Reviews & Ratings

2013 Dry Creek Vineyard Red Blends or Varietals "The Mariner"

Winery: Dry Creek Vineyard

Vintage: 2013

Wine Name/Vineyard: "The Mariner"

Wine Category: Red Blends or Varietals

Grape blend: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Malbec & 4% Cabernet Franc

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Dry Creek Valley

State or country: CA

Price: $45

Cases produced: 5,149

KWG Score: 91.3 (based on 6 reviews)

Ken's Wine Rating: Very Good (89)

Review date: February 10, 2017

Wine Review: This pitch black colored blend from Dry Creek is a real big boy! It opens with a blueberry and black cherry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced and savory. The flavor profile is a mineral infused black plum with notes of oak and blueberry. I also detected hints of black pepper. The finish is rather dry and its bold tannins stick around for quite some time. The group consensus was the tannins on this wine are very pronounced right now. We would suggest keeping this in the cellar for at least 2 more years, or if you can’t wait, then you should decant it for at least an hour before serving with a cast-iron skillet fried skirt steak with shallot butter. Enjoy – Ken

Winemaker Notes: The grapes for this delicious Bordeaux-inspired blend come from several of our most prized estate and hillside vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley. At first swirl, the wine displays aromas of blueberry, vanilla and cherries. Several more minutes reveal hints of clove, cinnamon, black licorice and mocha characters. The palate has dark berry flavors along with cedar sweetness and cassis. There’s a good balance between juicy dark fruit and oak structure. The tannins are soft and supple with a very round and semi oily texture. It finishes with black pepper, boysenberry and a hint of barrel spice. Good acidity will help this wine to age beautifully for years to come.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Dry Creek Vineyard 2013 The Mariner.