2014 Stone the Crows Fallen Feather Cabernet Sauvignon Three Twins Vineyard Napa Valley 750 ml

Vines Planted by Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve Crew

In the pantheon of successful American winemakers, no one can hold a candle to Thomas Rivers Brown. The Wall Street Journal’s Jay McInerney has called him, “the most successful winemaker in California.” With at least 25 100-point scores, including the only California Cabernet Wine Spectator ever gave a perfect rating, it’s hard to argue with that assessment. While you might know of, or have enjoyed some of his wines—Round Pond, Outpost, Schrader, Mending Wall, or his own Rivers-Marie label, I’m beyond thrilled to introduce one I’m certain is not on your radar: the 2014 Stone the Crows “Fallen Feather” Cabernet Sauvignon. This tiny-production red is mesmerizing, boasting a glass-staining purple color, full-body, blue-and-black-fruit core, powerful tannins, savory spice and a mineral edge. It hails from a world-class Napa site in Conn Valley called Three Twins Vineyard, which was planted by Bill Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve vineyard crew. $85 on release, the last 35 cases in the world are up for grabs at $79 per bottle. Truly special.

Two weeks ago I met Thomas Rivers Brown at Mending Wall, a state-of-the-art facility designed by Thomas himself, situated just off the Silverado Trail north of St. Helena. After ogling over a set of French oak barrels aging the next releases from Stone the Crows, we grabbed glasses and cordoned off a private tasting room.

Everything Rivers Brown knows about winemaking he learned on the job. In the late 1990s, he met Ehren Jordan while working at All Seasons, a wine shop in Calistoga. Jordan was looking for an assistant to join him at Turley. “The day I got the call from Ehren, it was a big deal. I was so happy for the privilege,” Rivers Brown told me.  

Today, some 20 years after taking that job, Rivers Brown is successful beyond belief. He makes wines for some 45 clients—but beyond a handful, most labels rarely make it outside the confines of private collectors’ deep-walled cellars. Stone the Crows fits squarely into that category, but today, it’s going to a lucky few Wine Access clients.

The story of how Rick and Karen Talmadge, proprietors of Stone the Crows, enlisted Rivers Brown is one for the record books. “When Rick and I were trying to meet, we both happened to be in Paris,” he said and laughing about the absurdity of it, added, “so we had our first meeting on the Champs-Élysées. We had a beer in one of the bistros—that got the ball rolling.”

Rick had purchased a property in Conn Valley, and through his connection to Bill Harlan, had the tiny 4.5-acre Three Twins Vineyard planted by Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve crew. “There are multiple exposures, some flat, mostly on steep slopes that run straight downhill looking southeast to Lake Hennessy and northeast to Pritchard Hill—it’s a stone’s throw from a site that goes into BOND’s Melbury bottling,” Rivers Brown explained. “We have Cabernet Clones 169 and 337 planted. The ‘Fallen Feather’ label, starts with mostly 337, which is more red-fruited, higher-toned, and accessible in its youth, and then I layer in 169 which blends in more black fruit and muscle.”

In 2014, a mere 2.5 tons per acre were harvested by hand on September 21. The 2014 Fallen Feather is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which spent 20 months in French oak and an additional 9 months in bottle prior to release. A glass-staining purple/black color gives way to powerful aromas of sweet black fruit, cinnamon spice, and new-wood cedar. Full-bodied, deeply layered, and packed with blackberry and blueberry compote, crushed-stone and tilled-earth, hints of savory cured meat, ripe, chewy tannins, and a magnificent saline finish tinged with cocoa powder. There are only 35 cases left in the world.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access

Contributing Writer, Food & Wine