Rhys Visit--All The 2009s From Bottle!

Steve Nordhoff and I were fortunate enough to taste through all the 2009 Rhys wines. We had an excellent vineyard tour of Alpine, Horseshoe and the Skyline estate vineyards. We then finished with tasting through all the 2009s from bottle, joined also by Tyler Rico and his wife, who also had an appointment so they were stuck with us the entire afternoon! Thank you Kevin and Jeff for hosting us, and for Josh for setting up.

Both wines were opened at 10AM, decanted and returned to bottle. We drank them at roughly 4PM.

• 2009 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  13.7%, 25% new oak. Tangerine, lemon oil, light mineral and finishes with a golden delicious apple/pippin flavor. The finish was long and spicy with a nice measure of stones and slate.

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• 2009 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  13.5%, 25% new oak. As opposed to the Horseshoe chard, this Alpine is more pear-like and also shows more of the oak on the aromatic, although I could argue it is a background player--I merely make the comment to contrast against the Horseshoe, since both have the same oak regime. More generous in texture than the Horseshoe, spicier too with a baked apple flavor, fennel and more limey than the Horseshoe's lemon. The spicy character on this, the racier edge that carries through the finish is excellent. Just a long finishing wine and my favorite of the two chards.

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All of these wines were pop and pour, with the exception of the Horseshoe, which Jeff decanted with the chardonnays at 10AM. In addition, the pinots were all bottled just less than a month ago.

• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  13.9%, 100% new oak, 50% whole cluster. Lean and even, with a bing cherry and what I notes as a green/cracked spice character, like a pungent type of spice. Soily with a cedary note. Says to me higher acidity, red fruit, tobacco leaf and a touch of blue fruit. The cedary and earthy side of this wine, along with the spicy notes, make this quite distnctive.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

  13.3%, 35% new oak, 100% whole cluster. Notably stemmy, kind of a soily/mulch note, what Tyler Rico (who was tasting with us) called "peat moss" or "peaty". He nailed it. Plump, juicier texture with a good size dollop of rocks. Zippy black cherry, strawberry, light pepper and cranberry. I love the rocky aspect of this wine.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  12.6%, 50% new wood and 100% whole cluster. As opposed to the Family Farm that preceded this wine, this Skyline shows the stems in my view to be far more integrated. There is a kiss of new oak on the aromatic and also a really cool rose petal note. A spicy and racier style with beautiful minerality and a mix of blue and red fruit, with a citrus zest in the finsh. Love the rose petal and balance of this wine.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  13.1%, 60% new wood and 90% whole cluster. Aromatic was mix of green stalk and maple. Might sound odd but this is what I got and it was the same for me when I retasted it again towards the end of the flight. Of all the 2009s, this was the most closed of all of them, the tightest. Full of dark raspberry, blueberry and lots of depth. Stony and stemmy with lots of tannin and suavage character, with pine needle and licorice. This wine was the most challenging for me to get my head around but has so much going on in it, really amazing.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  13.3%, 60% new wood and 100% whole cluster. Floral aromatics and a stemmy note. Juicy and bold with black cherry, mineral and some light shadings of licorice. Spicy finish with even some leather. This was the only 2009 Rhys pinot to be decanted.

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• 2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  12.7%, 33% new wood and 90% whole cluster. This is the east facing slope of the Alpine vineyard, below the hillside section. Great polish with lots of blue fruit, the most blue of all the wines tasted. Also the cranberry and the rose petal notes add a nice nuance to the palate. Juicy and stony with lots of minerality and balance.

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We did not taste the Skyline, as Jeff felt the wine was not ready yet to show.

• 2009 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  12.8%, 5% new wood and 100% whole cluster. Funny story on this one. When Jeff poured it, he said it was the Horseshoe pinot and a few of us kind of laughed and commented on the pepper in the wine. He then told us he had poured the syrah so I set it aside to the end. Big pepper nose, lots of acid on a medium frame. Blue and red fruits mix into a closing finish of saddle leather. This was the last wine of the 10 or so I tasted so my notes here are a bit truncated.

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