a bit of meat on the bones. Good acidity. On the palate, nice black raspberry fruit. Firm tannins. Long finish. This should continue to improve for 5 …
2014 vintage
Taster #6389
· Aug 19, 2017
92/100
A burly and muscular wine that will need some more age to soften; The palate is very dense and concentrated, with pepper-infused dark fruits, roasted meats and some faint herbal tones; Not for the faint of heart, but this is a very solidly made wine that should improve with a few more years of age
2014 vintage
Taster #1922
· Apr 3, 2017
92/100
14.6% abv. Very dark ruby, expressive aromatics. On the palate, intense blue-black fruit, black olive, black pepper with floral overtones. Very deep and long with noticeable tannic structure. Excellent now with the potential for considerable improvement.
2014 vintage
Taster #5505
· Apr 3, 2017
Frank brought this all the way from California. This was young for sure, purple fruit, plush, saline, and a hint of black olive. We were laughing about how it wasn't fair to this wine to drink it with the 1989 Chave.
2014 vintage
Taster #2762
· Mar 18, 2017
This was seamless and balanced from the chute. The fruit was intense, dark and plush. Secondary earth and mineral notes gave it character and depth. I would have loved to try this blind in a line up of Alban and SQN offerings as I bet it would have been difficult to distinguish from the others. It's that good and should only get better.
2014 vintage
Taster #2659
· Feb 20, 2017
Falltacular 2016; 2/18/2017-2/20/2017 (FMIII in the OC) : Hang on kids, this is a full throttled Syrah like northern Rhone. Very concentrated and extremely aggressive tannins, it's a beautifully structured wine with black fruit and herbs but it needs a few more years before even thinking about opening it.
2014 vintage
Taster #7501
· Jun 22, 2016
First bottle I have tried, looks to also be the first one tasted in the CT community, too. Opened this last night, powered through about 1/2 of it. Remainder was left for tonight, to craft up a note with the day of air (simply left under open cork). Serving tonight with ideal temp and stem. So, to the color--dark, I'd say one shade from being totally opaque. Aromatic is flush with dark red and black fruit, potpourri, pepper. The palate, …
2014 vintage