October 19, 2023 - Ripe and powerful, but bracing acidity makes this very drinkable. Showing some nice mature notes.
December 25, 2021 - I found this to be a very loud and very expressive Chardonnay. In your face tropical and citrus fruit with noticable yet integrated vanilla oak. Loud yet impressive, as the scores indicate. It held its own with a very loud game hens and morels in Madeira cream sauce dish. Outstanding.
October 5, 2021 - The nose was quite reduced and intense with notes of lemon, saline flavors, and tart white fruit. Nice acidity with notes of citrus, tart peach, and minerals on the palate. Good length and lovely complexity, this is really lovely!
June 17, 2021 - Light lemon color. Nose of pineapple and lemon curd, full bodied on the palate with good presence through the middle and a touch of astringency on the finish.
August 30, 2020 - Tasty for sure, but big and tropical. This has always been fairly big and tropical, but it's also quite intense and decently complex. At peak, perhaps slightly on the downslope.
May 31, 2020 - Deep lemon color. The aromatics are slightly reticent at first, but with a little air they open to show toasted walnut and lemon curd. Not the most complexity, and missing some of the floral and mineral qualities of more recent vintages of the HS Chard, but nice aged qualities. The palate is medium-full bodied, with creamy lemon spreading broadly on the mid-palate, and some zesty acidity on the finish. This is in a fine place right now, but it may well continue to develop for a while. No signs of decline at all, and I did not find the oak to be sticking out.
May 23, 2020 - Good+. Lime peel, guava. Tight and fresh. Fruit driven, good acidity that balances it out. Some oak. Went great with homemade Taleggio ravioli.
March 25, 2020 - This chardonnay seems disjointed, as though the acidity was an afterthought, coming through on the back end and not in sync with the fruit. But the fruit is subtle in a very enjoyable way - mellow but present with slight notes of citrus, almond and honeysuckle blossom.
Honestly, I have never been a huge fan of these earlier Rhys chards but it was clear that they were improving every year. And what they are doing has paid off - I think the chards produced in the last 7 or so years have been incredible and get better every year.
December 5, 2019 - Floral start with ripe peach and hints of candied lemon peel. Good weight and richness with lots of spice, just slightly too dominated by new oak (still!). Certainly enjoyable now, I'm not certain where this goes from here.
March 8, 2019 - Nose of pine resin, and seems like the fruit has faded and it's just oak and acid. Disappointing.