Medium body, the nose is very delicate, and needs time to develop in the glass. The palate is silky smooth, ripe cherries with really bright acidity and a long clean finish. This is great drinking and will stay good or develop for a while longer
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I wish every Pinot I bought was this good or better. It hit the trifecta with violets and roses, the spice cupboard and oodles of bright red fruits cherry and others. Perfectly balanced. Drink up!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
cherry, garrigue, some stems and mahogany; good acidity; tannins are softer than i prefer; some vanilla and green on the finish; more interesting than enjoyable (and different from my last bottle which had more texture and less herbal notes)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
medium body; complex strawberry, garrigue, herbal/stem notes; smooth texture; better on day two when the herbal notes are more integrated. Very nice food wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Pale ruby color. Complex varietal nose, forest floor. Just reaching maturity. Red and blue fruit on the palate. Balanced with good structure, medium acid and tannins. Medium body and alcohol. Good value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Raspberry, strawberry and cherry on the nose. Dry. Ok acidety. Light mouthfeel. Red fruit, blackberry and oak on the palate. An earthy backbone. Smooth tannins. Vanilla exit. Easy drinking, entry-level PN. Absolutely ok🍷
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Copy and paste my last note. Improving. Took an 45 min to open then drank better. If I drank this with a group I would decanter. Typical Goid Rhys entry level. Still Drinking young as it’s developing….. but wish it had a bit more red fruits and berries, it’s leaning a bit towards a typical California sweet Pinot noir. Took a sip on open it came across a bit “dusty” and just ok. 1 hr slow ox then drank over an hour and last glass was the best
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Improving. Took an 45 min to open then drank better. If I drank this with a group I would decanter. Typical Goid Rhys entry level. Still Drinking young as it’s developing. Day two, came up a little shorter than day one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I like this bottle, a lot. Earthy backbone with crunchy red fruit. Easy to drink. Tannin and acid complement the fruit. Very well rounded. Medium finish.
Drank with a 1 hour decant from a GlasVin Aromatic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Quite effusive when popped. Pretty florals and sweet strawberries jump out of the glass. That sort of sweet forward character fades quickly. Black cherry with a distinct sort of pined herb note marking some obvious stem inclusion. That stem inclusion is there on the palate with a more vegetal sense but only lightly so. It also brings along a light sense of tannin. It's clearly a darker cooler mountain Pinot sort of character overall. . On night two its even more subdued. But also rougher at the finish and there is a glycerin sort of weight in the midpalate. I'm skeptical of the 12.9% on the label given those factors. I liked it a good deal more the first night when the expression won me over. That makes it more cocktail than a wine of contemplation. It a nice a example of a CA Pinot but not much more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Other recent notes describe this perfectly. Cranberry and raspberry fruit with a nice dash of mineral and herbal qualities. Medium light on the palate, refreshing and silky texture with beautifully integrated acidity, and moderately grippy tannins on the back end. Drinking very well in a young Pinot kind of way, without the density and depth of the vineyard designates. Very good wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Popped and poured at cellar temp Fromm750. Nice nose of sour cherry, dusty earth and a hint of orange peel. Nice mix of sweet orange and cherry fruit with good texture, acidity and balance on the palate. Just a hint of tannins on the finish. Definitely shares some characteristics with the single vineyard wines, but not quite the oomph and depth on the palate. I think this is in the early stage of its drinking window, but has quite a few good years ahead of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Medium red; grassy notes, unripe raspberry; nice, lean while also concentrated, spices, a bit of licorice at the end; good interesting aftertaste, but overall expression is a bit too lean and a bit too acidic, some good elements in there, but somehow not really assembled
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Really interesting nose, with warm dark red fruit scents, along with a little bread/yeast, fresh earth, and a bit of smoke. The palate has nice bright acidity on the front, followed by slightly sour black cherry and cranberry flavors. There is a hint of cocoa on the 30 second finish. It got noticeably better from original PnP to 2 hours later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The 2016 Alesia Santa Cruz Mountain is made up of declassified fruit from three of the Rhys Santa Cruz Mountain vineyards. The 2016 has a lovely floral nose filled with red berry fruit and sage. Soft, pleasurable, and little juicy on the palate. Firm tannins, with a dusty finish. This drank well on release and is drinking even better now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A good wine. A good example of the entry level Rhys vineyards. Poured through a vinturi. Got better over time but never fully to where I’d hoped, which was a proper Rhys....I guess what should be expected. Nevertheless, good!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Concentrated red fruits with blue fruit undertones typical of SCM. Concentrated palate, plenty of freshness. Still shows some vanilla/oak influence that’s a bit distracting. Needs a little more time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
This has evolved nicely. Raspberry and cherry on the nose. Add baking spices and underbrush on the palate. Dusty tannin mid-palate and nice acidity on the finish. A wonderfully complex appellation wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This was a step up from my previous few bottles. Good acidic backbone with ample fruit for an enjoyable experience. Decanted for 2 hours along with being served on the slightly cooler side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
The 2016 Rhys Alesia Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir is made up of fruit from five of the six Rhys vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains (Skyline did not make the cut in 2016). This is surprisingly complex for an appellation wine, featuring notes of high-toned cherries, rose flowers, and sage. Medium-bodied with fine grained tannins. This has greatly improved in the year since I last tried a bottle and should continue to do so for another for another years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
good red color, game and dark fruits on the lush nose, wild cherries, on the palate fine depth, very primary at present but showing nicely, plums, white mineral streaks, blueberry, cherry, fine spice notes, excellent length, a real beauty drinking nicely now but I would really like to see it with a few years of aging.
**(**), 2022-2030+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rhys tasting at K&L Redwood City.: Much more savory than the Anderson Valley or the Bearwallow. Tomato lead and red fruit. On the palate, bright red fruit and orange spice, plus more tomato and tomato lead. Tons of acid, no shortage of tannin. This is another one for the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very typical good Rhys. On the young side, not completely together. Much better day 2. Very dark and broad profile. Dark blue fruits with zingy red berry tart finish that ends with leather, cassis, heat and lingering sweetness . Drinking like the $50 wine it is but nose of $150 modern burgundy... my two cents.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rhys Tasting (Knightsbridge - Northbrook IL): Tasting, brief note. Clear step up over Anderson Valley. Red cherry on nose and palate with spice and floral hints. Good start, more interesting finish with energetic textures. Good now with possible upside.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Eye: ruby red Nose: Tart cranberry and raspberry Palate: Darker toned fruit, stems apparent, tea leaf with medium acidity and a medium + finish. Overall this young wine needs some time. Out of balance night one but vastly improved on day 2. I would guess a couple years needed or a good 30-45 min decant should work. Enjoy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very young. Still with rather narrow acidity on the palate. Fruity, quite full with sweet concentrated fruit on palate. Dark cherry with some Pinot funk on the palate. Thins out a bit on the finish—probably just needs some time. Love the freshness and acidity with concentrated fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Solid entry level pinot. A bit broad and fleshy on the palate and lacking the focus and definition of the single vineyard bottlings, but will pass the time as the big boys age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
POP it was pretty closed, but given an hour in the open bottle, it really began to open up and show complexity. Very floral nose, rose and violet. Palate showed raspberry and pomegranate with baking spices. I'll hold my other bottles for 1-3 years to develop.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
From memory which isn't much. I do remember shrugging a bit with this wine. It was solid but unremarkable or less than interesting. It seemed above average in terms of make in that it wasn't pushing ripeness or extraction. There was some sort of piney interest underneath but the fruit itself was monolithic. I don't remember thinking aging was going to do wonders but there could be some depth here. Hard to say but my overall impression was just about a shrug. I'll leave my other bottles be for a couple more years but the value here is really stretched.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Great stuff, just as the Anderson valley Pinot. Outstanding effort for a second wine, as other trackers have mentioned before me. This has lots of pinosity, a little more muscular and darker in fruit, and more spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon, licorice, vanilla), than the Anderson valley. I really liked both of them but this may perhaps go a little longer. For drinking now, perhaps I’d go with the AV, for drinking in five years, I’d go with the Santa Cruz.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Surprisingly good "2nd" label wine, with intense red and blue fruits with significant beams of fine tannin and very satisfying finish. Seems like it needs a year or two to integrate and settle down, but great now with a good decant. If their declassified wines are this good, I'm sure the other offerings are outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aroma sprang from the crystal and shouted best of Pinot Noir's nasal offerings: Herbally fruited melange of SCM Estate vineyard's blend. The nose was literally so complex that I had to give up guessing what I smelled to taste rich cherry, mushroom tart. Excellent cuvée. Would love to revisit in 3 though it would be hard to say how this could get better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Aroma: floral with violets and jasmine. Hints of blueberries. Palate: spicy with moderate body and sweet strawberry, cherry and plum flavors. Hints of minerals. Not overly complex but good structure. Very good entry level wine. Hold for the short term.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This has more of an "old world" slant to it because of the earthy tones at the finish and the tannins show some grittiness. Spicy red berries. This is good stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
July 2018 Rhys Visit--Taste The 2016s (Rhys Estate (At The Winery)): Composed of declassed singe vineyard fruit and I didn't right down the vineyards but given the small circle of options that these could be, it's not hard to guess. Solidly red fruited with lots of intensity shown through iron, herb (not herbal), a distinct pomegranate and it adds more plushness than the 2016 Alesia Anderson Valley (which is entirely declassed Bearwallow). The fruit here is just a bit richer than that wine yet the structure is higher, too. Man, these new Alesia AVA bottlings in 2016 are good.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
12/28/2023 - kingkanu wrote:
Medium body, the nose is very delicate, and needs time to develop in the glass. The palate is silky smooth, ripe cherries with really bright acidity and a long clean finish. This is great drinking and will stay good or develop for a while longer
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/26/2023 - beatles wrote: 93 Points
Wonderful Pinot. Sous bois galore, hitting the Pinot Nerve, red berries, mushroom. Entering maturity, very well balanced indeed;
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
3/17/2023 - wabi47 wrote: 88 Points
some variation from recent bottles; cola first, then strawberry, herb; this one seemed less giving
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2023 - Grappa Cellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light cherry. Bright. Nice mouth feel
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2023 - HED3 Likes this wine: 95 Points
I wish every Pinot I bought was this good or better. It hit the trifecta with violets and roses, the spice cupboard and oodles of bright red fruits cherry and others. Perfectly balanced. Drink up!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/19/2023 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
A good wine. Wished for a cleaner red berries and fruit… but I guess that is what my burgundy wines are for. Got better over an hour.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/7/2023 - Grappa Cellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
PnP
Fresh fruits out of the bottle
mild cherry,
Good acidic mouth feel
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/17/2023 - wabi47 wrote: 89 Points
cherry, garrigue, some stems and mahogany; good acidity; tannins are softer than i prefer; some vanilla and green on the finish; more interesting than enjoyable (and different from my last bottle which had more texture and less herbal notes)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/2022 - wabi47 Likes this wine: 91 Points
medium body; complex strawberry, garrigue, herbal/stem notes; smooth texture; better on day two when the herbal notes are more integrated. Very nice food wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2022 - uli_k Likes this wine:
Pale ruby color. Complex varietal nose, forest floor. Just reaching maturity. Red and blue fruit on the palate. Balanced with good structure, medium acid and tannins. Medium body and alcohol. Good value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2022 - KVM wrote:
Takes 24 hours to open up. Pretty blueberry, smokey nose. Concentrated fruit, in a lighter body. Long finish. Pretty good value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2022 - GlennO86 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Raspberry, strawberry and cherry on the nose. Dry. Ok acidety. Light mouthfeel. Red fruit, blackberry and oak on the palate. An earthy backbone. Smooth tannins. Vanilla exit. Easy drinking, entry-level PN. Absolutely ok🍷
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/19/2022 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Copy and paste my last note. Improving. Took an 45 min to open then drank better. If I drank this with a group I would decanter. Typical Goid Rhys entry level. Still Drinking young as it’s developing….. but wish it had a bit more red fruits and berries, it’s leaning a bit towards a typical California sweet Pinot noir. Took a sip on open it came across a bit “dusty” and just ok. 1 hr slow ox then drank over an hour and last glass was the best
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
1/30/2022 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Improving. Took an 45 min to open then drank better. If I drank this with a group I would decanter. Typical Goid Rhys entry level. Still Drinking young as it’s developing.
Day two, came up a little shorter than day one.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/20/2022 - pa1966stang Likes this wine:
I like this bottle, a lot. Earthy backbone with crunchy red fruit. Easy to drink. Tannin and acid complement the fruit. Very well rounded. Medium finish.
Drank with a 1 hour decant from a GlasVin Aromatic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2021 - Erikjay Likes this wine: 92 Points
Sweet but still an excellent bottle of wine. Bravo!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/6/2021 - Lazerlar Likes this wine: 92 Points
This one restored my faith, drank very well with a short decant
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/5/2021 - WetRock wrote:
Quite effusive when popped. Pretty florals and sweet strawberries jump out of the glass. That sort of sweet forward character fades quickly. Black cherry with a distinct sort of pined herb note marking some obvious stem inclusion. That stem inclusion is there on the palate with a more vegetal sense but only lightly so. It also brings along a light sense of tannin. It's clearly a darker cooler mountain Pinot sort of character overall. . On night two its even more subdued. But also rougher at the finish and there is a glycerin sort of weight in the midpalate. I'm skeptical of the 12.9% on the label given those factors. I liked it a good deal more the first night when the expression won me over. That makes it more cocktail than a wine of contemplation. It a nice a example of a CA Pinot but not much more.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/7/2021 - mossreport wrote: 90 Points
Good nose. A little bland on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2021 - jlm wrote:
Other recent notes describe this perfectly. Cranberry and raspberry fruit with a nice dash of mineral and herbal qualities. Medium light on the palate, refreshing and silky texture with beautifully integrated acidity, and moderately grippy tannins on the back end. Drinking very well in a young Pinot kind of way, without the density and depth of the vineyard designates. Very good wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/16/2021 - yeti575rider wrote: 93 Points
Really nice. Has the Rhys signature. Has the light ethereal touch with a nice pope of acidity and red fruit. Cranberry and floral nose. Great value.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2021 - Rhwinetracker Likes this wine:
Drinking well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/11/2021 - jreis Likes this wine:
Popped and poured at cellar temp Fromm750. Nice nose of sour cherry, dusty earth and a hint of orange peel. Nice mix of sweet orange and cherry fruit with good texture, acidity and balance on the palate. Just a hint of tannins on the finish. Definitely shares some characteristics with the single vineyard wines, but not quite the oomph and depth on the palate. I think this is in the early stage of its drinking window, but has quite a few good years ahead of it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/16/2021 - Miceri Likes this wine: 90 Points
Medium red; grassy notes, unripe raspberry; nice, lean while also concentrated, spices, a bit of licorice at the end; good interesting aftertaste, but overall expression is a bit too lean and a bit too acidic, some good elements in there, but somehow not really assembled
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2020 - DickMull Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really interesting nose, with warm dark red fruit scents, along with a little bread/yeast, fresh earth, and a bit of smoke. The palate has nice bright acidity on the front, followed by slightly sour black cherry and cranberry flavors. There is a hint of cocoa on the 30 second finish. It got noticeably better from original PnP to 2 hours later.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2020 - Lazerlar wrote: 92 Points
Quick decant and still drinking great
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/15/2020 - jgreco Likes this wine: 92 Points
The 2016 Alesia Santa Cruz Mountain is made up of declassified fruit from three of the Rhys Santa Cruz Mountain vineyards. The 2016 has a lovely floral nose filled with red berry fruit and sage. Soft, pleasurable, and little juicy on the palate. Firm tannins, with a dusty finish. This drank well on release and is drinking even better now.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
8/28/2020 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
as my last note
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/14/2020 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
A good wine. A good example of the entry level Rhys vineyards. Poured through a vinturi. Got better over time but never fully to where I’d hoped, which was a proper Rhys....I guess what should be expected. Nevertheless, good!
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
7/7/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Concentrated red fruits with blue fruit undertones typical of SCM. Concentrated palate, plenty of freshness. Still shows some vanilla/oak influence that’s a bit distracting. Needs a little more time.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/24/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasty dark cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with earth, mineral, and hint of vanilla on the palate and moderate finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/21/2020 - MTC2 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This has evolved nicely. Raspberry and cherry on the nose. Add baking spices and underbrush on the palate. Dusty tannin mid-palate and nice acidity on the finish. A wonderfully complex appellation wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2020 - Lazerlar Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was a step up from my previous few bottles. Good acidic backbone with ample fruit for an enjoyable experience. Decanted for 2 hours along with being served on the slightly cooler side.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/8/2020 - pinot_glenn Likes this wine: 89 Points
Simple, light, good acidity, subtle fruit
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/27/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasty dark cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with earth, mineral, and vanilla on the savory palate with a moderate finish. Drinking well!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2020 - jgreco Likes this wine: 94 Points
The 2016 Rhys Alesia Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir is made up of fruit from five of the six Rhys vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains (Skyline did not make the cut in 2016). This is surprisingly complex for an appellation wine, featuring notes of
high-toned cherries, rose flowers, and sage. Medium-bodied with fine grained tannins. This has greatly improved in the year since I last tried a bottle and should continue to do so for another for another years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 92 Points
As tasty as the last bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/11/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasty dark cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with earth, mineral, and vanilla on the savory palate with a moderate finish. Drinking well!
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/31/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 91 Points
As tasty as the last bottle!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2020 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Enjoyed over a couple of days. Much more approachable than the Rhys single vineyard wines. Quite lovely.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2020 - Elpaninaro Likes this wine:
good red color, game and dark fruits on the lush nose, wild cherries, on the palate fine depth, very primary at present but showing nicely, plums, white mineral streaks, blueberry, cherry, fine spice notes, excellent length, a real beauty drinking nicely now but I would really like to see it with a few years of aging.
**(**), 2022-2030+
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasty dark cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with earth, mineral, and hint of vanilla on the palate and moderate finish. Drinking well!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/29/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 91 Points
As tasty as the last bottle!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/24/2020 - mkribar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rhys tasting at K&L Redwood City.: Much more savory than the Anderson Valley or the Bearwallow. Tomato lead and red fruit. On the palate, bright red fruit and orange spice, plus more tomato and tomato lead. Tons of acid, no shortage of tannin. This is another one for the cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/15/2020 - Vinomnivore Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking very well, exceeds expectations.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/6/2020 - Golf_Wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very typical good Rhys. On the young side, not completely together. Much better day 2. Very dark and broad profile. Dark blue fruits with zingy red berry tart finish that ends with leather, cassis, heat and lingering sweetness . Drinking like the $50 wine it is but nose of $150 modern burgundy... my two cents.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2020 - pjhr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasty dark cherry and raspberry aromas and flavors with earth, mineral, and hint of vanilla on the palate and moderate finish. Drinking well!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/18/2019 - jbaron wrote: 91 Points
Tasted at Stave wine tasting. This is a good appellation wine. Moderately complex with nice mottled fruit and earth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/20/2019 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Rhys Tasting (Knightsbridge - Northbrook IL): Tasting, brief note. Clear step up over Anderson Valley. Red cherry on nose and palate with spice and floral hints. Good start, more interesting finish with energetic textures. Good now with possible upside.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2019 - oldwines Likes this wine: 89 Points
Tasted at a trade tasting in NYC. Bright acidity darker, ripe red cherry fruit especially compared to the Anderson Valley tasted just before.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2019 - Rgentile wrote: 87 Points
Eye: ruby red
Nose: Tart cranberry and raspberry
Palate: Darker toned fruit, stems apparent, tea leaf with medium acidity and a medium + finish.
Overall this young wine needs some time. Out of balance night one but vastly improved on day 2. I would guess a couple years needed or a good 30-45 min decant should work. Enjoy!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/4/2019 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very young. Still with rather narrow acidity on the palate. Fruity, quite full with sweet concentrated fruit on palate. Dark cherry with some Pinot funk on the palate. Thins out a bit on the finish—probably just needs some time. Love the freshness and acidity with concentrated fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2019 - nphase wrote:
Extremely primary and fruit forward. Signs of complexity after an hour decant, but would recommend holding. 88?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/27/2019 - adipovino Likes this wine: 90 Points
Solid entry level pinot. A bit broad and fleshy on the palate and lacking the focus and definition of the single vineyard bottlings, but will pass the time as the big boys age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/24/2019 - Omar Khayyam wrote:
Dream Big - Discover California Wine Tasting (Stockholm, Gamla Riksarkivet (old government archives building) March 2019): great pinosity, a little more material and mor structure than the Alesia Anderson Valley PN. Step up to Bearwallow is not that great, and I mean that in a positive way :) Recommended.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/20/2019 - MTC2 Likes this wine: 90 Points
POP it was pretty closed, but given an hour in the open bottle, it really began to open up and show complexity. Very floral nose, rose and violet. Palate showed raspberry and pomegranate with baking spices. I'll hold my other bottles for 1-3 years to develop.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2019 - WetRock wrote:
From memory which isn't much. I do remember shrugging a bit with this wine. It was solid but unremarkable or less than interesting. It seemed above average in terms of make in that it wasn't pushing ripeness or extraction. There was some sort of piney interest underneath but the fruit itself was monolithic. I don't remember thinking aging was going to do wonders but there could be some depth here. Hard to say but my overall impression was just about a shrug. I'll leave my other bottles be for a couple more years but the value here is really stretched.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2019 - thunberg wrote: 90 Points
Dream Big - California Wine Tasting (Stockholm, Sweden): Floral nose with white pepper and blackberries.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2019 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great stuff, just as the Anderson valley Pinot. Outstanding effort for a second wine, as other trackers have mentioned before me. This has lots of pinosity, a little more muscular and darker in fruit, and more spicy (nutmeg, cinnamon, licorice, vanilla), than the Anderson valley. I really liked both of them but this may perhaps go a little longer. For drinking now, perhaps I’d go with the AV, for drinking in five years, I’d go with the Santa Cruz.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/29/2018 - ewsds Likes this wine: 91 Points
Surprisingly good "2nd" label wine, with intense red and blue fruits with significant beams of fine tannin and very satisfying finish. Seems like it needs a year or two to integrate and settle down, but great now with a good decant. If their declassified wines are this good, I'm sure the other offerings are outstanding.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2018 - Fractalage Likes this wine: 90 Points
Aroma sprang from the crystal and shouted best of Pinot Noir's nasal offerings: Herbally fruited melange of SCM Estate vineyard's blend. The nose was literally so complex that I had to give up guessing what I smelled to taste rich cherry, mushroom tart. Excellent cuvée. Would love to revisit in 3 though it would be hard to say how this could get better.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2018 - kosinski wrote:
Aroma: floral with violets and jasmine. Hints of blueberries.
Palate: spicy with moderate body and sweet strawberry, cherry and plum flavors. Hints of minerals. Not overly complex but good structure. Very good entry level wine. Hold for the short term.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2018 - brigcampbell wrote:
This has more of an "old world" slant to it because of the earthy tones at the finish and the tannins show some grittiness. Spicy red berries. This is good stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/25/2018 - Frank Murray III wrote:
July 2018 Rhys Visit--Taste The 2016s (Rhys Estate (At The Winery)): Composed of declassed singe vineyard fruit and I didn't right down the vineyards but given the small circle of options that these could be, it's not hard to guess. Solidly red fruited with lots of intensity shown through iron, herb (not herbal), a distinct pomegranate and it adds more plushness than the 2016 Alesia Anderson Valley (which is entirely declassed Bearwallow). The fruit here is just a bit richer than that wine yet the structure is higher, too. Man, these new Alesia AVA bottlings in 2016 are good.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment