Thomas Rivers Brown winemaker spotlight
Wine Spectator: James Molesworth rides with Thomas Rivers Brown, winemaker of Stone The Crows, through Napa Cabernet. The vineyard on camera is Panek in St. Helena, not Three Twins.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2022 Stone The Crows 'Fallen Feather' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $135.05 and the average is $135.05. Our slash is $135.00.
2022 Stone The Crows 'Fallen Feather' Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, USA
Thomas Rivers Brown's clone 337 Cabernet from Three Twins Vineyard, plush Napa fruit with the muscle to match, a 2022 you can open at one hundred thirty-five dollars.
Fallen Feather isolates clone 337 at Three Twins Vineyard, the fruit-forward lot that gives the flagship its plush core. Blue fruit, cassis, wild fennel, and violet, now $135.
The muscular, floral side of Three Twins Vineyard
Fallen Feather isolates clone 337, the fruit-forward component that brings plushness and power to the flagship, then gives it a distinct voice of its own.
The clone
Fallen Feather spotlights clone 337, prized here for fruit-forward, luscious Cabernet with a plush, round core.
The hand
Thomas Rivers Brown applies the same estate focus that has made his name synonymous with elite California Cabernet.
The wine
Twenty months in 70 percent new French oak from Darnajou, Remond, and La Grange. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The drinker
Blue fruit, fennel, and violet with a muscular frame. Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Short ribs or ribeye.
Blue fruit, cassis, wild fennel, and violets
A full-bodied, muscular Cabernet that balances powerful tannin with ripe fruit, savory spice, and a lavish floral finish.
The warm 2022 Napa season gave the estate ripe fruit and a generous profile, while the clone 337 selection retained the structure that defines Fallen Feather.
Blue fruit, creme de cassis, and warm berry compote meet wild fennel, black peppercorn, and violet pastille.
Full-bodied and muscular, with powerful tannins that hold the palate and keep the wine's plush fruit in clear relief.
Lavish and floral, with cassis and violets lingering. Serve near cellar temperature after 60 to 90 minutes in a decanter.
Clone 337, then Brown's barrels
On the Stone The Crows site, Fallen Feather is the second wine and a special selection of clone 337. Brown turns that fruit-forward lot into a Cabernet with more muscle, perfume, and immediate fruit impact.
Fallen Feather is the estate's focused clone 337 Cabernet, a special selection chosen for inherently fruit-forward, luscious grapes and a plush, round expression.
The 2022 spent 20 months in 70 percent new French oak from Darnajou, Remond, and La Grange, then was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The result keeps powerful tannin beneath its blue-fruit and floral profile.
A cattle ranch remade for Cabernet
Three Twins Vineyard is a small, sunlit hillside estate shaped by elevation, lake breezes, volcanic soils, and one family's leap of faith.
High above St. Helena, Three Twins Vineyard sits at 700 feet on the northern slopes of Lake Hennessey. Proprietor Richard Talmadge saw Cabernet potential in an old cattle ranch and redesigned the site in 2005.
The estate's 11,000 vines climb steep, undulating hills across five blocks. Volcanic ash over gravel and flint encourages vine struggle, while morning sun and afternoon updrafts from the lake support slow, even ripening.
Talmadge named Three Twins for his triplets, whose excitement helped seal his decision to buy the property. The estate's first official Cabernet vintage arrived in 2010, with Thomas Rivers Brown shaping the wines from the beginning.
Cabernet built for a serious table
Fallen Feather's powerful tannins, black pepper, fennel, cassis, and violet make deeply browned beef a natural partner.
Two plates. One pot of short ribs. One butter-basted ribeye. Protein and fat soften the muscular frame.
Serve near 60 to 65 F. Decant 60 to 90 minutes. Use a generous Bordeaux stem.
Red wine-braised short ribs
Slow braising meets the wine's scale, while the sauce and soft beef round the tannins and echo its warm berry-compote richness.
Why it works: Collagen and glaze echo ripe berries while the wine's frame stays upright.
View Recipe for red wine-braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)
Butter-basted ribeye
Black pepper and a deep sear align with the wine's spice, while rosemary butter and beef fat soften its muscular Cabernet structure.
Why it works: Crust and fat match cassis and pepper while tannin cuts the steak.
View Recipe for butter-basted ribeye (opens in a new tab)Open the clone 337 you can actually buy
You already know the hand. Thomas Rivers Brown. Three Twins. The 2022 Fallen Feather is in the glass at one hundred thirty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. Decant it tonight, or lay a few down. Either way, this is the bottle that closes the proof.
