Pop and poured at the end of a dinner. Tasted again the following day after saving under vacu-vin and refirgeration. Grassl Cru stem. Ruby color. Nice noes with hint of pine and red berries. Some pomegranate as well. Wonderful fresh red berry fruit. Lively and with a nice spice note and herbal accent as well. Does not have the snappy cranberry note that I usually find in the Alpine Vineyard Pinots. Delicious wine.
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The nose and length are reticent bjt the mouth is singing, with fruit and structure and the whole rest of the picture. If the nose and length come out, there’s substantial upside.
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From 375ml. Neeeed some serious air best on day 3. Lovely red cherry fruit mixed some herbal geeen notes. Fresh palate, quite nice but still could use some time to integrate the stem notes.
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From 375ml. and it is drinking nicely now in this format. Agree with the prior notes on earthy and dried red fruits and spices. Good depth and breadth, yet the intensity is subtle and delicately balanced across the whole palate. Plenty of life left. 4+13+18+9= 94
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Wow, wow, wow….I can’t wait to try this again 4-5 years from now. The nose was earth, mineral, and dried red fruit, as was the palate. Wonderful balance and subtle complexity, this will undoubtedly improve over the next few years. Can’t wait to open another bottle!
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Dusty, cranberry, earthy, stone mineral finish. Every sip has layers of complexity. Hints of orange peel, thyme, cherry, mushroom. All subtle and delicious.
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Popped and poured from 375. Still a baby. Tarragon, limestone and white pepper on a reserved nose. Nice cranberry fruit, spicy stems and crisp acidic finish on the palate. Still a baby, even in this format. After 10 plus years on this journey with Rhys, I am leaning more and more to Horseshoe over Alpine for Pinot. It has similar complexity, but is just a little more giving.
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From 750ml, decanted 45 min. Cloudy cranberry color, cherry, some tart cranberry on the palate with a slight menthol/white pepper finish. Would have guessed Anderson Valley blind, maybe Bearwallow. Really nice wine that got better with more time. Longer decant if drinking now but should excel with more cellar time. Cousin Pudge really enjoyed as last glass was really good. Wish I could afford more of these with ample cellar time.
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From 500 ML bottle...12.9% ABV on label. Translucent medium ruby color. Very elegant and finessed in an old world style. Nose had red berries, white pepper, rose petals and a mineral undertone. Palate is strawberry, ripe red raspberry, vanilla, some slightly tart cranberry on the finish and spicy and earthy elements. With more air the white pepper really starts to come through on both the nose and palate. Finish is very long and I get some cherry cola in there that is an element I don’t particularly care for in my Pinot Noir, otherwise I think I would score this even higher.
p.s. Had the last glass of this the next day and it had thankfully lost that cola flavor, was very elegant with a more mineral finish and still nice fruit but a little more cherry than cranberry. All probably points to this needing time in the cellar to be at its best as well as some air in a decanter. 93-->94
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Pours a slightly darker medium garnet in the glass. The nose is large and expressive: red fruit, earth, orange peel, and some savory meat notes. On the palate, there is strawberries, raspberries, wet forest floor, mushrooms and white pepper. It’s big on fruit and earth and savoriness. Very nice balance now. But lots of time here for these elements to come together. Fun to drink now, as the wine melds together in a hurry once open and breathing, but I imagine a year or two in bottle will have great impact here. Drink now, it’s really good, or hold for even further improvement.
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From 375ml. Still painfully young. Red and blue fruits with a “meaty” Pinot character built in. Fine, polished, dense fruit profile. Dry well made. Drinkable, but needs some time.
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Niche Niche 8/20: Served to friends after Niche Niche (not blind). From .375. Very Rhys, with the distinct nose and the sweetness on the palate. This had been opened for a couple of days, so was a bit darker than upon opening, but no less distinct.
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Young but showing well from 375ml. Black cherry fruit and spicy notes with hints of cedar. Palate is deep, dark red fruits, concentrated and sappy. Lengthy finish. Enjoyable now but expect to pull together over time.
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Spicy blue (predominantly) fruits with a great purity and focus, and a great finish. Excellent structure, adn this should hold up well for a few years and likely improve somewhat during that period. Delicious Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot!
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A solid wine, though the cranberry and the sweetness are also the reason why I find Alpine one of my two least favorite Rhys vineyards; the stemminess doesn't help. The nose has some of the classic strawberry profile I associate with Rhys which makes it distinct from old world pinot.
This showed excellent, seeing about 4 hours of air. This bottle has the same pinot funk aroma that the July 2019 bottle showed, too. The wine fans out across the palate, with a tangy, herby note, followed by cranberry, strawberry jam and asian 5-spice. I found this to be 'pure', that sense of purity that the bottle from last year showed, too.....retasting 24 hours later without food and at room temp of 71f. Aromatic now holds the 5-spice, along with a touch of evergreen. The intensity on the wine dials up more today, along with the juicy red fruit notes--cranberry, cherry and strawberry. And the palate weight impression today is clear, showing a true medium weight. I mention this because of my reference to strawberry 'jam' from yesterday's impressions. There is nothing heavy here. What I do predict can happen with this wine is for the brown spice notes (from the 30% new oak) to fold in better, which would soften some of the spiciness. Overall, this is a strong, deeply flavored version of Alpine, with a mix of savory, crunchy and juicy components.
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Rhys Alpine Virtual Tasting (Planet Earth): Two bottles opened, both identical. Supple and yummy with sweet cherry, then brightening middle forward. Good+ weight and length. Better to cellar a few years, but probably not a 15 year vintage.
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Big rich red fruited strawberry, cherry, some rhubarb. Cinnamon spice. An herbal note. On palate a touch harsh with some herbal evergreen. Dark fruited with a bitter chocolate edge. Would put this away. Big potential
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Brooding and mysterious much of its fruit is behind closed doors. The nose gives off plenty of minerality and some earthy spices. Dried cherry notes in the rear palette. Enjoyed it as I have most of the Rhys offerings.
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Wow! This absolutely hit the spot for me tonight. From 375 with a 30 min decant this was surprisingly revealing on the nose, lots of dusty strawberry with a hint of carmel vanilla (unintegrated oak?). More semi rustic red fruits on the palate with a bit of orange peel, gamely teriyaki, and a little tea. Quite dinamic and very captivating at this young age. While it should age well it’s a ball to drink now. Terrific Cali Pinot! Paired pretty well with homemade smoked bbq cheddar burgers with cole slaw too. Rhys usually rocks and a Cali Pinot I continue to buy rather regularly because of the finesse, elegance, sunshine fruit, and Pinot food friendlyness. This wine really reminded me of why to keep the cellar stocked with them year after year
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From half bottle after a 1.5 hour decant. This is very clearly new world pinot, but done right. The nose is bursting with strawberries and other red fruits. The palate still has a touch of unintegrated oak (not surprising given the age), but is also all red fruit. There’s definitely a slight sweetness to this, but it’s so well counterbalanced by the acidity. Should age for quite a while, and this is why Rhys is the only American producer I buy with regularity.
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July 2019 Rhys Visit--Taste The 2017s and some new stuff (Rhys Estate (At The Winery)): Tasted at the winery. Like the 2017 Porkie from earlier in the tasting, I have the Alpine starred in my notes too, as one of my wines of the day. 12.9% ABV fully destemmed and 30% new wood. When first poured, this had a distinct pinot funk to it, which blew off with swirling. While the aromatics seemed shy, with some light spice, what is banging on this wine is the palate impressions. As with the 2017 Bear, this also came across to me as extremely pure in tone. My notes say 'immediate sensation of purity'. The balance here is exquisite, which isn't a word I use all that often in my normal vocabulary but this is what flashed for me when I tasted the wine. Blue and red fruits, even a little red apple too on retaste, with a bit of vanilla. Juicy, balanced by the terrific acidity. Excellent vintage for Alpine (and if you see my other note for the 2017 Horseshoe, that wine too kicked ass, and these plots are not very far apart--both wines excelled for me in 2017).
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Whoa, stop the bus. The scents of this wine say "pay attention my friend". Starts with cherry/berry but after it warms up there's a distinct red apple note which I would associated with the deep end of Anderson valley versus mountain fruit. Perfect balance of acid and tannins, elegant. Killer.
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4/27/2024 - t_moderne wrote: 93 Points
Pop and poured at the end of a dinner. Tasted again the following day after saving under vacu-vin and refirgeration.
Grassl Cru stem.
Ruby color.
Nice noes with hint of pine and red berries. Some pomegranate as well.
Wonderful fresh red berry fruit. Lively and with a nice spice note and herbal accent as well.
Does not have the snappy cranberry note that I usually find in the Alpine Vineyard Pinots.
Delicious wine.
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3/22/2023 - jbaron wrote: 93 Points
The nose and length are reticent bjt the mouth is singing, with fruit and structure and the whole rest of the picture. If the nose and length come out, there’s substantial upside.
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8/28/2022 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
From 375ml. Neeeed some serious air best on day 3. Lovely red cherry fruit mixed some herbal geeen notes. Fresh palate, quite nice but still could use some time to integrate the stem notes.
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4/23/2022 - fingers Likes this wine: 94 Points
From 375ml. and it is drinking nicely now in this format. Agree with the prior notes on earthy and dried red fruits and spices. Good depth and breadth, yet the intensity is subtle and delicately balanced across the whole palate. Plenty of life left.
4+13+18+9= 94
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3/22/2022 - DickMull Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow, wow, wow….I can’t wait to try this again 4-5 years from now. The nose was earth, mineral, and dried red fruit, as was the palate. Wonderful balance and subtle complexity, this will undoubtedly improve over the next few years. Can’t wait to open another bottle!
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3/13/2022 - KL1191 wrote: flawed
Corked
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10/30/2021 - bottles.and.bites Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dusty, cranberry, earthy, stone mineral finish. Every sip has layers of complexity. Hints of orange peel, thyme, cherry, mushroom. All subtle and delicious.
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9/4/2021 - yaCellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lots of upside with more cellaring
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7/2/2021 - jreis Likes this wine:
Popped and poured from 375. Still a baby. Tarragon, limestone and white pepper on a reserved nose. Nice cranberry fruit, spicy stems and crisp acidic finish on the palate. Still a baby, even in this format. After 10 plus years on this journey with Rhys, I am leaning more and more to Horseshoe over Alpine for Pinot. It has similar complexity, but is just a little more giving.
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4/17/2021 - buymoreredsdrinkmorewhites wrote:
From 750ml, decanted 45 min. Cloudy cranberry color, cherry, some tart cranberry on the palate with a slight menthol/white pepper finish. Would have guessed Anderson Valley blind, maybe Bearwallow. Really nice wine that got better with more time. Longer decant if drinking now but should excel with more cellar time. Cousin Pudge really enjoyed as last glass was really good. Wish I could afford more of these with ample cellar time.
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3/7/2021 - oldwines Likes this wine: 94 Points
From 500 ML bottle...12.9% ABV on label. Translucent medium ruby color. Very elegant and finessed in an old world style. Nose had red berries, white pepper, rose petals and a mineral undertone. Palate is strawberry, ripe red raspberry, vanilla, some slightly tart cranberry on the finish and spicy and earthy elements. With more air the white pepper really starts to come through on both the nose and palate. Finish is very long and I get some cherry cola in there that is an element I don’t particularly care for in my Pinot Noir, otherwise I think I would score this even higher.
p.s. Had the last glass of this the next day and it had thankfully lost that cola flavor, was very elegant with a more mineral finish and still nice fruit but a little more cherry than cranberry. All probably points to this needing time in the cellar to be at its best as well as some air in a decanter.
93-->94
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2/10/2021 - WineGold wrote: 94 Points
Pours a slightly darker medium garnet in the glass. The nose is large and expressive: red fruit, earth, orange peel, and some savory meat notes. On the palate, there is strawberries, raspberries, wet forest floor, mushrooms and white pepper. It’s big on fruit and earth and savoriness. Very nice balance now. But lots of time here for these elements to come together. Fun to drink now, as the wine melds together in a hurry once open and breathing, but I imagine a year or two in bottle will have great impact here. Drink now, it’s really good, or hold for even further improvement.
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1/17/2021 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 92 Points
From 375ml. Still painfully young. Red and blue fruits with a “meaty” Pinot character built in. Fine, polished, dense fruit profile. Dry well made. Drinkable, but needs some time.
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12/4/2020 - Vinomnivore Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking well from 500ml. Energetic, nice sweet fruit. Better with more time but fun now.
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8/20/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:
Niche Niche 8/20: Served to friends after Niche Niche (not blind). From .375. Very Rhys, with the distinct nose and the sweetness on the palate. This had been opened for a couple of days, so was a bit darker than upon opening, but no less distinct.
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8/19/2020 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Young but showing well from 375ml. Black cherry fruit and spicy notes with hints of cedar. Palate is deep, dark red fruits, concentrated and sappy. Lengthy finish. Enjoyable now but expect to pull together over time.
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7/24/2020 - Rer Likes this wine:
Buy!!!
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7/23/2020 - ewsds Likes this wine: 93 Points
Spicy blue (predominantly) fruits with a great purity and focus, and a great finish. Excellent structure, adn this should hold up well for a few years and likely improve somewhat during that period. Delicious Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot!
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7/18/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:
A solid wine, though the cranberry and the sweetness are also the reason why I find Alpine one of my two least favorite Rhys vineyards; the stemminess doesn't help. The nose has some of the classic strawberry profile I associate with Rhys which makes it distinct from old world pinot.
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6/29/2020 - Frank Murray III wrote:
This showed excellent, seeing about 4 hours of air. This bottle has the same pinot funk aroma that the July 2019 bottle showed, too. The wine fans out across the palate, with a tangy, herby note, followed by cranberry, strawberry jam and asian 5-spice. I found this to be 'pure', that sense of purity that the bottle from last year showed, too.....retasting 24 hours later without food and at room temp of 71f. Aromatic now holds the 5-spice, along with a touch of evergreen. The intensity on the wine dials up more today, along with the juicy red fruit notes--cranberry, cherry and strawberry. And the palate weight impression today is clear, showing a true medium weight. I mention this because of my reference to strawberry 'jam' from yesterday's impressions. There is nothing heavy here. What I do predict can happen with this wine is for the brown spice notes (from the 30% new oak) to fold in better, which would soften some of the spiciness. Overall, this is a strong, deeply flavored version of Alpine, with a mix of savory, crunchy and juicy components.
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5/27/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Rhys Alpine Virtual Tasting (Planet Earth): Two bottles opened, both identical. Supple and yummy with sweet cherry, then brightening middle forward. Good+ weight and length. Better to cellar a few years, but probably not a 15 year vintage.
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5/27/2020 - KenK wrote: 93 Points
Big rich red fruited strawberry, cherry, some rhubarb. Cinnamon spice. An herbal note. On palate a touch harsh with some herbal evergreen. Dark fruited with a bitter chocolate edge. Would put this away. Big potential
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5/1/2020 - nrjessup Likes this wine: 93 Points
Brooding and mysterious much of its fruit is behind closed doors. The nose gives off plenty of minerality and some earthy spices. Dried cherry notes in the rear palette. Enjoyed it as I have most of the Rhys offerings.
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2/1/2020 - Djfermentation Likes this wine: 95 Points
Wow! This absolutely hit the spot for me tonight. From 375 with a 30 min decant this was surprisingly revealing on the nose, lots of dusty strawberry with a hint of carmel vanilla (unintegrated oak?). More semi rustic red fruits on the palate with a bit of orange peel, gamely teriyaki, and a little tea. Quite dinamic and very captivating at this young age. While it should age well it’s a ball to drink now. Terrific Cali Pinot! Paired pretty well with homemade smoked bbq cheddar burgers with cole slaw too. Rhys usually rocks and a Cali Pinot I continue to buy rather regularly because of the finesse, elegance, sunshine fruit, and Pinot food friendlyness. This wine really reminded me of why to keep the cellar stocked with them year after year
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1/5/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:
From half bottle after a 1.5 hour decant. This is very clearly new world pinot, but done right. The nose is bursting with strawberries and other red fruits. The palate still has a touch of unintegrated oak (not surprising given the age), but is also all red fruit. There’s definitely a slight sweetness to this, but it’s so well counterbalanced by the acidity. Should age for quite a while, and this is why Rhys is the only American producer I buy with regularity.
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7/26/2019 - Frank Murray III wrote:
July 2019 Rhys Visit--Taste The 2017s and some new stuff (Rhys Estate (At The Winery)): Tasted at the winery. Like the 2017 Porkie from earlier in the tasting, I have the Alpine starred in my notes too, as one of my wines of the day. 12.9% ABV fully destemmed and 30% new wood. When first poured, this had a distinct pinot funk to it, which blew off with swirling. While the aromatics seemed shy, with some light spice, what is banging on this wine is the palate impressions. As with the 2017 Bear, this also came across to me as extremely pure in tone. My notes say 'immediate sensation of purity'. The balance here is exquisite, which isn't a word I use all that often in my normal vocabulary but this is what flashed for me when I tasted the wine. Blue and red fruits, even a little red apple too on retaste, with a bit of vanilla. Juicy, balanced by the terrific acidity. Excellent vintage for Alpine (and if you see my other note for the 2017 Horseshoe, that wine too kicked ass, and these plots are not very far apart--both wines excelled for me in 2017).
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7/26/2019 - brigcampbell wrote:
Whoa, stop the bus. The scents of this wine say "pay attention my friend". Starts with cherry/berry but after it warms up there's a distinct red apple note which I would associated with the deep end of Anderson valley versus mountain fruit. Perfect balance of acid and tannins, elegant. Killer.
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