This wine opened up nicely after about 30 minutes in a the glass after initially being muted on the nose. Green apples, pears, lemon peel, some white peach and whine flower hints with mild brioche and hazelnut notes. On the palate medium bodied, orchard and tropical fruit and yeasty buttery notes I found acidity quite present in this wine despite earlier comments and decently long finish. I think this will get a bit better with age as well. Overall great wine! 93 pts
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Another example of why I always come back to Rhys. This was excellent, beautiful pale gold color. Effusive nose, pear and white stone fruit. On the palate, impeccably balanced at 12.8%, plenty of acidity and a richer fruit profile than the abv would suggest, with more pear, more stone fruit, just a slight hint of creaminess. Why can't more CA chardonnay be like this? Long lingering finish. Once again, the tropical fruit that you often see in the Rhys SCM vineyards is most pleasantly absent, and these AV wines are always lighter on their feet. Note to self-buy more of these Bearwallow chards!
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PnP with aromas of peach, lemon, apple, pear, floral and minerals. Similar flavors showing more apple, pear, floral, peach and minerals. Well balanced with a smooth finish.
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just opened a 2018 yesterday. As good as that was, the 2017 is showing slightly better. Aromatic immediately with white flowers, peach, lemon, apple, pear and minerals. The palate was more apple, pear, floral, peach and minerals. Well balanced with a smooth finish. Minimal oak influence noted.
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15 months after the prior: This has evolved very nicely. It’s balanced — savory, rather rich, with good backbone acidity. Brings to mind Chassagne 1er. Very enjoyable over three nights.
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hmm, something weird so NR... after 2 hours in decanter it was still a bit clumsy (maybe due to unabsorbed oak?), almost had a slight chemical taste, then over two hours of drinking it got better... if smart, I will wait at least two years for my next bottle
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PnP. Light gold. Pronounced nose of citrus, especially grapefruit and lime. Lovely balance on the palate, medium to light weight, but good flavors. A touch of oak and phenolic intensity on the finish suggests this will keep or improve for a few years.
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Dead ringer for a good white Burgundy. Didn't think California could do this. Floral nose leads to an impeccably well balanced palate. Oak is present but does not dominate as it often does. Great fruit and acidity dominate. I like my Chardonnay young. Drinks really well now, but will hold.
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Seven months after the prior: More savory, and less rich than we recall. Refreshing acidity. Not especially deep or complex at this stage. Still, quite enjoyable over three nights.
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Served blind to friends with Chassagne being the guess :) To me, this remains distinctly Rhys with the green apple Jolly Rancher tinge on the palate, but I love the Rhys 2017 Chardonnays. I remain convinced that the Chards are their best wines.
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Out of .375. An interesting wine. I usually like Bearwallow, and this has nice slightly high toned fruit and good acidity. Solid to drink now, though despite forgetting about the bottle for a week in my fridge, while it held up, it didn't show a huge amount of development, other than some slight widening on the finish. Am curious to see where this ends up going, though the structure is certainly there. The fruit profile and acidity of this vineyard has always been appealing to me; it's distinctly not Burgundy and a really good expression of Chardonnay in its own right; the only California Chardonnay I buy.
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Quite a nose but needs years for the palette to tame. This could be dramatically improved in a few years. Nose is lemon zest, limestone, balanced by ripe citrus. Palette is like diluted lemon juice. The acid and lemon notes overpower everything else. For me, Anderson valley is too cold for Chards.
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375 ml PNP Nose of white flowers and lemon curd. Palate - tropical fruit and lemon confit. Medium to full body Consumed way too early as it was a little tart. Excellent complex wine, well balanced and lively.
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Blind tasting of 2017 Rhys Chardonnay SVD Lineup: -- cork pulled approx. 1 hr before initial taste -- -- tasted blind over 2 hours on Day 1, then non-blind over another couple hours; re-visited on Day 3 -- -- from 375 mL --
NOSE: easily the richest Nose of the Alpine-Bearwallow-Horseshoe-Mt. Pajaro quartet; very "CA Chard" in character, but with an intriguing hint of fresh sea breeze.
BODY: medium pale yellow; medium to medium-full bodied – this was the only one of the four that didn't have a medium-light body.
TASTE: similar to the Alpine on Day 1, but with the richness turned up a couple notches; of the four Rhys Chardonnays tasted here, this is the one that stood-out as "the different one." On Day 3 this was still rich, but – curiously – the Alpine had surpassed the Bearwallow in this regard. This strikes me as being best to Drink over the near term --- if I had any of this in 750s I would not be holding them 10+ years.
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Golden. Bright yellow fruit, with a bare hint of stone fruit pit. Savory, and yet quite rich. Good acidity. Not as deep and complex as other VDs, at least at this early stage. Still, quite enjoyable over three nights.
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Bit surprised by the deep of color, almost like an apple juice color. There's nice acidity and balance with a more profound mouthfeel than the other cards. Good zest of citrus.
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Aroma: somewhat closed, reduced nose with nuts and minerals. Palate: citrus and tropical fruit flavors with creamy and mineral notes. Crisp acidity and light body. Good complexity. Will probably develop with age. Excellent potential.
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1/9/2024 - jbaron wrote: 93 Points
From a 375 that was singing.
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5/29/2023 - advinm41 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine opened up nicely after about 30 minutes in a the glass after initially being muted on the nose. Green apples, pears, lemon peel, some white peach and whine flower hints with mild brioche and hazelnut notes. On the palate medium bodied, orchard and tropical fruit and yeasty buttery notes I found acidity quite present in this wine despite earlier comments and decently long finish. I think this will get a bit better with age as well. Overall great wine! 93 pts
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5/19/2023 - aChave wrote:
Pretty. Soft orchard fruit dominates, but has some backbone to keep it lively.
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5/18/2023 - grub94 Likes this wine: 89 Points
disappointing: not much complexity and depth o palette. Needs more acidity.
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3/5/2023 - buymoreredsdrinkmorewhites wrote:
Pleasant enough wine showing orchard fruits. Mostly Gala apple, some mineral with not much acid present.
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12/17/2022 - blaine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Another example of why I always come back to Rhys. This was excellent, beautiful pale gold color. Effusive nose, pear and white stone fruit. On the palate, impeccably balanced at 12.8%, plenty of acidity and a richer fruit profile than the abv would suggest, with more pear, more stone fruit, just a slight hint of creaminess. Why can't more CA chardonnay be like this? Long lingering finish. Once again, the tropical fruit that you often see in the Rhys SCM vineyards is most pleasantly absent, and these AV wines are always lighter on their feet. Note to self-buy more of these Bearwallow chards!
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11/14/2022 - Tim2 wrote: 91 Points
Very good but missing the acidic grip on the finish. Danced very good salsa afterwards so probably deserves a better rating.
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11/4/2022 - dafmd Likes this wine: 91 Points
PnP; golden straw; pear notes; medium bodied, white stone fruit balanced with citrus, white pepper, lasting finish
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11/2/2022 - gharter Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnP with aromas of peach, lemon, apple, pear, floral and minerals. Similar flavors showing more apple, pear, floral, peach and minerals. Well balanced with a smooth finish.
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8/16/2022 - Acohen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pear, honeycrisp apple and light citrus with great finish
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3/6/2022 - gharter Likes this wine: 92 Points
just opened a 2018 yesterday. As good as that was, the 2017 is showing slightly better. Aromatic immediately with white flowers, peach, lemon, apple, pear and minerals. The palate was more apple, pear, floral, peach and minerals. Well balanced with a smooth finish. Minimal oak influence noted.
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2/28/2022 - Rieslingfan wrote: flawed
Brutally corked.
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12/22/2021 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
15 months after the prior: This has evolved very nicely. It’s balanced — savory, rather rich, with good backbone acidity. Brings to mind Chassagne 1er. Very enjoyable over three nights.
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3/1/2021 - mreinhard74@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really lovely. Burgundian like most Rhys chards. Bright minerality with white flowers and wet stone. Lemon peel on the back end. Acidity cuts through.
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1/29/2021 - WoodieBayArea wrote:
hmm, something weird so NR... after 2 hours in decanter it was still a bit clumsy (maybe due to unabsorbed oak?), almost had a slight chemical taste, then over two hours of drinking it got better... if smart, I will wait at least two years for my next bottle
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11/25/2020 - rosenst1 wrote: 92 Points
PnP. Light gold. Pronounced nose of citrus, especially grapefruit and lime. Lovely balance on the palate, medium to light weight, but good flavors. A touch of oak and phenolic intensity on the finish suggests this will keep or improve for a few years.
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10/15/2020 - melzar wrote: 93 Points
Dead ringer for a good white Burgundy. Didn't think California could do this. Floral nose leads to an impeccably well balanced palate. Oak is present but does not dominate as it often does. Great fruit and acidity dominate. I like my Chardonnay young. Drinks really well now, but will hold.
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9/7/2020 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Seven months after the prior: More savory, and less rich than we recall. Refreshing acidity. Not especially deep or complex at this stage. Still, quite enjoyable over three nights.
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9/7/2020 - mdefreitas wrote: 93 Points
Excellent showing, with lemon curd, white peaches and a hint of spice from the deft oak treatment. Wonderful acids and lengthy finish.
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9/7/2020 - Tim2 wrote: 92 Points
Crisp, acidic, easy drinking, delicious with coriander cumin covered chicken.
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8/11/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:
Served blind to friends with Chassagne being the guess :) To me, this remains distinctly Rhys with the green apple Jolly Rancher tinge on the palate, but I love the Rhys 2017 Chardonnays. I remain convinced that the Chards are their best wines.
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8/3/2020 - Nicephoras wrote:
Out of .375. An interesting wine. I usually like Bearwallow, and this has nice slightly high toned fruit and good acidity. Solid to drink now, though despite forgetting about the bottle for a week in my fridge, while it held up, it didn't show a huge amount of development, other than some slight widening on the finish. Am curious to see where this ends up going, though the structure is certainly there.
The fruit profile and acidity of this vineyard has always been appealing to me; it's distinctly not Burgundy and a really good expression of Chardonnay in its own right; the only California Chardonnay I buy.
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7/10/2020 - yaCellar Likes this wine: 91 Points
Quite a nose but needs years for the palette to tame. This could be dramatically improved in a few years. Nose is lemon zest, limestone, balanced by ripe citrus. Palette is like diluted lemon juice. The acid and lemon notes overpower everything else. For me, Anderson valley is too cold for Chards.
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6/20/2020 - grafstrb wrote:
-- from 375mL --
Very good. Lighter than prev. bottle on 3/21/2020.
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5/27/2020 - KenK wrote: 91 Points
Pretty green apple citrus flavors in a fresh bright clean package. I like the flavor profile here and bet there is upside to holding.
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5/3/2020 - Duncan Wine Likes this wine: 93 Points
375 ml
PNP
Nose of white flowers and lemon curd.
Palate - tropical fruit and lemon confit.
Medium to full body
Consumed way too early as it was a little tart.
Excellent complex wine, well balanced and lively.
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3/21/2020 - grafstrb wrote:
Blind tasting of 2017 Rhys Chardonnay SVD Lineup: -- cork pulled approx. 1 hr before initial taste --
-- tasted blind over 2 hours on Day 1, then non-blind over another couple hours; re-visited on Day 3 --
-- from 375 mL --
NOSE: easily the richest Nose of the Alpine-Bearwallow-Horseshoe-Mt. Pajaro quartet; very "CA Chard" in character, but with an intriguing hint of fresh sea breeze.
BODY: medium pale yellow; medium to medium-full bodied – this was the only one of the four that didn't have a medium-light body.
TASTE: similar to the Alpine on Day 1, but with the richness turned up a couple notches; of the four Rhys Chardonnays tasted here, this is the one that stood-out as "the different one." On Day 3 this was still rich, but – curiously – the Alpine had surpassed the Bearwallow in this regard. This strikes me as being best to Drink over the near term --- if I had any of this in 750s I would not be holding them 10+ years.
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2/3/2020 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Golden. Bright yellow fruit, with a bare hint of stone fruit pit. Savory, and yet quite rich. Good acidity. Not as deep and complex as other VDs, at least at this early stage. Still, quite enjoyable over three nights.
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1/16/2020 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Bright lemon and peach fruit, a bit of wood, and a touch of spice on the back end. Promising.
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7/27/2019 - brigcampbell wrote:
Bit surprised by the deep of color, almost like an apple juice color. There's nice acidity and balance with a more profound mouthfeel than the other cards. Good zest of citrus.
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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. 12.8 ABV, with 15-20% new wood. Spicy, yellow fruits and some flint, along with green apple that is lightly candied. Lemony citrus with an intense finish, along with some lime zest.
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5/4/2019 - kosinski Likes this wine:
Aroma: somewhat closed, reduced nose with nuts and minerals.
Palate: citrus and tropical fruit flavors with creamy and mineral notes. Crisp acidity and light body. Good complexity. Will probably develop with age. Excellent potential.
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