Rhys 2012 Horizontal Tasting

My wife and I have enjoyed the Rhys pinots we've tasted since we started buying them with the 2008 vintage. We've admired the Rhys teams' approach to viticulture and winemaking and their commitment to try to achieve transparency that allows the underlying terroir differences to be front and center. One of the main reasons we are such passionate Burgundy fans is the difference of expression achieved between, say, Pommard and Gevrey. So this tasting idea came about to better understand Rhys pinots and the unique terroirs they represent. We owe thanks to Rhys' winemaker Jeff Brinkman, who kindly helped us achieve this goal by suggesting the 2012 vintage (because of its transparency, and relatively forward drinking wines), how to prepare the wines for them to show their best, and the order of serving them to better understand the terroir differences.

Tasters: 12 people with various levels of knowledge and awareness of Rhys wines, including a sommelier and several retailers with 1-20 years of experience in the wine business in St. Louis.

Location: held in the tasting room at The Wine Merchant in St. Louis, to whom we owe thanks for use of the space and for providing water, cheeses and snacks to fuel the project.

Format: unblinded, with information about Rhys, the vineyards, the vintage, and individual wines presented while tasting.

Wine preparation: all reds were removed from a 55F cellar then decanted 1.5 hours before the 2 hour tasting started. The sole white was slow-oxidized for 1.5 hours before.

2010 Rhys Horseshoe Chardonnay

• 2010 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Slow-ox'd 1.5 hours
  -translucent shimmering med gold green
  -mild reduction, noticeable oak, slight nutty oxidative note
  -med acidity, ripe yellow fruits, touch of oak spice/vanillin
  -well-made and reminiscent of a Cote d'Or Burg though a little oaky for my taste; very well received in the tasting group

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2012 Rhys Bearwallow Pinot Noir

• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  Decanted 1.5 hours
  -med dark red
  -aromatic perfumed spicy
  -med/med+ acidity, med weight taut red/black fruit good minerality with spice/mint element, med fine chalky tannins
  -very good now early in what should be an extended good drinking window, my #4 of 8 pinots

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2012 Rhys San Mateo County Pinot Noir
2012 Rhys Family Farm Vineyard Pinot Noir
2012 Rhys Home Vineyard Pinot Noir

• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir San Mateo County

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

  Decanted 2 hrs
  -med ruddy red
  -moderately aromatic warm rhubarb spice
  -med- acidity gives soft almost lush mouthfeel, diffuse sweet almost jammy ripe red fruits and spice
  -very good overall, broad open-knit and pleasant if lacking a bit of focus, ready to drink now and the most evolved of the pinots, my #8 of 8

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• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

  Decanted 2 hrs
  -nearly opaque very dark red
  -gorgeous dark red/black fruit mineral spice
  -med acidity enough to give lift but still retains soft mouthfeel, focused dark red fruits black cherry faint rhubarb/beetroot, fine med tannins and good length
  -elegant, refined, very young and primary, should be long-lived, needs lot of air now, my #3 of 8

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• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County

  Decanted 2 hrs
  -med dark red
  -complex yet highly focused floral stony dark red/black fruit
  -med acidity, med- weight but classic power without weight sappiness, somewhat restrained stony red/black fruit and evident stems, perceptible but not intrusive oak accompanies med/med+ tannins on the long finish
  -complex lighter weight elegant serious, still a little tight but can sing with a few hours of air, should be long-lived, my #2 of 8

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2012 Rhys Skyline Vineyard Pinot Noir
2012 Rhys Alpine Vineyard Pinot Noir
2012 Rhys Swan Terrace Pinot Noir
2012 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir

• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted 2.5 hrs tasted again at 4 hrs
  -nearly opaque dark red/black
  -restrained dark red/purple fruits plum faint rhubarb and touch of oak emerge only after aggressive swirling
  -med acidity, focused spicy dark fruit, unwinds a bit after 4 hrs, med+ tannins
  -tightly coiled and pretty shut down now though it seems to have loads of potential, needs a few more years, my #6 of 8 for what it is today

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• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted 2.5 hrs
  -nearly opaque dark red/black
  -super ripe sweet dark red/black fruits with some mineral
  -med acidity sappy almost lush red fruit slight rhubarb/beetroot, noticeable oak and fine med tannins on moderately long finish
  -open-knit and ready to go now, this has the ripest fruit profile of the wines in the lineup bordering on hedonistic immediate appeal, similar to the San Mateo County pinot but more depth and darker fruit, my #7 of 8

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• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted 2.5 hrs, tasted over another hour
  -nearly opaque very dark red/black
  -restrained stony minerality and spicy dark red fruit
  -zen-like balance med acidity, highly focused liqueur-like sappy black cherry with some spice, med+ tannins and excellent length
  -a bit tight but just fantastic now with plenty of upside, the most minerally of the lineup, reminded me of a Vosne from Clavelier or Mugneret-Gibourg, my #1 of 8

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• 2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted 3 hrs
  -nearly opaque very dark red/black
  -sweet dark fruits slight rhubarb note
  -med/med- acidity, med+ weight soft and lush generous depth dark fruits, med/med- tannins and touch of heat on backend, good length
  -complete, rich, open for business now and should have reasonable longevity though may not have enough tannic structure to be as long-lived as some of the others, probably the biggest of the lineup, my #5 of 8

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2012 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Syrah

• 2012 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Decanted 3 hrs
  -opaque dark red almost black, stains the glass
  -tight but coaxable almost jammy ripe dark berry and black pepper
  -med acidity is buried in highly concentrated dense but tight mid-palate with some reticent earthy dark berry and pepper, med+ tannins
  -way too early but should be a beauty that marries old world savory with new world purity of fruit

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Overall, quality was solid across the board - there wasn't a sub-par wine in the lineup

The group did detect some interesting observations:
-the Santa Cruz Mountains wines were the darkest in color
-Skyline was the most closed down
-the San Mateo County wines (Family Farm/Home) tended to be more aromatic with prominent spice and mineral components
-the wines with higher whole cluster usage tended to be more complex but less open-knit
-overall the 2012s were fairly open and accessible after decanting several hours
-try as we might, we weren't able to pick out a common Horseshoe trait that transcended grape variety in the Chardonnay, Pinot, and Syrah
-there were fascinating differences between Alpine and Swan Terrace (which is part of Alpine), Horseshoe and Alpine (only about 400m apart but different underlying geology) and Family Farm and Home (also only 400m apart but geologically much different)

While a single tasting in this format isn't adequate to give novices to the region a solid understanding of the terroir differences these wines display, it was overall a success because it was noticeable that each wine had something unique to say.