Dark muddy purple, spicy Rhys nose, some black cherry cough syrup, licorice, dark earthy notes; holding up very well, really nice, balanced if not on the bigger side. Great with some of the BBQ meats at Best in the Park BBQ. EWG
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Fully mature, this is a little clunky and rustic. The cola notes and fruit have subsided (in a good way), but it is a little rough around the edges and doesn't have the depth I thought I saw in its youth.
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Delicious black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish. Drinking beautifully!
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2006 Rhys Alpine Vineyard Pinot Noir Last week I opened an ‘07 Horseshoe, tonight the ‘06 Alpine. Same soft cork! Both times it broke using my favorite waiters corkscrew and had to use the Durand. This wine is very different than the Horseshoe - as the Fruit is much less “in your face” and has so much more spice and pine.... long spiced mid palate more cran- tartness and forest floor. It seems to be on a very gentle aging curve.
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This was my last of four bottles, and it turned out to be "Alpine Hillside"... so I will not rate this nor provide input... rather will write a separate note under the Hillside bottling... not sure if my previous three were Hillside or not?
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Rhys Dinner (Golden Triangle, Los Gatos): From magnum. This tasted quite young with lots of berries and some cedar notes on the nose. Red berries, strawberries, cherries, and a hint of wood on the palate. Medium finish.
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Recently had the 07 and this paled in comparison - not nearly the structure, minerality in this vintage. I would drink up now. It is pleasant but lacked the depth of flavor I had hoped for.
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Decanted off of small amount of fine sediment just before dinner and consumed through the meal. Medium-dark red color with medium transparency. Aromas of black cherry, cinnamon, and mulberry. Palate is initially very black fruited but with 10 minutes in decanter shows more red fruit notes, including a sweet cherry and cinnamon spice core with blackberry and some clove showing up. This is the first bottle of this I've had where I thought it was ready to go. Plenty of upside potential based upon this showing but very delicious right now. Drink or hold.
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Decanted off fine sediment. From memory. Nice from the get go but really took about 2-3 h to fully bloom and harmonize. Lovely melange of dark cherries, spices, mild green stems, forest floor earth, and minerals buoyed by nice acids. Nicely balanced and the flavors swirl from one to the next, always keeping the wine interesting. Drinking great now. This was my last bottle but can easily go another 5 years, if not longer.
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Darker ruby. Nose of lilac, damp cellar, black raspberry, plum pits, earth. Muscular black cherry and dark plum flavors on the palate with savory elements and earthy tones mixed in. Moderate acidity and firm tannin somewhat hidden beneath dense fruit. Longer finish of raspberry and earth with slow grip at the end. Young but quite good.
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As delicious as the last bottle with black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish.
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Unfortunately my last bottle. This is in a really good place now and should only get better with time. Deep ruby color, no browning.Very aromatic as soon as it was opened, but improved with time. Floral, black cherries, dusty,with an earthiness on the nose. Has a complex palate. Starts with black cherry, mineral, spice. Smooth, silky tannins leading to a long finish. Well balanced with good acidity. Should still hold for a few more years, don't feel bad about enjoying it now. May be the best Rhys wine I have had yet.
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This took a while to open up as it initially was showing in a more forward fruited way. Eventually it relaxed and the stems brought out some nice subtleties. This never really awoke in an open way. It seemed to be brooding to me. The next day out of the fridge the stems showed in a strongly herby way. I do have to say this shows "burgundian" to me only in that each time I've had this wine it has been different. This last bottle I wouldn't hesitate to age much longer. I think there is just enough fruit to keep stand up to the stems. I could be wrong. I was happy to share this but I kinda wish I had another bottle to open in five years.
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Delicious black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish.
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Dry cork that broke in pieces had me nervous about this bottle, but wine is none the worse for it. Lovely nose of bright cranberry fruit, spruce, underbrush and a hint of white pepper. Not quite as nuanced on the palate, with a quite sweet raspberry fruited attack. It finishes with a nice bit of crisp cranberry acidity, but finishes just a touch shorter and more simple than the nose would have you believe. Very nice, but has not picked up quite the complexity I would have expected.
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A sensational showing and probably my favorite Rhys Pinot experience to date (among many, many good bottles). Soaring gorgeous nose of cherry skin, black cherry, toasted herbs and spice. The palate has good concentration and intensity in an elegant and weightless frame. Still quite primary tasting, but this is texturally amazing. Likely has upside, but so damn good now.
Decanted for 1.5 hr. Initially, nice balance of fruit, bark, minerals. With more air, structure comes to the fore, with stems becoming more prominent. On d2, reticent but nice aromas of red berries, spice and done earth. Palate follows with moderate weight and silky mouthfeel. still young. Open next bottle after several more years. 91.
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Atlanta Does Rhys (Aria, Atlanta, GA): Drinking incredibly well, dark fruit with a little spice and just a touch of menthol, framed well by ripe tannin and focused by well-integrated acidity. It still has a lot of upside but you won't regret drinking it now.
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2 hr + decant, so what we've been waiting for. This is quite dark fruited, a load of spice (not christmas spices) with a great lift from stem inclusion giving this a great balance. I'm normally favoring red/cherry dominated pinots but this hits all the correct balance features for me. No hurry to drink these, there's enough acid/tannin/fruit to work for a long time.
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This one is coming along just fine. If you are looking for a big Cali Pinot, probably too late on this. If you are looking for a bit or earthiness and some elegance with good fruit, you are a bit early. For now, it is drinking very well though. Nice nose, slight earthy funk, lots of cherries. Good texture, almost velvety but stops short. Lots of cherry fruit with plenty of depth on the palate. Tight layering. Nice finish. Glad to have one left.
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Great color, fairly dark for Pinot, no signs of age. Nose really rips from the glass. Lots of plum, violet, raspberry and a licorice undertone...almost over the top? But nice Burgundian finish, like a rich Volnay. Lots of dark berry, well-balanced.
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The '06 Rhys Alpine Vinyards is in a perfect place today with a bouquet of fresh cherry, pine, sweet herbs, brilliant minerality, subtle spice, and hints of ripe apple. On the palate, I found soft, fleshy textures with bright cherry, spice and brisk acidity adding vibrancy. It finished on hints of spiced orange, sweat herbs and licorice. This was a pleasure to drink.
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July 4th with Eric and Deb: Burgundian. mushroom, earthy, black cherry, juniper berries. mid is cherry, with rustic herbal touches. earthy notes. very bright acidity. long finish with sweet herb and a touch of spice. excellent.
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Enjoyed over three nights. Tight at first, and best the second night. Stem inclusion noticeable, and I like it - lends definition and cut through the fruit. The dark cherry and berry oriented fruit is ripe and a little more pronounced than other Rhys SVDs. Laden with talc, minerals, baking spices and violets, this has good potential going forward, though I think not the best Rhys has to offer. Keith's note is right on - streamlined and polished. A preview of older vines to come. Superb, not magnificent. Just starting its peak, and for another 6-8 years would be my guess.
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I thought it sweet at first, a little offputting, but I quickly got used to it and ended up enjoyed. Sweet raspberry and black cherry fruit, spice, just a hint of cola. Well-balanced, good length. B+
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Well happy hallmark Holiday to me. I thought I did not have any more of this wine, but while I was looking for something else I found another bottle. A couple of years ago it was starting to develop, and now it's in a really good place that starts to reveal some of the promise of the Rhys endeavor. The fruit is still prominent, but the secondary elements are in full force, adding a full ration of complexity before it has reached anything that feels like a plateau. I wish I had 3 or 4 more bottles, as there is a very interesting path emerging. So I will just let my other Alpine Pinots age for a while, and see where things go. There is a lot of promise based on this wine, and perhaps the beginning of the end of the uncertainty.
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Very Burgundian. Aromas of dusty dirty Bing cherry and spice. Nice tense structure with pretty red fruits with floral edge. Lovely on own, even better with food. Nice!
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Dead ringer for Mugnier Chambolle upon opening. Sour red cherry fruit but some richness, touch of oak and earth, dried herbs but with a hint of austerity and acidity that is very French. This wine, from a mediocre vintage, totally sold me on Rhys and they are killing it in this style. With air, got a touch richer and sweeter and belied its California heritage, but a memorable bottle in several ways. Medium weight, medium intensity, light to medium finish, complete. Drink or hold.
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In a great place right now - fully developed imho. Sour strawberry, baked rhubarb, and a touch of cola. Gorgeous silky mouthfeel with nice weight, acidic finish, very long. Elegant and expressive
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PnP. Dark red with a touch of bricking on the fringe. Initially muted on opening. After about 30 minutes began showing some baking spices, richness on the nose. Black cherry with tangy acidity on the palate. Over 3 hours it developed chewy tannins that partially muted the fruit and showcased the salinity.
Cerebral wine that changed a lot over the course of the night. Seems to have plenty of life remaining, so will be burying my remaining bottle to wait for the tannin to further resolve.
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Rhys @ QCH (Quality Chop House, London): Darker and denser. More plush and deep on the nose. A huge step up in density and depth. Very long. Lovely line. Padded but so dense and chewy; a little closed in the middle through to the finish, but a bit more giving with air. Just lovely. ****1/2
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Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is plush and silky with raspberries, violets, dark red cherries, currants, and some brambly fruits.
Overall: The feel is sexy. This is showing a more subtle and nuanced side. This is drinking beautifully with some air and it can go for a good while longer.
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Gosh, this is in a great spot. Been following this wine since day one when it was a syrupy fruit bomb. Now it's totally streamlined, the baby fat almost all gone to reveal a surprisingly feminine figure underneath. The stemmy signature that was here on release is pretty much all absorbed too. Yet the fruit is vibrantly fresh even right out of the gate, with bright raspberry and zingy wild berry flavors and just a hint of iron. Whatever structure is left in this is nicely smoothed out under the fruit. The presentation is much developed over the years, but still objectively youthful. What makes it such a pleasure today is how easygoing it is to drink, a real comfort wine with a polished texture and lipsmackingly tasty fruit.
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Burgundian nose of violets, but what is this on the palate? This is a lovely pinot noir, but no one is likely to mistake it for a Burgundy. Very un California like as well. Oregon perhaps. Tastes very young for 2006. Unresolved stemmy tannins, good acidity, and lush fruit portend a long life and significant improvement. We need to see more wines like this from California!
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Nearly two years since my last bottle and this hasn't budged much. Full focused nose of black cherry, raspberry and stem-driven herbs. Palate starts lean but gains flesh over 4 hours of steady air. In the mouth flavors echo the nose with an added spice cake kick. Racy acidity keeps it fresh and on a razors edge. Definitely still youthful. On the leaner and elegant side of the spectrum. Will try to save my last bottle for 5ish years and drink this at age 15.
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Deep ruby color. Intense nose of red berries, muskmelon, and mulling spice. Medium to full bodied on the palate, took on weight and presence with a couple of hours of air.
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Open but moderate nose of black cherries, touch of black raspberry, hints of mint, and guava (?). Approachable, but opened up beautifully with a half hour in the decanter...warm, round almost cinnamon tinged with lovely balance and rich concentration, medium plus finish. Spectacular for the vintage and improving. Drink or hold.
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deep ruby color, no browning. Popped and poured. Good out of the gate, but improved with time. Floral, black cherries, dusty,with an earthiness on the nose. Has a complex palate. Starts with black cherry, mineral, spice. The tannins have really softened leading to a medium finish. Still well balanced with good acidity. While it should hold for a few more years, it is in a really good place now.
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Drank on Christmas after polishing off the '10 Alpine. Still pretty backward and in need of some time. Raw material seems better in the '10 but this was nigh undrinkable on day one.
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Pretty powerful style of SC Mts. Pinot Noir. On the nose dark cherry and cranberry with a whiff or alcohol heat. Good spine of acidity with a repeat of the cherry notes and spice along with a somewhat muddy mineral character. Medium tannins. This could definitely age for a few more years but not sure if it is going to get any better given the slight touch of heat and ripe cherry flavors.
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Happy Thanksgiving with Rhys Alpine Pinot Noir. This has developed quite a bit, and is in a nice place, even if it has time to spare. Floral, earthy and richly fruity, it's more open and complex than a few years ago. I wish I had more bottles, as I think it has several years of positive development ahead of it. That being said, it was nice to sample a Rhys Pinot that had been allowed to develop.
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Glass from Coravin. I thought this was performing very well and had all the signature Rhys characteristics. Better than the Hillside we also had tonight.
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Great showing. Splashed decanted and served. Bright red crunchy fruit with Vosne like spice. Very nice apple skin lift on the finish. I would guess this is starting to enter its prime drinking window, but not showing any age.
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Served blind, finished 2nd out of 5 Rhys wines from 06-10. Very close to the 06 Swan Terrace, showing spicy nuanced fruit on the nose. Comes across younger and more acidic than the ST, with more stems and perhaps more complex in the long run. Lots of life ahead of it, no hurry to drink.
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These 2006s are showing more nicely than a year or two ago, with some of the riper elements of fruit fading a bit and a crisp, light note emerging. They do not have the structure of the 2007s or 2008s but there is plenty to enjoy now.
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Rhys Tasting With The Gang (My House): I like the wine this time better than when I had it back in Dec 2011. Last night, it showed a bright cherry, intense fruit, a hint of red apple and some herbal tones. Even with decanting ahead of time (I think 4 hours), it was still tight. My view here is, much like the Alpine Hillside and Swan Terrace (both 2006) we tasted alongside this Alpine, these wines all have a lot of structure and plenty of time left to go.
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very nice, but have had better versions of this… maybe didn't give enough air? (i gave it 60 mins, and we drank it in 30 mins)… anyway this was more fruit than spice, but more spice than 95% of domestic pinot, good acid and nice drink all around
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The fruit here seems to have relaxed becoming pretty, complex and expressive beyond it's fatter, juicier days. The odd part was heat seems to have ticked up. I played with temperature quite a bit and just couldn't shake that warmth. Not overwhelming for me but always present. A very good wine otherwise but maybe the vintage finally caught up with this. I'd say this is comfortably in a drinking window but not going anywhere soon.
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Brought to a Rhys offline. Tasted in a flight with the 06 Hillside and the Alpine 07. This was the only one which I felt was either in or entering a prime drinking window. Beautiful nose with florals and dark berries. on the palate I could not decide if they were black or red berries... (def not blue) and some cake spice. Nice finish, just hung there...
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a little big for my taste but i must say there was plenty of cinnamon, spice and enough acid to balance the biggish fruit and the extraction, people really loved it and if you like a big pinot this is very very well made
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This wine grew on me over the course of several days (thanks, Coravin). At first I found it a bit too jammy and noticeably hot. Then I began to notice the wine's strong minerality on the palate, which leant it a savoriness that worked particularly well with food. It is still a little weighty for my taste, and you do notice the 14% alcohol on the finish, but the minerals/rocks lend some balance to what would otherwise be a rather blowsy sort of fruit bomb.
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Didn't get it. I will start by saying that I'm not very familiar with Burgundian style Pinots and this is apparently as close as you can get from what I hear. Probably just to used to fruity American Pinots and not earthy mineral tasting pinots, so the jury is still out. I will def. give it another try, but wasn't sold.
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First time with a Rhys pinot. Very refreshing to drink a CA pinot that didn't taste like a fruit punch cocktail. Very earthy and minerally. Wasn't a crowd pleaser (compared to an SQN syrah) but I thoroughly enjoyed this wine, as the styling is more reminiscent of old world pinot than the newer fruit bombs. Can't wait to try more Rhys from some of the other vineyards.
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Wish we had given this more air time - pop and pour, initially very bright fruit with a short, clipped finish. The next day (vacuvinned) it was wonderful, heavier, dark fruit, finished.
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Best showing of an Alpine yet for me. Decanted for an hour and it presented as a fully integrated, soft red berried pinot. Some nice soft cake spice with a touch of cranberry, but not tart. Elegant fine finish. I think this wine (at least this bottle) is ready and reaching its prime.
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Popped and poured, nice mature dark red fruitted profile, with some light spice (not cake) and a bit of pine sap. Very clean zesty finish. Did not give this enough time to show its full self.
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Beautiful focused nose of black cherry, fresh cut herbs, and spice. Palate also shows laser-like focus with pure black and red cherries. More herbs. Terrific energy and cut. Medium+ finish. I have tons of Rhys - but haven't drank much ... no idea where this is going, but certainly feels like it has room to grow and develop.
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Have a lot of Rhys pinot and have only drank a couple (drank dozens of Alesia and several chards though). Decanted for an hour. Better than the first one a few years ago. The flavors are more integrated. After 3 hours of drinking, I began to see where tis is going. Just beautiful. Rhys makes wines like no one else. Wait at leat a few years for last one.
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Dark plum red color with limited transparency. Decanted and consumed over 2-3 hours of meal prep and consumption. Initial fruit impression is of crunchy raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, and some black cherry that leads into a medium finish that shows some tar and licorice elements. The fruit gets a bit redder with some air, but this seems to be still rather tightly wound. The structure and fruit elements seem in place to carry it into further development. Hold.
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This was black-fruited and intensely aromatic, with a mind-boggling array of spices and floral scents on the nose, with a little bit of freshly sawed wood. On the palate, it exudes elegance, with very fine, well-integrated tannins, but a bit of alcohol showed through on the finish. But that's only a slight knock on what was otherwise a lovely "New World meets Old World" Pinot Noir.
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beautiful wine, drank while watching the finish of the 2013 Masters, nose was fantastic with sweet fruit and sandalwood and a touch of spice, palate was beautiful hi toned fruit with some floral notes and just the right amount of acid and oak, thanks to Regan Avery for the gift... now signing off to watch the playoff
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Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Huge nose of baking spices, black cherries, black berries and white pepper. Flavors of black berries, black cherries, black raspberries and a bit of minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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A good wine with very delicate mineral flavors. Wet rock, rain, forest notes adds on to other fruity flavors makes it a very enjoyable wine. But the 2010 Alpine I tasted earlier in the day seems to have even more potential.
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Rhys and Ceritas Tasting (NYC): A bit disappointing compared to the other vintages of Alpine that we sampled. There was a ripe fruitiness on the nose that wasn't present on the other wines, and overall the aromas were more "typically" California. The palate was on the thin side and the wine hadn't successfully integrated the stemmy flavors from the whole cluster style. Of the wines in our tasting, it was the weakest of the correct wines, lacking the excellent mouthfeel and structure seen in the other vintages we tried.
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Initial impressions, paired with sautéed pork with a wonton glaze / sauce - outstanding! On it's own, still very good, if not one that particularly excites. Matt's notes below are spot on in terms of flavor profile.. Very balanced. Good fruit with remnants of a pleasant green stemminess. Lacks a bit of verve or energy to push my score higher. The best pinot opened tonight, but the bar wasn't set very high.
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Nose: An amazing nose of flowers, strawberries, and cherry. After some air hints of fresh mint, rhubarb and earth. Palate: The cherry and strawberry show with still good acid levels. This is truly a very balanced effort that has improved with age. It is the perfect equalateral triangle and is in a great place right now. Drink up. Addendum: After several hours of air this is now showing the forest floor prevalent on the last bottle (tasted on 11/14/09). This is what great Pinot should be! Score upgraded from 92 to 93 points. Too bad it's the last bottle, but so it goes.
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Took to a restaurant and opened there. This showed nothing. I don't know if it's shut down or going through a weird phase, but not really enjoyable tonight. I had this about 6 months ago and it was wonderful. Don't know what to make of the bottle tonight.
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Very refreshing. Not your typical California Pinot Noir. Much better than 18 months ago, this wine shows excellent balance. Will hold for a few years. Oak, if present is well integrated and unobtrusive.
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No formal notes. A good wine, but it wasn't seamless and lost some vivacity and definition compared to bottle #1 from 3.5 years ago without reaching a new balance, and thus came across thicker and more fruit oriented. Nonetheless, a classy Pinot in the grand scheme of 2006. if I had more I think I'd hold but I'm not sure how it will progress. 90-91.
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Beautiful rich ruby color...fruit and earthiness on the nose. A bit of spice on the palate...tannin too. Not quite ready yet fro prime time...but getting there.
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14.0% alcohol. This continues to develop nicely. Black cherry color. Pretty nose of earth, light stems, black cherry, and blackberry. In the mouth, velvety and very plush in texture, with delicious, juicy black cherry and blackberry fruit that overshadows the nice earth and spice notes. Good acidity and a caressing finish. A-
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Dark ruby. Nose of florals, raspberry, mulberry, iodine, earth, anise. Powerful and earthy layers of blackberry, smoky plum, brambly flavors on the palate. Acidity is low-to-moderate, tannins quite structured. Although not syrupy like the last time, it still seems a bit ponderous. I may be missing the point here.
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Quick TN. Took to a friend's house for dinner (grilled salmon). Opened and dumped into a decanter and the room was dominated by the pinot perfume. About 2 hours later the first glass was poured. We took a sniff at the same time eyebrows were raised. Took the first drink and smiles ensued. I'll just say it was killer pinot - everything in balance (particularly when compared to a 2006 Brewer Clifton Melville pinot opened after dinner), darker red fruits, some spice and earthiness, acidity. Just, Wow. The best pinot I've had this year. Glad I have 4 left.
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A wonderful, complex wine. Decanted for an hour and a half. Drank over 4 hours. Became more fruity over the time. But, not heavy at any time. So comlplex with wonderful flavors diffictult to describe. So happy I have been on the train for a while, and can't wait for all the rest. Very unique flavors.
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Santa Cruz Mountains Day 2 (Rhys, Big Basin, Plumed Horse): Tasted non blind at the winery with Jeff. Bottle was PnP'd. Still very primary with a nice spicy, floral nose with some dark fruit. Similar palate with strong floral elements. The wine evolved significantly over just 15 minutes in the glass so it is kind of hard to pinpoint the profile. Hold this one for a few more years. Rating withheld since I didn't feel like a got to know this one very well but expect it to be in the 92-94 range. 2/3 new oak, 2/3 whole cluster.
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Dinner in Sonoma (at Estate): Probably the consensus WOTN although no formal vote was taken. It had a lot of things that people didn't like in other wines such as a feminine stemmy quality, but had such sweet pure cherry fruit that it all came together for lots of different stylistic preferences. I loved the feminine aspect to this wine and it has stated to unwind its layering showing a very interesting complexity. Just delicious. young but with lots of time until to peak. Got better all night long.
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Decanted at 1pm for an hour, then back in the bottle to slow-o for another 6 hours, recorked and brought to dinner. When first poured the wine did not show much, didn't really appear tight, just a bit thin. Very nice brambly mature fruit with some fine dry tannins and mineral notes, certainly a big step above the typical Cali Pinot style. Darker in appearance than expected. I thought this was just the way it was, but while following for the next 2 hours, it did start to get a little bit bigger, fuller and the finish gained some length and added Vosne like tea notes and spice. Seems like it wants to be a Iron fist in a Velvet glove, and in a way it is, but while it is great in terms of balance and finesse, it just didn't have quite enough to be exceptional.. This was the first '06 Alpine I popped. Next time I will leave it to decant for a few hours ... I think this wine will continue to improve for another year or two.
To me this wine is a very good example of why I love what they are doing at Rhys, making wines which lean towards balance and grace with the reflection of the land on which they are grown...
To me this is a wine to pay attention to, in the way that it would be a shame only to look at the rose, without stopping to smell it.
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Lovely Pinot Noir which seems to be aging fine. Dark red in the glass with a slight start of bricking. Deep nose of black plum and dark cherry. Did get a note of minerals a bit similar to the Alpine Chardonnay but in this wine they give a slightly "muddy" note which was slightly strange. I'll just chalk that up to site typicity I guess.
One issue I has with this wine -- and with all of my 2006 Rhys wines -- was the lousy cork which crumbled when pulled. Something is definitely wrong with these and hopefully it doesn't lead to longer term aging issues. Corks in subsequent vintages are fine by the way.
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I usally don't decant PNs but seems like everyone is decanting Rhys so against my better judgement I did too. Started out great showing delicasy and nice floral aromas then, as it spent time in the decantor, it took on more power and seemed to loose the initial finesse and grace it showed moving towards a more typical CA PN profile. I liked it a lot early on but later it seemed less layered or compelling. Maybe it was closing up? Might have been best to not have decanted.
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Decanted 2 hours. Deep garnet. Nose has cherries, red berries, pine floor, earth, and definite floral elements; quite expressive after about 45 minutes of air. Palate features medium intensity fruit that has a creamy, viscosity cut by acidity laced with mineral. Tannins are present, but light. Good length, penetration and sense of complexity as the entry, ascent, peak and finish all feature differing elements. Nicely balanced and was terrific with seared scallops and artichoke risotto. I sense this could develop further.
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Saturated, non-descript nose; light, filling mouth that seems to have weight that belies its sensory characteristics. Very nice length that mirrors the mouth, without any of the usual additional faults. The wine seems to have some room to go, but I don't see that the future place is going to be THAT MUCH BETTER than the current place. (Tough don't forget that the wine needs some air!)
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In the three years since my last bottle, this has developed from a monolithic beast with a prominent stemmy greenness into an elegant and nuanced wine. The Rhys crew nailed the description of the aromas with black fruit and stony minerality. The palate is silky textured and really captures the "power without weight" quality of great Burgundy. There is still a spicy quality remaining in the mouth from the stems, and while it's not high in acidity, what it's got is seamlessly integrated into the fruit and keeps the wine away from the tiresome fruitiness of so many Pinots. There's a subtle but firm grip of tannin remaining, which shows just the slightest bit of grain. I opened this to try in advance of the Spring mailing to check in and see how this was showing five years from vintage, and it was convincing in every way. Opened and kept at cellar temp about 6 hours before serving. The air was certainly helpful, as it allowed the tannic structure to become more evident and the wine to put on some weight in the mouth.
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Great combo of full CA fruit with Vosne complexity/minerality. Ripe red/plum fruit with lots going on behind it. Will age/develop but don't know if it will get better.
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14% alcohol. This wine may be a bit richer and more modern in style than subsequent Alpines.
Popped and poured. Medium dark ruby red. Upon opening, the nose was reticent. By day two, very expressive, mainly black cherry. Flavors were shy upon opening, but really made a dramatic entrance by the second day. Black cherry and raspberry seemed to dominate. Some spice and herbs add complexity and interest. Nice balance and mouthfeel, lingering aftertaste. Very enjoyable.
I have one remaining and I'll probably let it sit for a year or two. I expect improvement.
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Opened two hours prior. Extraordinarily nice nose. Nice, almost rounded mouth. Length is the weak link here. Dusty herby earth notes, impressive fresh red fruit, with a little dried mixed in. Nice structure that lends credibility to the wine.
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3rd bottle of this and 2 yrs. since my last. Decanted 2 hours and drank over 4. Seems to have put on a significant amount of weight over the last 2 years. The stems have integrated now and the wine shows much more earthy components than the florals from it's youth. Simple palate of plum extract that isn't over ripe, but is larger framed than others in the Rhys lineup. Low acidity and a slight herbal tannic feel that tones it down a bit. Not a bad wine and actually quite enjoyable just lacking the energy and verve I was looking for tonight. I have one mag left that I'll try to hold 10 yrs. in the name of science.
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Decanted for one hour. Dark ruby, almost purple. Nose of raspberry, iodine, forest floor, a bit of tar. Viscous and somewhat syrupy on the palate with powerful, ripe layers of bing cherry and extracted plum flavors. Acidity was low, tannins structured, finish moderately long. May need several years to sort itself out.
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Unlike tonight's companion wine (the 06 Rhys Swan Terrace), this bottle is a sexy beast from the onset. The nose shows copious notes of sweet red and purple fruits, even if they are a bit undifferentiated, with a sweeter, spicier nose than the Swan Terrace. The mouthfeel is more significant, the finish longer, and the wine more delicious today. Nonetheless, it misses a bit of the acid and tannic spine that I suspect will make the Swan Terrace the longer-lived wine. This is rocking right now - a spicy melange with some real in-your-face fruit.
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Didn't wow me. Seemed a bit heavier than I was expecting. The stems add an herbal content to the flavor, along with a heavier strawberry and what seemed to be lacking for me was delineation. I know the wine had some decant time and I think was open about 6 hours? Anyway, was fine but didn't thrill me.
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EWG Dealer's Choice (A/K/A Bistro, Pasadena, CA): Decanted about two hours prior to serving. Somewhat tight nose initially it does open up with some green stems among sweet, floral dark fruits. I couldn't get that much out of the palate in expression as it was mostly closed to me. The very clean finish stood out behind somewhat soft fruit. Showed better than my last couple go arounds but I think this still needs rest. The green stems are the one pause.
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Not sure I understand this wine. Upon opening, it was tight, tart and a little stemmy. I figured I'd give it a day to open up, so I put the cork back into an almost full bottle. By day 2, it was already starting to taste like an older wine, although still not that pleasant. Will try some younger Rhys wines to see if I can get what all the hype is about.
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Was much darker red than I have come to expect from a PN. Popped and poured and notes of red fruit jumped out of the glass. I got a heavy raspberry/strawberry vibe with maybe a bit of sweet cherry. More of the same on the palate. Medium bodied and very smooth. Very enjoyable PN.
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Color was a little darker than expected but the aromatics were coming out of the glass and into the kitchen. Perfect pinot nose of cherry and a little dirt. The palate was a nice balance between red fruit and acidity with a little tannic backbone. This is still developing into something special and will check back in about two years. I would highly recommend this to someone who wants to explore Western Pinot Noir.
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Grapefruit, sour cherry, herbal, stems, menthol and spice on the nose. Bright, tart palate showing good acid, but also some bitter elements (pepper?). Nice structure balanced by intense compound flavors. The palate seemed "hard" and lacked a satiny or velvety feel. The finish is medium in length and dominated by a recurrence of the bitter/pepper elements. I like this as a food wine, although it was poorly matched against a pizza, it would do well with chicken or a game bird of some sort. No signs of decline, but I am not sure that this wine will improve with age.
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14.0% alcohol. Dark red color. Pretty nose of red cherry, black cherry, earth, light hints of stems, and minerals. Unabashedly complex on the nose, and nothing short of sumptuous in the mouth. A velvety, precise texture, with superb balance. Black cherry and red cherry fight on the palate, giving way to rich earth, spice, floral, and stem notes. The acidity is refined. The finish is long and open-knit. This bottle didn't see perfect storage conditions, so I think it's a bit more evolved than it would be normally. Bodes well for this wine. A-
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Black cherry hue. Rich brown spice, ripe red fruit with sappy spice of nutmeg, cinnamon, sandalwood, licorice, turned earth, kirsch, sweet rubber, red tea and sous bois. On the palate the wine showed fresh, vibrant, gentle and silken. Luscious and pure black and red fruit with minerality, rockiness and sweet herbal spice. Ripe and grippy mocha tannins and a long cocoa powder finish. Hold.
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nose - spice, black cherry per Dan, blackberry, ?coffee, and a whiff of dirt. The spiciness of the nose is noteable, cant fully dissect it out, maybe cinnamon, clove, cardemom, 'exotic' per phil mouth - concentrated and sappy without being overripe or overdone. delicious, pretty much everyone was drooling over it, very ripe yet lean red fruit, absolutely superb. believe the hype.
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WineBerserkers Brunch and Dinner (San Francisco): Stunning red fruit, spice, but ripe, EtOH; structured, fruit, new world style; EtOH finish. A bit out of balance for me, but a very intense wine.
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Dark garnet in color, tight upon opening and left in a decanter for about an hour before dinner, hit a drinkable window and coaxed some aromatics from the glass. Red fruits, acidic and pleasantly herbal. Decant and drink now or hold.
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Garnet to perhaps dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose starts with a hint of grapefruit followed by a hint of white pepper then black berries and black cherries. Flavors of black berries and black cherries. Medium acidity, firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with some air or hold.
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A few friday night wines (Phil's place, Chicago IL): nose: lovely, perfumed, and balanced nose filled with tones of rhubarb, dark red cherries, dark spices, berries and a touch of roses. Well balanced with very good depth and a real stylish quality to it
taste: great medium/full body with medium+ acidity and sexy tones of dark spices, rhubarb, berries, and loads of dark red fruits and dark red cherries. Well balanced with good layering on the palate though the acidity is kicking a bit and the tannins are still noticeable
overall: this still needs a good amount of time. This bottle is showing better than the one from a year ago, but it's still very young.
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A spectacular showing. This was surprisingly open--in a nice stage treading the line between youthful, fresh exuberance and a more complex middle age. Dark deep fruits, nice acidity, and a dusting of minerals. This will improve but no shame in opening one now.
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On the nose, red fruits against a backdrop of tartness. On the palate, it takes a bit for this to open up, which I would have known if I read my previous note. Nice fruit, again with some tartness. Good finish. My sense is that this will be better in a couple of years. Right now it seems, very subtly, to be slightly out of sorts. If I went back to my prior experience, I guess this might be fixed by extended air time, as this just keeps getting better and better in the glass.
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I unfortunately caught this in a wobbly, adolescent phase. It was unexpressive and simple the first night, with a bit of puppy glycerol, and if it was trimmer on night two, with better mineral expression and stem / baking spice / cola character, it was also a bit astringent and flat on the midpalate, and still simplistic, and a touch of VA (nail polish remover) marred the aroma. Not much point in drinking this now.
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This is a very interesting wine, as it has excellent dark fruit aromatics, a level of minerality/earthiness in the background and good acidic balance. Where I have a bit of concern is in the dryness of the tannins. It's quite scratchy from the mid-palate to the end - not in the way of tannins that time will resolve, but an actual roughness. Interesting wine though, especially for the aromatics.
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Well-balanced, elegant wine. Nice cherries on the palate and acidity on the finish. This appeared to be one of the more open 2006's from Rhys - but will continue to improve.
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There's something about the Rhys lineup that is totally dialed in to my palate. I've never had a bottle I didn't like. So with that caveat, and a score that's reflective of compatibility with my palate:
On the open, perhaps a bit closed, but still showing obvious quality and style. The biggest downfall on the open is the nose, which just isn't very expressive at that point. On the palate, balanced but tight.
Fast forward 4 hours (decanted) - nose - wide open red fruit, perfume notes, and a briar/stem sense in the far background. If there was such a thing as a "long finish" for the aromas of a wine, this bottle would fit the bill. On the palate, good depth of fruit in a typically Rhys-balanced way, with acidity and fine tannins still leaving their mark. This is a stunning wine now, and should be even better in a couple of years. This won hands down against a '05 Williams Selyem Ferrington also opened tonight.
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First you get that sweet slightly candied Cali PN scent with dark fruit Licorice and slightly caramelized cola notes. Much improved after an hr decant when it shows much more delicate red fruit profile -some notes of clove, delicate flowers and a very nice texture-no official TN's taken but this was an enjoyable bottle that may be even better with an additional few years of storage.
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The first of 3 2006 Rhys pinots, all of which are still too young and quite closed at this point, making them a little hard to read. Juniper, dark cherry and rose petals on the nose, but more hints of these than a real strong hit. Get the sense of structure, but fruit is quite reticent on the palate. Long finish holds promise, but just promise at this point.
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Clear medium ruby. Haunting nose of flowers, black fruit and licorice that was very Burgundian, reminding me of a Vosne Romanee wine. In the mouth, it betrays its California roots through its fuller body, cola flavors and distinctly blueberry fruit. Sound acidity but slight dip in its mid-palate precision. Long, very satisfying, tannic finish. Intriguing wine, especially that initial aromatic burst.
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The nose is still the nicest piece of this wine, but after an hour of being opened, the other parts fall in line - sort of. The nose is somewhat dstinct, with piney/foresty notes that are quite becoming. The mouth is the same, even higher pitched, but seems nebulous, like it's not quite ready for the show. Fuzzy like. The length is almost back to the level of the nose; long if a bit high pitched, fruity if a bit tart, also indistinct.
This is a wine that seems taut but tannic; I think that it would benefit from another couple of years to lose that tannic bite that seems distracting.
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I think this wine has amazing potential. However the nose was very disappointing as it was shockingly ripe and obviously from California. The body has tremendous depth and strength yet is not heavy or overbearing. Tart. Fine Tannins. Interesting mid palate of crushed rocks and a very long finish. Occasionally a hint of spices. It will be interesting to see where this goes in 10 years. Opened up nicely over two hours. I would like to try a vertical of this vineyard and see how this compares to the more recent vintages as Rhys continues to refine their style.
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Sweet cherry and raspberry on the nose with aromas of minerality and smoke. On the palate this beauty had long lasting sweet cherry fruit, leather, wet stone and a little rolling menthol on the finish (which went on forever). One the top 2 Pinot's I've ever had.
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Is this really from California? Certainly not burgundian, but not the over extracted stuff I'm used to tasting from the Golden State. Tasted over five days, and initially a little vegetal and unfocussed. Better two days later, and after five days in bottle, a beautiful well balanced and focussed wine. Reminds me of the Mondavi reserves of the late 80's. clearly will benefit from aging.
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Opened this with traditionally American Christmas Dinner of ham, potatoes, and vegetables. Like the Fleur de Gay the day before, this was a pleasure to drink. Although not as intellectual a wine as the Fleur de Gay the day prior, this was an enjoyable wine that showed restraint for CA Pinot. Deep dark fruit that wasn't too tannic at all and some tree bark and earthiness. Flavorful enough to stand up to the food. Fine choice for this dinner.
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California Vs Burgundy Blind (Frank Murray's Casa): Served blind. Decanted about 6 hours prior to serving. Tight nose with notes of cranberry and juniper. Lean feeling palate with more cranberry. This showed far less than I would have expected. Seemed perfumey on the nose later on but the palate still seemed in its shell being acidic and tart. Guessed Cali.
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Burg Dinner (CA and France--Served Blind!) (Murray Casa): I was told this got a good decant before the event; however, for me it still showed as oaky. My comment to the table was aftershave/cologne-like. Clove. With some leftover wine from last night still in the bottle, I retasted just now. Fruit still is a bit muddled, with raspberry, strawberry and a toasty/oaky note that kind of cloaks the fruit in. Got no votes last night, no points. Call it 9th place.
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Popped the cork in the morning and began drinking it around 5 p.m. No detailed note but as good as it was at first it continued to get better with more air - the last glass was the best. Fantastic pinot.
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Popped and poured after an 07 Dujac Malconsorts. The Rhys Alpine is a spherical wine that has improved considerably since release but has a lot of time to improve further. I didn't have the time to follow it for long, but my other recent experiences show that this better on day 2.
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A bit too cool when I opened it, so flavors and nose were a bit muted. After an hour, get tart red fruit, some clove and Indian spices, but a bit stemmy. Noticeable tannins and moderate finish. Needs some more time -- I enjoyed the Alpine Hillside from the same vintage a lot more.
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Very dark red color with little transparency. Effusive nose of blackberry, blueberry, iron, and black raspberry. On the palate, this is richly fruited, showing black raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, a hint of anise, some rhubarb/orange tartness at the finish, and a long cherry-blueberry finish. Drinkable now with decanting for an hour or more. Seems to have the stuffing to develop further. Drink if you have several or hold until 2014.
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Couldn't keep my hands off. Showing that intense Alpine stemmy perfume. Raspberry and blueberry fruit with spice. Fruit is still very primary. There's acid here that gives it a lift, a wonderful freshness to the wine. Finishes with a lot of structure, really grippy tannins and a tart cherry bite. Still young, and rather concentrated, but I knew that...one day I will let these babies rest...
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Hard as nails on opening. Close to that after 90 minutes. Started to come around at about 2 hours. After three hours, this was a beautiful, complex, spicy pinot. Seems to be a good ways from a pop and pour wine.
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Pungent, brooding aromas of sous bois and exotic berries. Not quite as compelling on the palate, presenting cherry compote and damson notes. Medium bodied, and slightly bitter, but paradoxically soft and round tannin despite the astringency. Finishes with moderate length, alluding back to the initial aromatics. Another great Rhys, concentrated, yet understated. It's hard not to love these wines.
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It's so good now that I can't believe this wine can get any better with time. Gorgeous color. Harmonious. Complex, high-toned, all but fully developed red fruit. Long finish. Nice match with food. Only nit: nose a bit restrained.
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Another fine bottle. Nose of tart pie cherry, baking spice, cola, and orange peel. Palate unfolds with cherry, cranberry, clove and spices. Very long finish. Very good. Still very young -- no need to rush to dig into these.
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Impromptu Calera Night: Opaque red color. Huge, primary nose dominated by raspberry, earth, caramel and oak. Rather generic; not much in the way of nuance at this point. More of the same on the palate with ripe fruit and oak obscuring any other tastes. Expansive flavors, but almost fat at this point with very little structure discernible. Finish falls flat. I'm a fan of Rhys and expect this to develop nicely, but I've got to say this was a little disappointing. My recommendation is to cellar these at this point.
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Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: elegant but very tight nose with spice tones, red fruits, red florals and red currants. Well balanced and possess very good depth but the tones aren't fully coming out and play
taste: very youthful on the palate with excellent depth and polished tones of red fruits, red florals, red currants and a touch of spice tones. Very good medium body and medium+ acidity with some chewy tannins as well
overall: my no5, group no12. We had been told that this had been decanted for a while, but this just didn't really seem to want to fully come out and play. Lots of promise and very young, this really does need some serious time before really showing itself
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Pinot Noir Smackdown (Northbrook, IL): Nose of candied & juicy black fruits in a grapey fashion. Touch of vanilla there too, perhaps? Mouth is dark red fruits and leads to a soft finish that is a bit short, but shows hints of chocolate. My #12, group's #12
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San Antonio Wine Geeks - Random Bottles (Ilsong Garden Korean BBQ, San Antonio): Ripe fruity nose with strawberry and raspberry qualities, quite floral and delicate. initially the palate was quite acidic and harsh, but smoothed out over the course of the evening adding a ouch of sweetness. Fleshy, but light palate, with plenty of subtle spice and earth notes. Lengthy slate and forest floor finish. Struck be as delicate and feminine compared to the Pisoni. Not much tannin to speak of. Needs another 3 years or so.
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Black cherries and tea in wonderful balance. It has a mouthfeel that really stands out for me and makes me want more! Sipped over two days with no fall-off in quality.
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Beautiful ruby red with dark core, and a wonderful melange of red raspberry, red currant, and black raspberry in the nose with floral hints and a bit of mint. Touch of salinity in the wine balances the similar flavors. Really exceptional for the vintage, drinks well with a bit of air, or hold for more complexity. Finishes a little coarse and flat.
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This wine was opened and poured. The aromatics display black cherry, stone, mineral, forest floor and spice notes. The color is a rich dark ruby that is appropriate for the wines age. The medium bodied palate shows balance and structure. Stone elements on the plate give firmness and concentration. The wine drinks well now but should benefit from a few years of bottle age.
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Decanted 2 hours drank over 6. Lively nose of cherries and flowers. Palate is bursting with tart cherries, cranberry, black tea, and citrus. It's been a year since I last tasted this and noted then a real bite from the whole cluster, that is all but gone now leaving in it's place a red floral acidity that is extremely lively and that lingers on the palate for well over a minute. Very nice...
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My first Rhys, served by Jeff and Kevin. Medium red, proper pinot colored. Very clear. Fantastic nose of mixed fruit and sous bois. I wouldn't have picked it as CA, at all. Medium bodied. Complex. Good acidity and length. Kevin felt it a bit disjointed, but I really liked it.
My favorite bottle of the night, beating out a Voerzio Barolo, Dunn Cab, and an Ojai Syrah.
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Very fragrant nose of red cherry and berry with quite a bit of brown spice and bit of vanilla. Fruit forward on the palate with great spice throughout. Very focused. Nice structure, good acidity on the lengthy finish. A beautiful CA pinot.
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Consistent with notes from 13 months ago. Still young and in need of lots of air. Once opened up, the nose is lightly perfumed and clean, with notes of flowers, orange peel, spice rack, and pine. Palate is crisp and angular, without being overly acidic or tart. Notes of red fruit and citrus predominate, with a lightly spicy finish. Very good.
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Beautiful bouquet of fresh berries and rose petals balanced with spice. In the mouth, elegance, as the velvety tannins caress the palate. Lots more raspberries and strawberries, countered with cinnamon and nutmeg. Hints of vanilla peek in. The wine has a long finish of raspberries and cream. Delicious. 14% on the alc level.
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Strong floral accents on the cherry, orange rind and mineral infused nose. Bright, punchy cherry and raspberry flavors are contrasted nicely herb and floral notes. Flavors cascade onto the impressive blood orange and mineral finish. This wine posseses tremendous balance and depth of flavor, but is still quite young and will benefit from several years of bottle age. Drink now-2017. 92+ pts.
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Red cherries, cola, spice with brilliant extraction. A big wine without the alcohol and heavy prune flavors that plague many cali pinots. Needs to be decanted as it was pretty closed at first.
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Nose: Rose hips and forrest floor with some red fruits and earth. Palate: Good acidity with a red fruit profile; hints of herbs and a medium length finish. This wine is all about finesse and balance, but given that, the palate is still somewhat non-descript and never really seems to make a statement. Perhaps my second and final bottle will evolve into something more memorable with time. Decent but not great. The nose is by far more interesting than the palate.
Addendum: This has put on more weight with considerable air. Some of the previous reviewers had it right...decant this wine for sure. 91-92 points as a revised score after aeration.
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Poured into decanter and allowed to sit for an hour. At first a very floral nose of rose and violets, and a light well-defined palate. Allowed this to sit in the decanter for another hour before trying again. At hour two the wine has put on more weight with stronger red fruits dominating both the nose and palate. Wonderful wine, but I can not help preferring it more earlier in the night than later.
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Beautiful nose of roses, spices and dark fruits that carries into the mouth. Finely textured fruit - intense but not rough in any sense. Beautiful dark fruit. A more "elegant or refined" pinot noir than I'm used to - meant in a good way. I kept thinking that this was going to keep getting better and better with age.
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Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Rich nose of berries, cherries and a bit of rose petals. Flavors of berries and cherries. Light to medium acidity, medium tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink with air or continue hold.
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This has all the requisite character: medium body, not overly ripe, but somehow it's not hitting on all cylinders. It wants to show some nice medium black cherry fruit, but comes up short, fading a little too fast into a black tea profiile, lacking a bit in acidity and structure. Unfortunately the depth of flavors just aren't there.
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At Bonsoiree. Nose of berries and flowers. Very early-should wait a couple of years but wanted to try. Very tight and restrained but clear this will be a fantastic wine with time. Excellent depth of layered frut.
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Effusive bouquet of moderate power. Bitter rose hips and grated citrus peel. Slowly expands in the mid palate - mouth coating and persistent, yet edgy and refreshing. Good structure will provide for needed and positive evolution. Finishes with a bit of mineral and spice.
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what a difference 8 months makes...a complete CA pinot...great aromatics benefitting from whole cluster inclusion I think...black fruits, an intense wine on the palate but not overdone or manipulated...great fruit but not jammy at all...painfully long...what a wine...I'll go out on a limb and say Rhys is the best domestic pinot producer IMO
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Drank this blind against 2 other Cali Pinot competitors and three '06 1er Cru Burgs. This was the hands down winner. Beautiful whole cluster aromatics that went from rose petals to holiday spices (pumpkin pie, potpourri, etc.). Texturally, this was just as compelling as the Burgundies if not more so, with a mineral, rocky, savory character. Sweet red and black fruit on the palate with echoes of the whole cluster spice, with just enough acid to balance the density of fruit and tannin. Long finish echoing the palate characters, with a subtle hint of heat that is quickly subsumed by the intensity of the lingering fruit and intense spice. Superb.
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Served next to the 06 Swan Terrace. Blind FWIW. Half the bottle was decanted for a few hours and drank over another few hours. The other half was left with the cork in it for two days.
At first the aromatics were similar to the Swan Terrace but they quickly departed from each-other. Reminds me of American pinot but more in the Oregon realm. Not feminine although a flowery element does creep in. Doesn't have the intensity of the Swan. Shows more earth and stems. This is fairly wild and brooding. The fruit more wrapped up in wood, stems and earth. The nose does have a sappy quality. It may be the stems but it reminds me of a Cristom. On the palate this is a wild one. Miles away from a simple fruity cali pinot. Does not show the same purity as the Swan Terrace and the middle became a bit richer. Again there is a long finish focusing on tannin and a saline quality. This needs to stay sleeping.
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The nose has stayed fairly constant over the last 36 hours: very floral with a sweet red fruited tinge and some vanilla, touch of dried herbs and orange rind. This wine is big in the mouth, but not in the way I'd normally describe big as 'ripe'. This wine just has tons of everything - acid, tannin, fruit, etc. It was somewhat overwelming to pick-through this wine at first, as it hit my taste buds with everything all at once.
This wine has plenty of acid that runs the length of the wine and keeps the finish going for at least 30 seconds. Black tea, anise and other asian spices start to become more apparent with time. Dark fruits all the way but that often takes a back seat to the black tea and hints of stems and forest floor. Ample, yet stiff, tannin pucker the inside of my cheeks as the wine goes down, with a slight hint of heat in the back of my palate. I'll say it agian - Looooong finish! Give this 3, if not 5 years before opening your next bottle.
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Popped/poured. Initially, sweet cola, lilac and sour on the nose, with the sour component blowing off. On the palate, nice depth of fruit, no overt out-of-balance acidity. Some floral notes I can't quite place, other than to say "it tastes like perfume smells", especially on the midpalate and finish. Refined, balanced, with noticeable minerality. Mid-weight for a California Pinot. Not deficient in fruit, but more regal and elegant than many. Didn't notice the tannins mentioned by other reviewers. While this probably wouldn't hold up in a horizontal tasting with "bigger" entrants, it is sublime on its own. Feminine in styling, but in no way diluted. The floral notes of this remind me of a Kalin Cellars I had many years ago that had certain unique aphrodisiac qualities.
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This showed very different with some air and a long decant. Initial reactions: Plenty of carbon dioxide, that splash decanted out. Extremely floral bouquet, with some vanilla. Opens with gobs of tongue dehydrating tannins, before a medium nice finish of dark cherry and mild blackberry fruit that still succumbing to the dry lingering tannin. Overall shows with some very positive elements (the nose) and some very negative (unappealing tannins). After a long decant, the harsh tannins are more integrated, with a strong wet soil, earth and mushroom flavor developed and dominating the wine. Interesting. Will be curious how this continues to develop with significant bottle time, and wouldn't open one soon.
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Nose - nice smooth fruit, some rustic stinkiness, red and black fruit, plum, graphite and iron, sweet pipe tobacco. Aggressive and intense, smoky, resiny, red plum, green herbs, graphite. Drink '15-'30.
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this has a wonderful nose of rose petals, strawberry and a slight earthy scent. Dark in color, and on the palate this is very smooth dominated by red fruit medium acidity and a long finish. i think it could benefit from at least an hour decant. we just popped and poured at slightly lower than room tempature. More notes to follow
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Decanted 4 hours. One of the most distinctive new world pinot noirs out there in both aroma and taste. Amazing complexity for such a young wine. A lot of producers claim that their pinot has minerality, but I find that few really deliver on that promise. Rhys does. Sounds crazy, but you can actually smell the rocks in this. Black raspberry, Sonoma Coast-like spice, and an underlying steeliness that continues throughout. Go lick a lead fishing weight and you'll know what I'm talking about. Fine tannins provide welcome structure. Bonus points for individuality.
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Decanted two hours. Beautiful dark ruby red. Expressive nose of earth, forest floor, baking spice. Dark fruits, mushrooms and bracing acidity. Enjoyable now with air, cellar time should produce magic.
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Pretty big, dark wine. Stemmy note adds complexity. Improved over an hour. Good now, I am optimistic that it can improve over time. My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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Nose - candied, roasted fruit, black plum, sage. Tight. Spiced plum, dusty, bay, sage, redwood, with a toasty char finish. Drink '11-'21 93+ pts My #3, group #2 3/2/3/0 (63)
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Californian Pinots at Troquet with Kathleen Inman (Boston): Surprisingly dark in colour and one of the most interesting wines to follow over the course of the evening; this starts out showing a whole lot of red and dark fruited flavours on the nose and palate initially but with time and air the fruit takes a step back and allows nuances of violets, forestal underbrush, pine cones and spices to emerge. Feels a little tart and astringent on the finish though with the tannins and acid making their presence felt.
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Rhys (Seasonal): A sea change in style after the Home Vineyard. The density and inkiness are almost a shock to the system. Like my last experience with this wine a few months ago, the scent is practically a textbook in whole-cluster aromatics.
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First experience with a Rhys single vyd. Less in-your-face fruit forwardness that I find with most CA pinots. Rather, this was lush--almost creamy--refined experience of cherries, spices and so much more that I couldn't specifically name. Very happy to have jumped on the Rhys bandwagon!!!
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2006 Excellent Pinot...probably needs more time before opening the other bottles. Decanted one hour before meal and the flavor held solid throughout the meal. Thanks to Leon Perakis for recommendation
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Decanted 1 hour- drank over 3 hrs. This has the nose of a Sonoma coast pinot- pine needles and earthy forest floor. Really showing the whole clusters at this point giving the wine plenty of bite, very dark color and supple red fruits. Needs a couple of years in my opinion to smooth out the rough edges, but should evolve very nicely.
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Very elegant and well-balanced, with savory notes of herbs at first opening up to beautiful cherry fruit with nice tannins; Mark was a huge fan as well!
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kevin harvey and jeff brinkman can really do no wrong. after a knock out '06 sonoma coast pinot earlier in the week, i felt compelled to pull out a bottle of indeed, this is way too young, however as a matter of academics and to appraise future potential, i cracked a bottle.
initially a bit tight, so i decanted this for about 45 min. i'd have done this longer, but i began preparing dinner, and quite frankly, if there is wine in the kitchen it belongs in my glass! complex nose of high tone red fruits overshadowing some dark fruits lead by rich cherries, as well as fresh flowers, baking spices, menthol, and all the while envoloped by a profound earth/mineral component, thus providing a true sense of place. i get the sence this is only a glimpse of very beautiful things to come. very rarely do i find truly noticable tannins in cali pinot, but i suppose this one of those times. this silky wine displays a offers a deep flavor on a delicately balanced palate. fantastic finish of mouth watering acid, cherry skins, and earthy minerality. tannins noticable as well.
all in all, this is a terrific offering, and i'm very pleased, not only to have more in the cellar, but to part of what will most certainly be a fantastic journey with rhys.
fwiw, this wine continues to evolve as i compose this note. lots of potential here.
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Decanted at lunch and consumed slowly over the course of the afternoon into early evening. Not yet ready to drink, as the tannins are still dry and the fruit still fairly primary. Given the acidity and minerality hiding underneath the fruit in the wine, it will be very interesting to see how this develops, but for right now it's just not showing all that it hopefully will.
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Been open for two days. Has evolved into a much smoother velvety wine than on day one. Surprisingly soft and round for a wine this young. Whole cluster inclusion shows on the palate (in a positive way) by way of the wine's structure. Dark fruit spectrum, and good length and great balance. Screams California Pinot with its orange zest undertones on the palate. Reminds me a lot of some of the older Walter Hansel Pinots from 2002, or even from 2005. The wines share a similar texture, dryness, and orange zest component, only this wine is much cleaner than the Hansels of old (not a positive in my book). Good wine, but it lacks a little in the complexity department for me. I expected a far more complex wine than this. Like I said...good, but not great.
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San Diego Mini Offline (Wine Vault, San Diego): Decanted ~3 prior to consumption and returned to bottle. Lots of fruit here without being over ripe, too sweet or overly oaky. Nose is most reminiscent of of Sonoma Coast Pinot showing some pine resin type notes among it's dark berry fruit. Lots of pretty substantial red fruits on the palate though in balance. This will appeal to a great many audiences right now with its generous fruit at the moment but clearly has the legs to go for a long time and be a subtle wine.
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As many others have noted, this really needs decanting. Initially this gives up a big blast of super-ripe dark cherry fruit, cola, root beer, sassafras, and orange peel flavors, with a fair amount of vanilla and oak in evidence. With an hour or so of decanting time, the sweetness begins to integrate, the fruit gains precision and focus, and the overall palate impression is sappier and more complex. This is absolutely NOT "Burgundian" to my palate -- nor should it be.
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Wow. This is ridiculously good here on day 2 and will surely improve in the cellar. I can pick out some oak along with forest spice and complex red fruit; many prior notes ring true. I don't understand how a Pinot fan couldn't find something to appreciate here, if not fall in love. The empty glass has a better nose than most wines.
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Nice, saturated nose, especially for a young wine. Mouth of (unusual) very saturated blood oranges and strawberries/cherries, with a nice sense of lift and balance. Some minerals and tannin here. Decent (though not spectacular) length that permeates up and around the back of the mouth.
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This shows much more richness than it did last year. In fact, it starts out quite sweet and really needs an hour or so in a decanter before that primary syrup recedes, but even in that phase the crushed-stone feature keeps it interesting. With more air, it reveals a stalkiness that contributes a lot of structural precision and bite, a really vivid demonstration of what whole clusters do.
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It has a nice melange of fruit, spice, and earth with hints of menthol. It balances on the palate nicely with no edges but it still needs time to pull together. I get more red fruit than blue but not bright red, more of a burgundy. It is bery enjoyable but could use a bit of verve in the mid-palate; it's just a bit too quiet.
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I was expecting a profile closer to Burgundy than Sta Rita Hills, but found this ripe and a bit hot...I will say that it was complex and had great texture...have enjoyed most previous Rhys pinots but was disappointed with this one
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Very nice Pinot, this drank better on day 2. Nits: The fruit profile is a bit too ripe and Californian for my taste, I get some cola flavors, and the alcohol shows somewhat.
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nose is very dusty, some melody of fruit, hot rocks. very deep w/ hints of minerals, sage, thyme, 5-spice , and dark cherries. I liked this a lot. More going on than their Alesia line. I also get a lot of cloves. When opened it was more CA (fruit fwd) like but over time and decanted, it was very complex.
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Beautiful wine. Wasn't taking notes because it was NYE but I couldn't have been more impressed. Deep, seductive nose and an extraordinary depth of fruit. Decanted for 3 hrs and it continued to improve in the glass. I'm going to let the rest of these sleep.
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Very tight upon opening, but opens nicely with a 2-3 hour decant. This is a wine of grace and finesse. The aromas are like walking a path through the forest, with some cranberry and cherry accents. Not overwhelming, but pretty. Palate features an incredible melange of cherry, black cherry, blackberry, and strawberry fruit, with notes of Asian spices and cloves. Great acidity and long finish. A knockout.
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This wine is totally closed when you first open it, not giving anything at all. After an hour it is showing a little better, but not much. I corked it and waited until the next night and it really shinned. Great balance and well integrated oak.
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I share the general optimism in this wine's future. The palate displays good depth of fruit, a firm core of acidic structure, and a good tannic frame. It is unabashedly Californian in flavor profile, with a certain dark cherry character that one does not find in Burgundy. The tannins to me were also a bit chalky in texture, another thing I associate with CA Pinot. I also found the oak treatment noticeable at this stage, particularly on the palate and finish, providing a creamy gloss to the fruit that stood out to me. Kevin and Jeff are sanguine about this vineyard's ability to soak up oak, so I am hopefully that it will back off as the wine ages. Glad I got to taste this one young to get a sense for its potential, but I will hold off for a number of years before opening other bottles to allow this to move beyond its youthful stage.
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Vigorously splash decanted and enjoyed over the course of 2 hours, this is really a fine effort. After a few ho-hum Alesias (04 and 05 Kanzler and 04 Sonatera) over Thanksgiving, I was (halfheartedly) questioning the merit of staying on this list. No more. A spicy nose of incense and gravel dust, with zesty bing cherry and pomegranate. Superb lift and racy acidity. Very focused, but without any hard, lean edges. This doesn't show any sappy sweetness, but nonetheless has a silky quality that makes it glide across the tongue. It doesn't seem that it will "gain weight" as much as it will soften into a rounder mouthful of pinot. The fruit is definitely there. Beautiful typicity. A very enjoyable drink now with tremendous upside. The booze is a (mere) 14%. I'm really looking forward to popping a Chard, although I'm trying to hold off. Some pinot mailers may have to go in the coming economic gloom, but it won't be this one.
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PIECE OF ADVISE: Decant this wine...a small sample after pouring into the decanter revealed a VERY high acid, verve of a wine...so I decanted for 3 hours and that led to this gorgeous incarnation of CA Pinot Noir...the nose is quite deep, revealing rich essence of Pinot Noir, very red, quite ripe - not alcohol driven, but ripe fruit driven, stem goodness, slight smoke, flirtatious...great texture, much more concentrated than the 06 Rhys Alesia SMateo, as one would expect...the finish has verve, tremendous acidity, texture, and must last for 30+ seconds. An amazing PN, and considering the price, this is a wine I wish I more than 3 remaining. As noted before, if you're going to consume one, let it aerate, I actually poured in decanter, then back to bottle 3 or 4 times, then let the wine sit in decanter the final time for 3 hours. This really brought the wine to life.
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No score due to too much thanksgiving going on. Lovely fruit, good structure, earthiness and complexity. A bit lighter than many Cali pinot, not a bomb. Look forward to trying another after some time. Definitely 90++, loads of potential.
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Very dense, yet light on it's feet with bright, crisp black cherry and cranberry, supported by holiday spice and mineral. Fresh and elegant with the complexity and structure to improve. Posseses a lot of structure with tannins and acidity that should carry it to a decade or more of graceful aging. Drink now-2018. 92+ pts.
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No Rating - I did not decant and paid the consequences...well not consequences it just wasn't as good and I believe it to be. However, a few hours after I awoke from my turkey induced coma I found a touch left in the bottle. The wine had some nice cherry aromas with a bit of baking spices. The palate was much more stable, tart cherry, with a smooth finish. Unfortunately this was only one sip. I'll let the rest of these go nighty-night for a couple of years.
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Rhys and Alesia Spring '08 release dinner (Tabla): Stony scent. Slightly darker, zingier, and more stone-inflected palate than the Alesias. For the first time, though, the Rhys distinguishes itself almost entirely with the uniqueness of the Santa Cruz Mountains terroir -- the quality standard across both labels in this vintage is on par.
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Initially very tight and closed, time in the glass reveals a deep, intense nose of strawberry liquor and a subtle green, stemmy aroma, maybe green tobacco. On the palate this is a rich and very concentrated wine that is clearly of California origin, with lots of sweet red cherry and strawberry fruit liquor-like baby fat, and dried green herbs. Highly structured, this is just loaded with fine mouthcoating tannins and needs a long sleep in the cellar. Some sweet oak shows on the finish. 100% whole cluster fermentation.
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7/23/2023 - peternelson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark muddy purple, spicy Rhys nose, some black cherry cough syrup, licorice, dark earthy notes; holding up very well, really nice, balanced if not on the bigger side. Great with some of the BBQ meats at Best in the Park BBQ. EWG
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5/11/2023 - 14frimaire wrote:
Fully mature, this is a little clunky and rustic. The cola notes and fruit have subsided (in a good way), but it is a little rough around the edges and doesn't have the depth I thought I saw in its youth.
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5/6/2021 - pjhr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish. Drinking beautifully!
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4/10/2021 - Darjeeling Likes this wine: 91 Points
Earthy, muted fruit, straight typical Pinot noir. Medium acidity. 14 abv. Cork in perfect shape, but was a bit of effort to remove. Rx cork.
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1/30/2021 - gzim Likes this wine: 89 Points
2006 Rhys Alpine Vineyard Pinot Noir
Last week I opened an ‘07 Horseshoe, tonight the ‘06 Alpine. Same soft cork! Both times it broke using my favorite waiters corkscrew and had to use the Durand.
This wine is very different than the Horseshoe - as the Fruit is much less “in your face” and has so much more spice and pine.... long spiced mid palate more cran- tartness and forest floor.
It seems to be on a very gentle aging curve.
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12/8/2020 - WoodieBayArea wrote:
This was my last of four bottles, and it turned out to be "Alpine Hillside"... so I will not rate this nor provide input... rather will write a separate note under the Hillside bottling... not sure if my previous three were Hillside or not?
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10/27/2020 - fisk15 wrote: 94 Points
Drinking really well now, the herbalists has turned into a subtle minty note. Darker red fruits.
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5/27/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Rhys Alpine Virtual Tasting (Planet Earth): In vertical. Some liked this, I am neutral. Rich black fruit wit ultra sweet spice shouting “whole cluster” to an extreme.
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9/17/2019 - alanr wrote: 90 Points
Very rich, voluptuous, slight sweet nose, good acidity, but maybe just a bit "too much" of everything for my palate.
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9/17/2019 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rhys Dinner (Golden Triangle, Los Gatos): From magnum. This tasted quite young with lots of berries and some cedar notes on the nose. Red berries, strawberries, cherries, and a hint of wood on the palate. Medium finish.
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8/3/2019 - dougie Likes this wine: 93 Points
The 06 hillside was bigger and brighter. This is in its drinking window.
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2/14/2019 - Vinomnivore Likes this wine: 90 Points
Recently had the 07 and this paled in comparison - not nearly the structure, minerality in this vintage. I would drink up now. It is pleasant but lacked the depth of flavor I had hoped for.
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10/14/2018 - fredb Likes this wine:
Decanted off of small amount of fine sediment just before dinner and consumed through the meal. Medium-dark red color with medium transparency. Aromas of black cherry, cinnamon, and mulberry. Palate is initially very black fruited but with 10 minutes in decanter shows more red fruit notes, including a sweet cherry and cinnamon spice core with blackberry and some clove showing up. This is the first bottle of this I've had where I thought it was ready to go. Plenty of upside potential based upon this showing but very delicious right now. Drink or hold.
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6/28/2018 - James Kim Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted off fine sediment. From memory. Nice from the get go but really took about 2-3 h to fully bloom and harmonize. Lovely melange of dark cherries, spices, mild green stems, forest floor earth, and minerals buoyed by nice acids. Nicely balanced and the flavors swirl from one to the next, always keeping the wine interesting. Drinking great now. This was my last bottle but can easily go another 5 years, if not longer.
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4/8/2018 - DougLee wrote: 91 Points
Darker ruby. Nose of lilac, damp cellar, black raspberry, plum pits, earth. Muscular black cherry and dark plum flavors on the palate with savory elements and earthy tones mixed in. Moderate acidity and firm tannin somewhat hidden beneath dense fruit. Longer finish of raspberry and earth with slow grip at the end. Young but quite good.
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2/17/2018 - ljl203 wrote: 90 Points
Tea, black cherry, lemon. Great blend but a little flat.
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2/11/2018 - Ali wrote: 86 Points
on both occasions, a disappointing wine. Muddled red fruit flavors and oak influences.
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2/2/2018 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle with black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish.
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12/25/2017 - gharter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Unfortunately my last bottle. This is in a really good place now and should only get better with time. Deep ruby color, no browning.Very aromatic as soon as it was opened, but improved with time. Floral, black cherries, dusty,with an earthiness on the nose. Has a complex palate. Starts with black cherry, mineral, spice. Smooth, silky tannins leading to a long finish. Well balanced with good acidity. Should still hold for a few more years, don't feel bad about enjoying it now. May be the best Rhys wine I have had yet.
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12/10/2017 - WetRock wrote:
This took a while to open up as it initially was showing in a more forward fruited way. Eventually it relaxed and the stems brought out some nice subtleties. This never really awoke in an open way. It seemed to be brooding to me. The next day out of the fridge the stems showed in a strongly herby way. I do have to say this shows "burgundian" to me only in that each time I've had this wine it has been different. This last bottle I wouldn't hesitate to age much longer. I think there is just enough fruit to keep stand up to the stems. I could be wrong. I was happy to share this but I kinda wish I had another bottle to open in five years.
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11/23/2017 - theRealPepe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Darkish red color. Strong spicy nose. Good spicy powerful palate only kept from an outstanding rating by a slight sweet note. Excellent.
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10/5/2017 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious black cherry, minerals, and hint of whole cluster spice on the nose and smooth palate with refreshing acidity and fine tannins on the long finish.
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9/29/2017 - jreis Likes this wine:
Dry cork that broke in pieces had me nervous about this bottle, but wine is none the worse for it. Lovely nose of bright cranberry fruit, spruce, underbrush and a hint of white pepper. Not quite as nuanced on the palate, with a quite sweet raspberry fruited attack. It finishes with a nice bit of crisp cranberry acidity, but finishes just a touch shorter and more simple than the nose would have you believe. Very nice, but has not picked up quite the complexity I would have expected.
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8/19/2017 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
A sensational showing and probably my favorite Rhys Pinot experience to date (among many, many good bottles). Soaring gorgeous nose of cherry skin, black cherry, toasted herbs and spice. The palate has good concentration and intensity in an elegant and weightless frame. Still quite primary tasting, but this is texturally amazing. Likely has upside, but so damn good now.
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5/4/2017 - James Kim wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hr. Initially, nice balance of fruit, bark, minerals. With more air, structure comes to the fore, with stems becoming more prominent. On d2, reticent but nice aromas of red berries, spice and done earth. Palate follows with moderate weight and silky mouthfeel. still young. Open next bottle after several more years. 91.
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5/2/2017 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 94 Points
Atlanta Does Rhys (Aria, Atlanta, GA): Drinking incredibly well, dark fruit with a little spice and just a touch of menthol, framed well by ripe tannin and focused by well-integrated acidity. It still has a lot of upside but you won't regret drinking it now.
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11/19/2016 - Louvin Likes this wine: 93 Points
2 hr + decant, so what we've been waiting for. This is quite dark fruited, a load of spice (not christmas spices) with a great lift from stem inclusion giving this a great balance. I'm normally favoring red/cherry dominated pinots but this hits all the correct balance features for me. No hurry to drink these, there's enough acid/tannin/fruit to work for a long time.
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11/12/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 88 Points
Heritage 2016 Blind Wine Tasting Challenge - BYO Dinner (Jean Georges Steakhouse - ARIA - Las Vegas NV): Small glass, brief note. From magnum. Ripe and rich fruit that I enjoyed, but extremely dominated by a spice note that would seem to be very whole cluster driven, giving it an off-center character.
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10/7/2016 - ginfizz wrote: 91 Points
Nice mature bottle, drink up!
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10/2/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 92 Points
This one is coming along just fine. If you are looking for a big Cali Pinot, probably too late on this. If you are looking for a bit or earthiness and some elegance with good fruit, you are a bit early. For now, it is drinking very well though. Nice nose, slight earthy funk, lots of cherries. Good texture, almost velvety but stops short. Lots of cherry fruit with plenty of depth on the palate. Tight layering. Nice finish. Glad to have one left.
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8/12/2016 - texaswinelover wrote:
Really enjoyed. Subdued red cherry notes, earthy notes and nice structure. Very very clean and enough acid to balance.
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7/27/2016 - rcg62 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great color, fairly dark for Pinot, no signs of age. Nose really rips from the glass. Lots of plum, violet, raspberry and a licorice undertone...almost over the top? But nice Burgundian finish, like a rich Volnay. Lots of dark berry, well-balanced.
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7/5/2016 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 Points
The '06 Rhys Alpine Vinyards is in a perfect place today with a bouquet of fresh cherry, pine, sweet herbs, brilliant minerality, subtle spice, and hints of ripe apple. On the palate, I found soft, fleshy textures with bright cherry, spice and brisk acidity adding vibrancy. It finished on hints of spiced orange, sweat herbs and licorice. This was a pleasure to drink.
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7/4/2016 - Mlermontov wrote: 93 Points
July 4th with Eric and Deb: Burgundian. mushroom, earthy, black cherry, juniper berries. mid is cherry, with rustic herbal touches. earthy notes. very bright acidity. long finish with sweet herb and a touch of spice. excellent.
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6/18/2016 - norsktorsk wrote: 93 Points
Drinking very nice.
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4/12/2016 - sawira wrote: 92 Points
Enjoyed over three nights. Tight at first, and best the second night. Stem inclusion noticeable, and I like it - lends definition and cut through the fruit. The dark cherry and berry oriented fruit is ripe and a little more pronounced than other Rhys SVDs. Laden with talc, minerals, baking spices and violets, this has good potential going forward, though I think not the best Rhys has to offer. Keith's note is right on - streamlined and polished. A preview of older vines to come. Superb, not magnificent. Just starting its peak, and for another 6-8 years would be my guess.
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3/14/2016 - DaleW wrote:
I thought it sweet at first, a little offputting, but I quickly got used to it and ended up enjoyed. Sweet raspberry and black cherry fruit, spice, just a hint of cola. Well-balanced, good length. B+
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2/14/2016 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Well happy hallmark Holiday to me. I thought I did not have any more of this wine, but while I was looking for something else I found another bottle. A couple of years ago it was starting to develop, and now it's in a really good place that starts to reveal some of the promise of the Rhys endeavor. The fruit is still prominent, but the secondary elements are in full force, adding a full ration of complexity before it has reached anything that feels like a plateau. I wish I had 3 or 4 more bottles, as there is a very interesting path emerging. So I will just let my other Alpine Pinots age for a while, and see where things go. There is a lot of promise based on this wine, and perhaps the beginning of the end of the uncertainty.
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2/7/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very Burgundian. Aromas of dusty dirty Bing cherry and spice. Nice tense structure with pretty red fruits with floral edge. Lovely on own, even better with food. Nice!
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2/7/2016 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Very tasty and fun while coming across as fairly ripe and lush, which made this pleasurable upfront but less texturally interesting or nuanced.
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1/30/2016 - ginfizz wrote: 93 Points
Dead ringer for Mugnier Chambolle upon opening. Sour red cherry fruit but some richness, touch of oak and earth, dried herbs but with a hint of austerity and acidity that is very French. This wine, from a mediocre vintage, totally sold me on Rhys and they are killing it in this style. With air, got a touch richer and sweeter and belied its California heritage, but a memorable bottle in several ways. Medium weight, medium intensity, light to medium finish, complete. Drink or hold.
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1/10/2016 - Todd French Likes this wine:
In a great place right now - fully developed imho. Sour strawberry, baked rhubarb, and a touch of cola. Gorgeous silky mouthfeel with nice weight, acidic finish, very long. Elegant and expressive
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1/6/2016 - rama Likes this wine:
PnP. Dark red with a touch of bricking on the fringe. Initially muted on opening. After about 30 minutes began showing some baking spices, richness on the nose. Black cherry with tangy acidity on the palate. Over 3 hours it developed chewy tannins that partially muted the fruit and showcased the salinity.
Cerebral wine that changed a lot over the course of the night. Seems to have plenty of life remaining, so will be burying my remaining bottle to wait for the tannin to further resolve.
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11/19/2015 - SimonG wrote: 94 Points
Rhys @ QCH (Quality Chop House, London): Darker and denser. More plush and deep on the nose. A huge step up in density and depth. Very long. Lovely line. Padded but so dense and chewy; a little closed in the middle through to the finish, but a bit more giving with air. Just lovely. ****1/2
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10/9/2015 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Friday night Cali Pinots (Phil's place, Chicago IL): Nose: There is a darker and savory quality to the nose with raspberries, violets, dark red cherries, baking spices, brambly fruits, and some currants.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium acidity and silky tannins. The feel is plush and silky with raspberries, violets, dark red cherries, currants, and some brambly fruits.
Overall: The feel is sexy. This is showing a more subtle and nuanced side. This is drinking beautifully with some air and it can go for a good while longer.
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9/14/2015 - BillyRayValentine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Agree with and enjoyed Keith Levenberg's great tasting note, but did not get the same vibrancy or zing. No reason to hold this any longer. Nice wine.
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9/7/2015 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 94 Points
Gosh, this is in a great spot. Been following this wine since day one when it was a syrupy fruit bomb. Now it's totally streamlined, the baby fat almost all gone to reveal a surprisingly feminine figure underneath. The stemmy signature that was here on release is pretty much all absorbed too. Yet the fruit is vibrantly fresh even right out of the gate, with bright raspberry and zingy wild berry flavors and just a hint of iron. Whatever structure is left in this is nicely smoothed out under the fruit. The presentation is much developed over the years, but still objectively youthful. What makes it such a pleasure today is how easygoing it is to drink, a real comfort wine with a polished texture and lipsmackingly tasty fruit.
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8/22/2015 - melzar wrote: 92 Points
Burgundian nose of violets, but what is this on the palate? This is a lovely pinot noir, but no one is likely to mistake it for a Burgundy. Very un California like as well. Oregon perhaps. Tastes very young for 2006. Unresolved stemmy tannins, good acidity, and lush fruit portend a long life and significant improvement. We need to see more wines like this from California!
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8/7/2015 - mlawren1 wrote: 93 Points
strawberries and cherries with an earthy finish.
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6/27/2015 - Nanda Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nearly two years since my last bottle and this hasn't budged much. Full focused nose of black cherry, raspberry and stem-driven herbs. Palate starts lean but gains flesh over 4 hours of steady air. In the mouth flavors echo the nose with an added spice cake kick. Racy acidity keeps it fresh and on a razors edge. Definitely still youthful. On the leaner and elegant side of the spectrum. Will try to save my last bottle for 5ish years and drink this at age 15.
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5/24/2015 - ttriant Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark red with rose petals nose.
Subtle flavors of sweet berries. Medium long.
Needs another 3-5 years. Lots of potential
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4/6/2015 - dougsmith Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep ruby color. Intense nose of red berries, muskmelon, and mulling spice. Medium to full bodied on the palate, took on weight and presence with a couple of hours of air.
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3/8/2015 - conform wrote:
Mint and black cherry and plenty of layers of interesting subtlety. Good but firm.
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3/4/2015 - ginfizz wrote: 93 Points
Open but moderate nose of black cherries, touch of black raspberry, hints of mint, and guava (?). Approachable, but opened up beautifully with a half hour in the decanter...warm, round almost cinnamon tinged with lovely balance and rich concentration, medium plus finish. Spectacular for the vintage and improving. Drink or hold.
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1/30/2015 - rralls wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with previous. Needed a little air at first to open up.
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1/23/2015 - gharter Likes this wine: 91 Points
deep ruby color, no browning. Popped and poured. Good out of the gate, but improved with time. Floral, black cherries, dusty,with an earthiness on the nose. Has a complex palate. Starts with black cherry, mineral, spice. The tannins have really softened leading to a medium finish. Still well balanced with good acidity. While it should hold for a few more years, it is in a really good place now.
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1/17/2015 - Knicksfan wrote: 91 Points
These are finally starting to come around. Not my bullseye but nice and well made. A little restrained for me.
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12/25/2014 - GrapeScott wrote: 91 Points
Drank on Christmas after polishing off the '10 Alpine. Still pretty backward and in need of some time. Raw material seems better in the '10 but this was nigh undrinkable on day one.
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12/13/2014 - locovino wrote: 90 Points
Pretty powerful style of SC Mts. Pinot Noir. On the nose dark cherry and cranberry with a whiff or alcohol heat. Good spine of acidity with a repeat of the cherry notes and spice along with a somewhat muddy mineral character. Medium tannins. This could definitely age for a few more years but not sure if it is going to get any better given the slight touch of heat and ripe cherry flavors.
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11/27/2014 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Happy Thanksgiving with Rhys Alpine Pinot Noir. This has developed quite a bit, and is in a nice place, even if it has time to spare. Floral, earthy and richly fruity, it's more open and complex than a few years ago. I wish I had more bottles, as I think it has several years of positive development ahead of it. That being said, it was nice to sample a Rhys Pinot that had been allowed to develop.
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11/21/2014 - rralls wrote: 93 Points
Glass from Coravin. I thought this was performing very well and had all the signature Rhys characteristics. Better than the Hillside we also had tonight.
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11/15/2014 - gzim Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great showing. Splashed decanted and served. Bright red crunchy fruit with Vosne like spice. Very nice apple skin lift on the finish. I would guess this is starting to enter its prime drinking window, but not showing any age.
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11/9/2014 - llink wrote: 93 Points
Served blind, finished 2nd out of 5 Rhys wines from 06-10. Very close to the 06 Swan Terrace, showing spicy nuanced fruit on the nose. Comes across younger and more acidic than the ST, with more stems and perhaps more complex in the long run. Lots of life ahead of it, no hurry to drink.
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11/8/2014 - rm wines Likes this wine:
These 2006s are showing more nicely than a year or two ago, with some of the riper elements of fruit fading a bit and a crisp, light note emerging. They do not have the structure of the 2007s or 2008s but there is plenty to enjoy now.
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10/11/2014 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Rhys Tasting With The Gang (My House): I like the wine this time better than when I had it back in Dec 2011. Last night, it showed a bright cherry, intense fruit, a hint of red apple and some herbal tones. Even with decanting ahead of time (I think 4 hours), it was still tight. My view here is, much like the Alpine Hillside and Swan Terrace (both 2006) we tasted alongside this Alpine, these wines all have a lot of structure and plenty of time left to go.
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10/11/2014 - gzim Likes this wine: 92 Points
A little bit cloudy, dark ruby red. Spicy nose. slightly tart dark red berries, with Vosne like spice. Finish is super fine and clean.
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10/5/2014 - VinoDiver Likes this wine: 94 Points
Stunning pure tart red fruit with just the right amount of structure. This should continue to age but is in a really wonderful spot.
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9/6/2014 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 91 Points
very nice, but have had better versions of this… maybe didn't give enough air? (i gave it 60 mins, and we drank it in 30 mins)… anyway this was more fruit than spice, but more spice than 95% of domestic pinot, good acid and nice drink all around
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7/24/2014 - WetRock wrote:
The fruit here seems to have relaxed becoming pretty, complex and expressive beyond it's fatter, juicier days. The odd part was heat seems to have ticked up. I played with temperature quite a bit and just couldn't shake that warmth. Not overwhelming for me but always present. A very good wine otherwise but maybe the vintage finally caught up with this. I'd say this is comfortably in a drinking window but not going anywhere soon.
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6/26/2014 - gzim Likes this wine: 92 Points
Brought to a Rhys offline. Tasted in a flight with the 06 Hillside and the Alpine 07. This was the only one which I felt was either in or entering a prime drinking window.
Beautiful nose with florals and dark berries. on the palate I could not decide if they were black or red berries... (def not blue) and some cake spice. Nice finish, just hung there...
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6/22/2014 - DavidDay Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fruit still hanging in there, I think this one goes at least another five years
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6/4/2014 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 92 Points
Rhys in Atlanta (Aria, Atlanta, GA): A little menthol, pure, nice concentration.
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3/27/2014 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 93 Points
a little big for my taste but i must say there was plenty of cinnamon, spice and enough acid to balance the biggish fruit and the extraction, people really loved it and if you like a big pinot this is very very well made
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3/8/2014 - Pstice Likes this wine:
typical Rhys cola and spice. Integrated stem and beautiful texture.
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2/19/2014 - Ali wrote: 85 Points
This came off as way too sweet. I wonder what the residual suger is on this one is?
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12/19/2013 - gzim Likes this wine:
another nice showing... no notes taken.
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12/3/2013 - MartyL wrote: 88 Points
This wine grew on me over the course of several days (thanks, Coravin). At first I found it a bit too jammy and noticeably hot. Then I began to notice the wine's strong minerality on the palate, which leant it a savoriness that worked particularly well with food. It is still a little weighty for my taste, and you do notice the 14% alcohol on the finish, but the minerals/rocks lend some balance to what would otherwise be a rather blowsy sort of fruit bomb.
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12/1/2013 - LongViewCellars wrote: 89 Points
Didn't get it. I will start by saying that I'm not very familiar with Burgundian style Pinots and this is apparently as close as you can get from what I hear. Probably just to used to fruity American Pinots and not earthy mineral tasting pinots, so the jury is still out. I will def. give it another try, but wasn't sold.
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12/1/2013 - Monaco Likes this wine: 91 Points
First time with a Rhys pinot. Very refreshing to drink a CA pinot that didn't taste like a fruit punch cocktail. Very earthy and minerally. Wasn't a crowd pleaser (compared to an SQN syrah) but I thoroughly enjoyed this wine, as the styling is more reminiscent of old world pinot than the newer fruit bombs. Can't wait to try more Rhys from some of the other vineyards.
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11/23/2013 - BonnieM wrote:
Wish we had given this more air time - pop and pour, initially very bright fruit with a short, clipped finish. The next day (vacuvinned) it was wonderful, heavier, dark fruit, finished.
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11/4/2013 - BonnieM wrote:
Pop and pour. Absolutely love with dry rub ribs. Dark fruit, well integrated.
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10/26/2013 - DavidDay wrote: 93 Points
Black cherries, flowers, and earth on the nose, holding up very well, thee wine is layered and complex.
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9/25/2013 - 14frimaire wrote:
Too much cola. I love the Chardonnays, but the pinot noir from Alpine just doesn't do it for me.
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9/18/2013 - gzim wrote: 92 Points
Best showing of an Alpine yet for me. Decanted for an hour and it presented as a fully integrated, soft red berried pinot. Some nice soft cake spice with a touch of cranberry, but not tart. Elegant fine finish. I think this wine (at least this bottle) is ready and reaching its prime.
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8/25/2013 - leadpencil wrote: 93 Points
Black cherry, earth
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8/23/2013 - gzim Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped and poured, nice mature dark red fruitted profile, with some light spice (not cake) and a bit of pine sap. Very clean zesty finish.
Did not give this enough time to show its full self.
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8/18/2013 - Nanda wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful focused nose of black cherry, fresh cut herbs, and spice. Palate also shows laser-like focus with pure black and red cherries. More herbs. Terrific energy and cut. Medium+ finish. I have tons of Rhys - but haven't drank much ... no idea where this is going, but certainly feels like it has room to grow and develop.
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8/14/2013 - dougie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Have a lot of Rhys pinot and have only drank a couple (drank dozens of Alesia and several chards though). Decanted for an hour. Better than the first one a few years ago. The flavors are more integrated. After 3 hours of drinking, I began to see where tis is going. Just beautiful. Rhys makes wines like no one else. Wait at leat a few years for last one.
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5/26/2013 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was just rocking good.
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5/25/2013 - fredb Likes this wine:
Dark plum red color with limited transparency. Decanted and consumed over 2-3 hours of meal prep and consumption. Initial fruit impression is of crunchy raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, and some black cherry that leads into a medium finish that shows some tar and licorice elements. The fruit gets a bit redder with some air, but this seems to be still rather tightly wound. The structure and fruit elements seem in place to carry it into further development. Hold.
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4/23/2013 - Billigan Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was black-fruited and intensely aromatic, with a mind-boggling array of spices and floral scents on the nose, with a little bit of freshly sawed wood. On the palate, it exudes elegance, with very fine, well-integrated tannins, but a bit of alcohol showed through on the finish. But that's only a slight knock on what was otherwise a lovely "New World meets Old World" Pinot Noir.
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4/14/2013 - WoodieBayArea wrote: 92 Points
beautiful wine, drank while watching the finish of the 2013 Masters, nose was fantastic with sweet fruit and sandalwood and a touch of spice, palate was beautiful hi toned fruit with some floral notes and just the right amount of acid and oak, thanks to Regan Avery for the gift... now signing off to watch the playoff
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3/19/2013 - Tom Warden wrote: 92 Points
Very nice...refined and subtle.
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3/16/2013 - WST Likes this wine: 90 Points
Grand Crew Bellingham raids my cellar; Huet, Rhys, Ceritas, Breton, Charvin, VT and others (Bellingham, WA): Black raspberries and some herbal and floral notes. Still very young. Great balance and cut; well liked by the group, including the avowed europhiles.
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3/15/2013 - ckinv368 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Super concentrated, full of cassis and leather and spice and a hint of cedar as well. Smooth, lovely beautiful and will last for a long time.
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3/15/2013 - wineismylife Likes this wine: 91 Points
S1 visits Dallas! Opening Cantata. (Urbano Cafe, Dallas, Texas): WIML91
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner.
Dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Huge nose of baking spices, black cherries, black berries and white pepper. Flavors of black berries, black cherries, black raspberries and a bit of minerals. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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3/2/2013 - wcchang wrote: 92 Points
A good wine with very delicate mineral flavors. Wet rock, rain, forest notes adds on to other fruity flavors makes it a very enjoyable wine. But the 2010 Alpine I tasted earlier in the day seems to have even more potential.
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3/1/2013 - rm wines wrote:
Rhys and Ceritas Tasting (NYC): A bit disappointing compared to the other vintages of Alpine that we sampled. There was a ripe fruitiness on the nose that wasn't present on the other wines, and overall the aromas were more "typically" California. The palate was on the thin side and the wine hadn't successfully integrated the stemmy flavors from the whole cluster style. Of the wines in our tasting, it was the weakest of the correct wines, lacking the excellent mouthfeel and structure seen in the other vintages we tried.
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12/19/2012 - Bistrobro1 wrote:
should have waited, should have bought more,
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11/14/2012 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
Initial impressions, paired with sautéed pork with a wonton glaze / sauce - outstanding! On it's own, still very good, if not one that particularly excites. Matt's notes below are spot on in terms of flavor profile.. Very balanced. Good fruit with remnants of a pleasant green stemminess. Lacks a bit of verve or energy to push my score higher. The best pinot opened tonight, but the bar wasn't set very high.
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10/17/2012 - Mattshank wrote: 93 Points
Nose: An amazing nose of flowers, strawberries, and cherry. After some air hints of fresh mint, rhubarb and earth. Palate: The cherry and strawberry show with still good acid levels. This is truly a very balanced effort that has improved with age. It is the perfect equalateral triangle and is in a great place right now. Drink up.
Addendum: After several hours of air this is now showing the forest floor prevalent on the last bottle (tasted on 11/14/09). This is what great Pinot should be! Score upgraded from 92 to 93 points. Too bad it's the last bottle, but so it goes.
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10/9/2012 - OCgasman wrote:
Took to a restaurant and opened there. This showed nothing. I don't know if it's shut down or going through a weird phase, but not really enjoyable tonight. I had this about 6 months ago and it was wonderful. Don't know what to make of the bottle tonight.
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9/21/2012 - texaswinelover wrote:
Not happy with this bottle. Something wrong or at least just not right. Lack of focus. Lack of acid. Un-Rhys like.
Disappointing. Not sure if it needs more time or maybe it's just not a good wine.
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8/26/2012 - salil wrote: 79 Points
Boring, too ripe for my liking, one-note and a touch alcoholic. I liked this much better a few years ago.
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8/14/2012 - Todd French wrote:
Not particularly exciting - fruit-forward, lacking in complexity and mouthfeel
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8/11/2012 - DougLee wrote:
Dark ruby. Very impressive nose of raspberry and earth. Full-bodied palate of black fruit and sage. Long finish
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8/6/2012 - melzar wrote: 92 Points
Very refreshing. Not your typical California Pinot Noir. Much better than 18 months ago, this wine shows excellent balance. Will hold for a few years. Oak, if present is well integrated and unobtrusive.
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7/11/2012 - silton wrote: 91 Points
No formal notes. A good wine, but it wasn't seamless and lost some vivacity and definition compared to bottle #1 from 3.5 years ago without reaching a new balance, and thus came across thicker and more fruit oriented. Nonetheless, a classy Pinot in the grand scheme of 2006. if I had more I think I'd hold but I'm not sure how it will progress. 90-91.
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6/25/2012 - Tom Warden wrote: 90 Points
Beautiful rich ruby color...fruit and earthiness on the nose. A bit of spice on the palate...tannin too. Not quite ready yet fro prime time...but getting there.
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6/2/2012 - gutt22 wrote:
14.0% alcohol. This continues to develop nicely. Black cherry color. Pretty nose of earth, light stems, black cherry, and blackberry. In the mouth, velvety and very plush in texture, with delicious, juicy black cherry and blackberry fruit that overshadows the nice earth and spice notes. Good acidity and a caressing finish. A-
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5/22/2012 - DougLee wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby. Nose of florals, raspberry, mulberry, iodine, earth, anise. Powerful and earthy layers of blackberry, smoky plum, brambly flavors on the palate. Acidity is low-to-moderate, tannins quite structured. Although not syrupy like the last time, it still seems a bit ponderous. I may be missing the point here.
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5/19/2012 - JFish wrote:
Quick TN. Took to a friend's house for dinner (grilled salmon). Opened and dumped into a decanter and the room was dominated by the pinot perfume. About 2 hours later the first glass was poured. We took a sniff at the same time eyebrows were raised. Took the first drink and smiles ensued. I'll just say it was killer pinot - everything in balance (particularly when compared to a 2006 Brewer Clifton Melville pinot opened after dinner), darker red fruits, some spice and earthiness, acidity. Just, Wow. The best pinot I've had this year. Glad I have 4 left.
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5/12/2012 - dougie wrote: 93 Points
A wonderful, complex wine. Decanted for an hour and a half. Drank over 4 hours. Became more fruity over the time. But, not heavy at any time. So comlplex with wonderful flavors diffictult to describe. So happy I have been on the train for a while, and can't wait for all the rest. Very unique flavors.
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4/11/2012 - alanr wrote: 92 Points
Tasting at Rhys; 4/5/2012-4/11/2012 (Rhys Vineyards): Dark black cherry, juicy and lush but with good balancing acidity.
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4/2/2012 - DavidDay wrote: 92 Points
Spicy nose with red fruit, the wine really spreads out on the palate and finishes long and smooth.
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3/23/2012 - floydtp wrote:
Santa Cruz Mountains Day 2 (Rhys, Big Basin, Plumed Horse): Tasted non blind at the winery with Jeff. Bottle was PnP'd. Still very primary with a nice spicy, floral nose with some dark fruit. Similar palate with strong floral elements. The wine evolved significantly over just 15 minutes in the glass so it is kind of hard to pinpoint the profile. Hold this one for a few more years. Rating withheld since I didn't feel like a got to know this one very well but expect it to be in the 92-94 range. 2/3 new oak, 2/3 whole cluster.
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3/4/2012 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 93 Points
Dinner in Sonoma (at Estate): Probably the consensus WOTN although no formal vote was taken. It had a lot of things that people didn't like in other wines such as a feminine stemmy quality, but had such sweet pure cherry fruit that it all came together for lots of different stylistic preferences. I loved the feminine aspect to this wine and it has stated to unwind its layering showing a very interesting complexity. Just delicious. young but with lots of time until to peak. Got better all night long.
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3/4/2012 - gzim wrote: 92 Points
Decanted at 1pm for an hour, then back in the bottle to slow-o for another 6 hours, recorked and brought to dinner. When first poured the wine did not show much, didn't really appear tight, just a bit thin. Very nice brambly mature fruit with some fine dry tannins and mineral notes, certainly a big step above the typical Cali Pinot style. Darker in appearance than expected. I thought this was just the way it was, but while following for the next 2 hours, it did start to get a little bit bigger, fuller and the finish gained some length and added Vosne like tea notes and spice. Seems like it wants to be a Iron fist in a Velvet glove, and in a way it is, but while it is great in terms of balance and finesse, it just didn't have quite enough to be exceptional..
This was the first '06 Alpine I popped. Next time I will leave it to decant for a few hours ... I think this wine will continue to improve for another year or two.
To me this wine is a very good example of why I love what they are doing at Rhys, making wines which lean towards balance and grace with the reflection of the land on which they are grown...
To me this is a wine to pay attention to, in the way that it would be a shame only to look at the rose, without stopping to smell it.
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3/4/2012 - locovino wrote: 90 Points
Lovely Pinot Noir which seems to be aging fine. Dark red in the glass with a slight start of bricking. Deep nose of black plum and dark cherry. Did get a note of minerals a bit similar to the Alpine Chardonnay but in this wine they give a slightly "muddy" note which was slightly strange. I'll just chalk that up to site typicity I guess.
One issue I has with this wine -- and with all of my 2006 Rhys wines -- was the lousy cork which crumbled when pulled. Something is definitely wrong with these and hopefully it doesn't lead to longer term aging issues. Corks in subsequent vintages are fine by the way.
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2/14/2012 - chablis28 wrote: 91 Points
I usally don't decant PNs but seems like everyone is decanting Rhys so against my better judgement I did too. Started out great showing delicasy and nice floral aromas then, as it spent time in the decantor, it took on more power and seemed to loose the initial finesse and grace it showed moving towards a more typical CA PN profile. I liked it a lot early on but later it seemed less layered or compelling. Maybe it was closing up? Might have been best to not have decanted.
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2/14/2012 - Brsed wrote: 91 Points
Minerals. This wine is evocative of minerals and crisp, bright, light red fruit.
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2/6/2012 - thomaskeil wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Deep garnet. Nose has cherries, red berries, pine floor, earth, and definite floral elements; quite expressive after about 45 minutes of air. Palate features medium intensity fruit that has a creamy, viscosity cut by acidity laced with mineral. Tannins are present, but light. Good length, penetration and sense of complexity as the entry, ascent, peak and finish all feature differing elements. Nicely balanced and was terrific with seared scallops and artichoke risotto. I sense this could develop further.
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1/29/2012 - jbaron wrote: 92 Points
Saturated, non-descript nose; light, filling mouth that seems to have weight that belies its sensory characteristics. Very nice length that mirrors the mouth, without any of the usual additional faults. The wine seems to have some room to go, but I don't see that the future place is going to be THAT MUCH BETTER than the current place. (Tough don't forget that the wine needs some air!)
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1/20/2012 - jlm wrote:
In the three years since my last bottle, this has developed from a monolithic beast with a prominent stemmy greenness into an elegant and nuanced wine. The Rhys crew nailed the description of the aromas with black fruit and stony minerality. The palate is silky textured and really captures the "power without weight" quality of great Burgundy. There is still a spicy quality remaining in the mouth from the stems, and while it's not high in acidity, what it's got is seamlessly integrated into the fruit and keeps the wine away from the tiresome fruitiness of so many Pinots. There's a subtle but firm grip of tannin remaining, which shows just the slightest bit of grain. I opened this to try in advance of the Spring mailing to check in and see how this was showing five years from vintage, and it was convincing in every way. Opened and kept at cellar temp about 6 hours before serving. The air was certainly helpful, as it allowed the tannic structure to become more evident and the wine to put on some weight in the mouth.
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1/19/2012 - Tree512 wrote: 91 Points
Great combo of full CA fruit with Vosne complexity/minerality. Ripe red/plum fruit with lots going on behind it. Will age/develop but don't know if it will get better.
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1/16/2012 - Mike Dildine wrote: 92 Points
14% alcohol. This wine may be a bit richer and more modern in style than subsequent Alpines.
Popped and poured. Medium dark ruby red. Upon opening, the nose was reticent. By day two, very expressive, mainly black cherry. Flavors were shy upon opening, but really made a dramatic entrance by the second day. Black cherry and raspberry seemed to dominate. Some spice and herbs add complexity and interest. Nice balance and mouthfeel, lingering aftertaste. Very enjoyable.
I have one remaining and I'll probably let it sit for a year or two. I expect improvement.
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1/15/2012 - jbaron wrote: 92 Points
Opened two hours prior. Extraordinarily nice nose. Nice, almost rounded mouth. Length is the weak link here. Dusty herby earth notes, impressive fresh red fruit, with a little dried mixed in. Nice structure that lends credibility to the wine.
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1/15/2012 - glaze3 wrote:
3rd bottle of this and 2 yrs. since my last. Decanted 2 hours and drank over 4. Seems to have put on a significant amount of weight over the last 2 years. The stems have integrated now and the wine shows much more earthy components than the florals from it's youth. Simple palate of plum extract that isn't over ripe, but is larger framed than others in the Rhys lineup. Low acidity and a slight herbal tannic feel that tones it down a bit. Not a bad wine and actually quite enjoyable just lacking the energy and verve I was looking for tonight. I have one mag left that I'll try to hold 10 yrs. in the name of science.
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1/14/2012 - DougLee wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for one hour. Dark ruby, almost purple. Nose of raspberry, iodine, forest floor, a bit of tar. Viscous and somewhat syrupy on the palate with powerful, ripe layers of bing cherry and extracted plum flavors. Acidity was low, tannins structured, finish moderately long. May need several years to sort itself out.
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12/15/2011 - JOsgood wrote:
Medium weight with a distinct elegance about it. Good with Peking Duck.
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12/14/2011 - EMichels wrote: 89 Points
Nice nose; A bit too typically Californian
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12/9/2011 - Moorese wrote: 94 Points
Unlike tonight's companion wine (the 06 Rhys Swan Terrace), this bottle is a sexy beast from the onset. The nose shows copious notes of sweet red and purple fruits, even if they are a bit undifferentiated, with a sweeter, spicier nose than the Swan Terrace. The mouthfeel is more significant, the finish longer, and the wine more delicious today. Nonetheless, it misses a bit of the acid and tannic spine that I suspect will make the Swan Terrace the longer-lived wine. This is rocking right now - a spicy melange with some real in-your-face fruit.
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12/3/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Didn't wow me. Seemed a bit heavier than I was expecting. The stems add an herbal content to the flavor, along with a heavier strawberry and what seemed to be lacking for me was delineation. I know the wine had some decant time and I think was open about 6 hours? Anyway, was fine but didn't thrill me.
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11/27/2011 - WetRock wrote:
EWG Dealer's Choice (A/K/A Bistro, Pasadena, CA): Decanted about two hours prior to serving. Somewhat tight nose initially it does open up with some green stems among sweet, floral dark fruits. I couldn't get that much out of the palate in expression as it was mostly closed to me. The very clean finish stood out behind somewhat soft fruit. Showed better than my last couple go arounds but I think this still needs rest. The green stems are the one pause.
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11/14/2011 - placecarnot wrote: 86 Points
Not sure I understand this wine. Upon opening, it was tight, tart and a little stemmy. I figured I'd give it a day to open up, so I put the cork back into an almost full bottle. By day 2, it was already starting to taste like an older wine, although still not that pleasant. Will try some younger Rhys wines to see if I can get what all the hype is about.
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11/5/2011 - kinger0003 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Was much darker red than I have come to expect from a PN. Popped and poured and notes of red fruit jumped out of the glass. I got a heavy raspberry/strawberry vibe with maybe a bit of sweet cherry. More of the same on the palate. Medium bodied and very smooth. Very enjoyable PN.
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10/21/2011 - chateaumiller wrote:
EXCELLENT
Color was a little darker than expected but the aromatics were coming out of the glass and into the kitchen. Perfect pinot nose of cherry and a little dirt. The palate was a nice balance between red fruit and acidity with a little tannic backbone. This is still developing into something special and will check back in about two years. I would highly recommend this to someone who wants to explore Western Pinot Noir.
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10/9/2011 - llink wrote:
Grapefruit, sour cherry, herbal, stems, menthol and spice on the nose. Bright, tart palate showing good acid, but also some bitter elements (pepper?). Nice structure balanced by intense compound flavors. The palate seemed "hard" and lacked a satiny or velvety feel. The finish is medium in length and dominated by a recurrence of the bitter/pepper elements. I like this as a food wine, although it was poorly matched against a pizza, it would do well with chicken or a game bird of some sort. No signs of decline, but I am not sure that this wine will improve with age.
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10/2/2011 - gutt22 wrote:
14.0% alcohol. Dark red color. Pretty nose of red cherry, black cherry, earth, light hints of stems, and minerals. Unabashedly complex on the nose, and nothing short of sumptuous in the mouth. A velvety, precise texture, with superb balance. Black cherry and red cherry fight on the palate, giving way to rich earth, spice, floral, and stem notes. The acidity is refined. The finish is long and open-knit. This bottle didn't see perfect storage conditions, so I think it's a bit more evolved than it would be normally. Bodes well for this wine. A-
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9/11/2011 - pismo45 wrote: 91 Points
Pretty nose of dark fruits. Elegant and smooth on the palate with beautiful balance. Black and red fruits with a very long finish. Tasty.
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8/24/2011 - sethmorgenlong wrote:
Black cherry hue. Rich brown spice, ripe red fruit with sappy spice of nutmeg, cinnamon, sandalwood, licorice, turned earth, kirsch, sweet rubber, red tea and sous bois. On the palate the wine showed fresh, vibrant, gentle and silken. Luscious and pure black and red fruit with minerality, rockiness and sweet herbal spice. Ripe and grippy mocha tannins and a long cocoa powder finish. Hold.
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8/3/2011 - soyhead wrote: 94 Points
nose - spice, black cherry per Dan, blackberry, ?coffee, and a whiff of dirt. The spiciness of the nose is noteable, cant fully dissect it out, maybe cinnamon, clove, cardemom, 'exotic' per phil
mouth - concentrated and sappy without being overripe or overdone. delicious, pretty much everyone was drooling over it, very ripe yet lean red fruit, absolutely superb. believe the hype.
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7/19/2011 - aagrawal wrote: 88 Points
WineBerserkers Brunch and Dinner (San Francisco): Stunning red fruit, spice, but ripe, EtOH; structured, fruit, new world style; EtOH finish. A bit out of balance for me, but a very intense wine.
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7/13/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
Similar impressions to May 2011 note. Needs 30+ minutes to open up.
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7/6/2011 - fisk15 wrote: 92 Points
Dark garnet in color, tight upon opening and left in a decanter for about an hour before dinner, hit a drinkable window and coaxed some aromatics from the glass. Red fruits, acidic and pleasantly herbal. Decant and drink now or hold.
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6/24/2011 - floydtp wrote: 93 Points
CellarTracker Wisconsin June 2011; 6/24/2011-6/25/2011 (Madison, WI- various venues): Tasted non blind at a wine dinner. Lovely nose of dark fruit with more of the same on the palate. Some sour cherry and rubber with some spice in the finish. Very nice wine overall. Hold for a few more years.
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6/24/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 92 Points
CellarTracker Wisconsin Offline I - Part One (Madison, WI): WIML92+/-?
Tasted non blind at a wine dinner.
Garnet to perhaps dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose starts with a hint of grapefruit followed by a hint of white pepper then black berries and black cherries. Flavors of black berries and black cherries. Medium acidity, firm tannins, full bodied. Drink now with some air or hold.
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6/24/2011 - petitblanc wrote:
CT Wisconsin Offline; 6/24/2011-6/25/2011 (Madison, WI): This had a really interesting melon note on the nose. Very young and primary on the palate, a shade alcoholic. No score.
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6/19/2011 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
A few friday night wines (Phil's place, Chicago IL): nose: lovely, perfumed, and balanced nose filled with tones of rhubarb, dark red cherries, dark spices, berries and a touch of roses. Well balanced with very good depth and a real stylish quality to it
taste: great medium/full body with medium+ acidity and sexy tones of dark spices, rhubarb, berries, and loads of dark red fruits and dark red cherries. Well balanced with good layering on the palate though the acidity is kicking a bit and the tannins are still noticeable
overall: this still needs a good amount of time. This bottle is showing better than the one from a year ago, but it's still very young.
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6/6/2011 - cookie7 wrote:
90 minute decant. Posesses both power and finesse. This will last for years.
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6/4/2011 - S. Lorin wrote:
Closed. Nice aromatics but showing very little fruit - stemmy, green with baking soda.
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5/30/2011 - rc@ughey Likes this wine: 94 Points
A spectacular showing. This was surprisingly open--in a nice stage treading the line between youthful, fresh exuberance and a more complex middle age. Dark deep fruits, nice acidity, and a dusting of minerals. This will improve but no shame in opening one now.
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5/4/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 92 Points
On the nose, red fruits against a backdrop of tartness. On the palate, it takes a bit for this to open up, which I would have known if I read my previous note. Nice fruit, again with some tartness. Good finish. My sense is that this will be better in a couple of years. Right now it seems, very subtly, to be slightly out of sorts. If I went back to my prior experience, I guess this might be fixed by extended air time, as this just keeps getting better and better in the glass.
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3/21/2011 - Wicker Parker wrote:
I unfortunately caught this in a wobbly, adolescent phase. It was unexpressive and simple the first night, with a bit of puppy glycerol, and if it was trimmer on night two, with better mineral expression and stem / baking spice / cola character, it was also a bit astringent and flat on the midpalate, and still simplistic, and a touch of VA (nail polish remover) marred the aroma. Not much point in drinking this now.
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3/10/2011 - Rieslingfan wrote: 89 Points
This is a very interesting wine, as it has excellent dark fruit aromatics, a level of minerality/earthiness in the background and good acidic balance. Where I have a bit of concern is in the dryness of the tannins. It's quite scratchy from the mid-palate to the end - not in the way of tannins that time will resolve, but an actual roughness. Interesting wine though, especially for the aromatics.
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3/9/2011 - cookie7 wrote:
Well-balanced, elegant wine. Nice cherries on the palate and acidity on the finish. This appeared to be one of the more open 2006's from Rhys - but will continue to improve.
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2/24/2011 - vanpe003 wrote: 93 Points
There's something about the Rhys lineup that is totally dialed in to my palate. I've never had a bottle I didn't like. So with that caveat, and a score that's reflective of compatibility with my palate:
On the open, perhaps a bit closed, but still showing obvious quality and style. The biggest downfall on the open is the nose, which just isn't very expressive at that point. On the palate, balanced but tight.
Fast forward 4 hours (decanted) - nose - wide open red fruit, perfume notes, and a briar/stem sense in the far background. If there was such a thing as a "long finish" for the aromas of a wine, this bottle would fit the bill. On the palate, good depth of fruit in a typically Rhys-balanced way, with acidity and fine tannins still leaving their mark. This is a stunning wine now, and should be even better in a couple of years. This won hands down against a '05 Williams Selyem Ferrington also opened tonight.
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2/5/2011 - bon vivant wrote:
First you get that sweet slightly candied Cali PN scent with dark fruit Licorice and slightly caramelized cola notes. Much improved after an hr decant when it shows much more delicate red fruit profile -some notes of clove, delicate flowers and a very nice texture-no official TN's taken but this was an enjoyable bottle that may be even better with an additional few years of storage.
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1/29/2011 - jreis wrote:
The first of 3 2006 Rhys pinots, all of which are still too young and quite closed at this point, making them a little hard to read. Juniper, dark cherry and rose petals on the nose, but more hints of these than a real strong hit. Get the sense of structure, but fruit is quite reticent on the palate. Long finish holds promise, but just promise at this point.
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1/28/2011 - drwine2001 wrote:
Clear medium ruby. Haunting nose of flowers, black fruit and licorice that was very Burgundian, reminding me of a Vosne Romanee wine. In the mouth, it betrays its California roots through its fuller body, cola flavors and distinctly blueberry fruit. Sound acidity but slight dip in its mid-palate precision. Long, very satisfying, tannic finish. Intriguing wine, especially that initial aromatic burst.
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1/28/2011 - jbaron wrote:
The nose is still the nicest piece of this wine, but after an hour of being opened, the other parts fall in line - sort of. The nose is somewhat dstinct, with piney/foresty notes that are quite becoming. The mouth is the same, even higher pitched, but seems nebulous, like it's not quite ready for the show. Fuzzy like. The length is almost back to the level of the nose; long if a bit high pitched, fruity if a bit tart, also indistinct.
This is a wine that seems taut but tannic; I think that it would benefit from another couple of years to lose that tannic bite that seems distracting.
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1/28/2011 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
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1/26/2011 - henrychinaski wrote: 91 Points
I think this wine has amazing potential. However the nose was very disappointing as it was shockingly ripe and obviously from California. The body has tremendous depth and strength yet is not heavy or overbearing. Tart. Fine Tannins. Interesting mid palate of crushed rocks and a very long finish. Occasionally a hint of spices. It will be interesting to see where this goes in 10 years. Opened up nicely over two hours. I would like to try a vertical of this vineyard and see how this compares to the more recent vintages as Rhys continues to refine their style.
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1/23/2011 - jce733 wrote: 95 Points
Sweet cherry and raspberry on the nose with aromas of minerality and smoke. On the palate this beauty had long lasting sweet cherry fruit, leather, wet stone and a little rolling menthol on the finish (which went on forever). One the top 2 Pinot's I've ever had.
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1/21/2011 - theRealPepe wrote:
This was drunk months ago. I recall a very closed pinot. I was unable to judge what this might become. Certainly hold much, much longer.
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1/1/2011 - melzar wrote: 91 Points
Is this really from California? Certainly not burgundian, but not the over extracted stuff I'm used to tasting from the Golden State. Tasted over five days, and initially a little vegetal and unfocussed. Better two days later, and after five days in bottle, a beautiful well balanced and focussed wine. Reminds me of the Mondavi reserves of the late 80's. clearly will benefit from aging.
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12/25/2010 - steffenpelz wrote:
Opened this with traditionally American Christmas Dinner of ham, potatoes, and vegetables. Like the Fleur de Gay the day before, this was a pleasure to drink. Although not as intellectual a wine as the Fleur de Gay the day prior, this was an enjoyable wine that showed restraint for CA Pinot. Deep dark fruit that wasn't too tannic at all and some tree bark and earthiness. Flavorful enough to stand up to the food. Fine choice for this dinner.
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12/4/2010 - WetRock wrote:
California Vs Burgundy Blind (Frank Murray's Casa): Served blind. Decanted about 6 hours prior to serving. Tight nose with notes of cranberry and juniper. Lean feeling palate with more cranberry. This showed far less than I would have expected. Seemed perfumey on the nose later on but the palate still seemed in its shell being acidic and tart. Guessed Cali.
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12/4/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Burg Dinner (CA and France--Served Blind!) (Murray Casa): I was told this got a good decant before the event; however, for me it still showed as oaky. My comment to the table was aftershave/cologne-like. Clove. With some leftover wine from last night still in the bottle, I retasted just now. Fruit still is a bit muddled, with raspberry, strawberry and a toasty/oaky note that kind of cloaks the fruit in. Got no votes last night, no points. Call it 9th place.
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11/12/2010 - JFish wrote:
Popped the cork in the morning and began drinking it around 5 p.m. No detailed note but as good as it was at first it continued to get better with more air - the last glass was the best. Fantastic pinot.
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10/21/2010 - Franklin wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured after an 07 Dujac Malconsorts. The Rhys Alpine is a spherical wine that has improved considerably since release but has a lot of time to improve further. I didn't have the time to follow it for long, but my other recent experiences show that this better on day 2.
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10/10/2010 - andolini wrote: 90 Points
A bit too cool when I opened it, so flavors and nose were a bit muted. After an hour, get tart red fruit, some clove and Indian spices, but a bit stemmy. Noticeable tannins and moderate finish. Needs some more time -- I enjoyed the Alpine Hillside from the same vintage a lot more.
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10/10/2010 - MikeC362 wrote: flawed
Cork leaked while in cellar
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9/11/2010 - fredb Likes this wine:
Very dark red color with little transparency. Effusive nose of blackberry, blueberry, iron, and black raspberry. On the palate, this is richly fruited, showing black raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, a hint of anise, some rhubarb/orange tartness at the finish, and a long cherry-blueberry finish. Drinkable now with decanting for an hour or more. Seems to have the stuffing to develop further. Drink if you have several or hold until 2014.
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9/5/2010 - shaneajohnson wrote:
Seems to have the right ingredients, but it will need some time to come together. Don't drink again until 2014+
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8/28/2010 - rralls wrote: 92 Points
Best Damn Cailfornia Pinot Noirs You May Never Had Dinner (Paul's): A little high on acidity right now. Improved with some air. Got the components for a great wine and an improved score -- let's hope some time brings everything together.
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7/31/2010 - Diane (LI) wrote:
Dark plums and spice on the nose and palate. Lots of structure, showing years of life, but it is terrific right now.
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7/16/2010 - decaturwinedude wrote: 90 Points
Couldn't keep my hands off. Showing that intense Alpine stemmy perfume. Raspberry and blueberry fruit with spice. Fruit is still very primary. There's acid here that gives it a lift, a wonderful freshness to the wine. Finishes with a lot of structure, really grippy tannins and a tart cherry bite. Still young, and rather concentrated, but I knew that...one day I will let these babies rest...
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7/13/2010 - conform wrote:
Hard as nails on opening. Close to that after 90 minutes. Started to come around at about 2 hours. After three hours, this was a beautiful, complex, spicy pinot. Seems to be a good ways from a pop and pour wine.
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7/8/2010 - Jody Smith wrote:
Pungent, brooding aromas of sous bois and exotic berries. Not quite as compelling on the palate, presenting cherry compote and damson notes. Medium bodied, and slightly bitter, but paradoxically soft and round tannin despite the astringency. Finishes with moderate length, alluding back to the initial aromatics. Another great Rhys, concentrated, yet understated. It's hard not to love these wines.
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7/8/2010 - ruffsurf wrote: 92 Points
It's so good now that I can't believe this wine can get any better with time. Gorgeous color. Harmonious. Complex, high-toned, all but fully developed red fruit. Long finish. Nice match with food. Only nit: nose a bit restrained.
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6/12/2010 - JOJ wrote: 93 Points
Another fine bottle. Nose of tart pie cherry, baking spice, cola, and orange peel. Palate unfolds with cherry, cranberry, clove and spices. Very long finish. Very good. Still very young -- no need to rush to dig into these.
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6/6/2010 - Dave Dalluge wrote:
Impromptu Calera Night: Opaque red color. Huge, primary nose dominated by raspberry, earth, caramel and oak. Rather generic; not much in the way of nuance at this point. More of the same on the palate with ripe fruit and oak obscuring any other tastes. Expansive flavors, but almost fat at this point with very little structure discernible. Finish falls flat. I'm a fan of Rhys and expect this to develop nicely, but I've got to say this was a little disappointing. My recommendation is to cellar these at this point.
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5/28/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Pinot Smackdown 2010 (Ken's, northbrook IL): nose: elegant but very tight nose with spice tones, red fruits, red florals and red currants. Well balanced and possess very good depth but the tones aren't fully coming out and play
taste: very youthful on the palate with excellent depth and polished tones of red fruits, red florals, red currants and a touch of spice tones. Very good medium body and medium+ acidity with some chewy tannins as well
overall: my no5, group no12. We had been told that this had been decanted for a while, but this just didn't really seem to want to fully come out and play. Lots of promise and very young, this really does need some serious time before really showing itself
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5/28/2010 - cobbpa Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pinot Noir Smackdown (Northbrook, IL): Nose of candied & juicy black fruits in a grapey fashion. Touch of vanilla there too, perhaps? Mouth is dark red fruits and leads to a soft finish that is a bit short, but shows hints of chocolate.
My #12, group's #12
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5/20/2010 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 91 Points
San Antonio Wine Geeks - Random Bottles (Ilsong Garden Korean BBQ, San Antonio): Ripe fruity nose with strawberry and raspberry qualities, quite floral and delicate. initially the palate was quite acidic and harsh, but smoothed out over the course of the evening adding a ouch of sweetness. Fleshy, but light palate, with plenty of subtle spice and earth notes. Lengthy slate and forest floor finish. Struck be as delicate and feminine compared to the Pisoni. Not much tannin to speak of. Needs another 3 years or so.
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5/5/2010 - pinotdog wrote:
Black cherries and tea in wonderful balance. It has a mouthfeel that really stands out for me and makes me want more! Sipped over two days with no fall-off in quality.
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4/3/2010 - olm2000 wrote:
very tight on day 1...recorked overnight...better next day but no formal notes...probably needs more sleep
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4/1/2010 - ginfizz wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful ruby red with dark core, and a wonderful melange of red raspberry, red currant, and black raspberry in the nose with floral hints and a bit of mint. Touch of salinity in the wine balances the similar flavors. Really exceptional for the vintage, drinks well with a bit of air, or hold for more complexity. Finishes a little coarse and flat.
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3/13/2010 - sehill wrote: 92 Points
This wine was opened and poured. The aromatics display black cherry, stone, mineral, forest floor and spice notes. The color is a rich dark ruby that is appropriate for the wines age. The medium bodied palate shows balance and structure. Stone elements on the plate give firmness and concentration. The wine drinks well now but should benefit from a few years of bottle age.
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2/21/2010 - glaze3 wrote:
Decanted 2 hours drank over 6. Lively nose of cherries and flowers. Palate is bursting with tart cherries, cranberry, black tea, and citrus. It's been a year since I last tasted this and noted then a real bite from the whole cluster, that is all but gone now leaving in it's place a red floral acidity that is extremely lively and that lingers on the palate for well over a minute. Very nice...
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2/17/2010 - zinfidel wrote: 93 Points
Closed on opening, but really came into its own with a couple of hours of decanting. Nose of cherry, orange peel and floral perfume. Terrific.
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2/13/2010 - Brady D wrote: 92 Points
My first Rhys, served by Jeff and Kevin. Medium red, proper pinot colored. Very clear. Fantastic nose of mixed fruit and sous bois. I wouldn't have picked it as CA, at all. Medium bodied. Complex. Good acidity and length. Kevin felt it a bit disjointed, but I really liked it.
My favorite bottle of the night, beating out a Voerzio Barolo, Dunn Cab, and an Ojai Syrah.
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1/30/2010 - MatthewF wrote:
Very fragrant nose of red cherry and berry with quite a bit of brown spice and bit of vanilla. Fruit forward on the palate with great spice throughout. Very focused. Nice structure, good acidity on the lengthy finish. A beautiful CA pinot.
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1/30/2010 - psmith wrote:
High pitched red fruits and spice notes. Clean and pure. Well restrained. Sexy. Very nice.
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1/24/2010 - JOJ wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with notes from 13 months ago. Still young and in need of lots of air. Once opened up, the nose is lightly perfumed and clean, with notes of flowers, orange peel, spice rack, and pine. Palate is crisp and angular, without being overly acidic or tart. Notes of red fruit and citrus predominate, with a lightly spicy finish. Very good.
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1/22/2010 - t_moderne wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful bouquet of fresh berries and rose petals balanced with spice. In the mouth, elegance, as the velvety tannins caress the palate. Lots more raspberries and strawberries, countered with cinnamon and nutmeg. Hints of vanilla peek in. The wine has a long finish of raspberries and cream. Delicious.
14% on the alc level.
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1/17/2010 - leadpencil wrote: 91 Points
Dark brick red, medium bodied. Dark cherry, potting soil, plenty of structure to age.
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1/14/2010 - riccodog13 wrote: 92 Points
Strong floral accents on the cherry, orange rind and mineral infused nose. Bright, punchy cherry and raspberry flavors are contrasted nicely herb and floral notes. Flavors cascade onto the impressive blood orange and mineral finish. This wine posseses tremendous balance and depth of flavor, but is still quite young and will benefit from several years of bottle age. Drink now-2017. 92+ pts.
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1/10/2010 - etherscreen wrote:
has the raw materials, but very young. will try to hold 3-5+ years on the rest of these.
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1/2/2010 - winelovr2001 wrote: 95 Points
Red cherries, cola, spice with brilliant extraction. A big wine without the alcohol and heavy prune flavors that plague many cali pinots. Needs to be decanted as it was pretty closed at first.
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11/14/2009 - Mattshank wrote: 91 Points
Nose: Rose hips and forrest floor with some red fruits and earth. Palate: Good acidity with a red fruit profile; hints of herbs and a medium length finish. This wine is all about finesse and balance, but given that, the palate is still somewhat non-descript and never really seems to make a statement. Perhaps my second and final bottle will evolve into something more memorable with time. Decent but not great. The nose is by far more interesting than the palate.
Addendum: This has put on more weight with considerable air. Some of the previous reviewers had it right...decant this wine for sure. 91-92 points as a revised score after aeration.
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11/2/2009 - cookie7 wrote: 93 Points
Poured into decanter and allowed to sit for an hour. At first a very floral nose of rose and violets, and a light well-defined palate. Allowed this to sit in the decanter for another hour before trying again. At hour two the wine has put on more weight with stronger red fruits dominating both the nose and palate. Wonderful wine, but I can not help preferring it more earlier in the night than later.
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10/30/2009 - pismo45 wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful nose of roses, spices and dark fruits that carries into the mouth. Finely textured fruit - intense but not rough in any sense. Beautiful dark fruit. A more "elegant or refined" pinot noir than I'm used to - meant in a good way. I kept thinking that this was going to keep getting better and better with age.
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10/16/2009 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
Sacred Cow stands before the forest (Restaurant X, Oklahoma, OK): WIML90+?
Tasted October 16, 2009 at an offline.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Rich nose of berries, cherries and a bit of rose petals. Flavors of berries and cherries. Light to medium acidity, medium tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink with air or continue hold.
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10/7/2009 - alanr wrote: 88 Points
This has all the requisite character: medium body, not overly ripe, but somehow it's not hitting on all cylinders. It wants to show some nice medium black cherry fruit, but comes up short, fading a little too fast into a black tea profiile, lacking a bit in acidity and structure. Unfortunately the depth of flavors just aren't there.
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9/6/2009 - Brsed wrote: 92 Points
At Bonsoiree. Nose of berries and flowers. Very early-should wait a couple of years but wanted to try. Very tight and restrained but clear this will be a fantastic wine with time. Excellent depth of layered frut.
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9/4/2009 - Jody Smith wrote: 91 Points
Effusive bouquet of moderate power. Bitter rose hips and grated citrus peel. Slowly expands in the mid palate - mouth coating and persistent, yet edgy and refreshing. Good structure will provide for needed and positive evolution. Finishes with a bit of mineral and spice.
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9/1/2009 - olm2000 wrote: 94 Points
what a difference 8 months makes...a complete CA pinot...great aromatics benefitting from whole cluster inclusion I think...black fruits, an intense wine on the palate but not overdone or manipulated...great fruit but not jammy at all...painfully long...what a wine...I'll go out on a limb and say Rhys is the best domestic pinot producer IMO
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8/28/2009 - Screameagle wrote: 92 Points
A terrific pinot that appears to be just entering it's prime drinking window. Very happy to have a couple bottle of this left.
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8/19/2009 - cporter wrote:
Drank this blind against 2 other Cali Pinot competitors and three '06 1er Cru Burgs. This was the hands down winner. Beautiful whole cluster aromatics that went from rose petals to holiday spices (pumpkin pie, potpourri, etc.). Texturally, this was just as compelling as the Burgundies if not more so, with a mineral, rocky, savory character. Sweet red and black fruit on the palate with echoes of the whole cluster spice, with just enough acid to balance the density of fruit and tannin. Long finish echoing the palate characters, with a subtle hint of heat that is quickly subsumed by the intensity of the lingering fruit and intense spice. Superb.
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8/4/2009 - jasonh wrote: 91 Points
Served next to the 06 Swan Terrace. Blind FWIW.
Half the bottle was decanted for a few hours and drank over another few hours. The other half was left with the cork in it for two days.
At first the aromatics were similar to the Swan Terrace but they quickly departed from each-other. Reminds me of American pinot but more in the Oregon realm. Not feminine although a flowery element does creep in. Doesn't have the intensity of the Swan. Shows more earth and stems. This is fairly wild and brooding. The fruit more wrapped up in wood, stems and earth. The nose does have a sappy quality. It may be the stems but it reminds me of a Cristom. On the palate this is a wild one. Miles away from a simple fruity cali pinot. Does not show the same purity as the Swan Terrace and the middle became a bit richer. Again there is a long finish focusing on tannin and a saline quality. This needs to stay sleeping.
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7/27/2009 - Mrbuzz wrote: 93 Points
TN: Burgundy vs. U.S Pinot Noir blind tasting....plus a dozen others!!! (Buzzini House): Big and sweet, super tasty, well balanced. Raspberry, candied cherry fruit, forest floor, dusty potpourri spice, sandalwood, stems, KB-like. My first Rhys Alpine....LOVED this!
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7/26/2009 - SuitePhoto wrote: 93 Points
The nose has stayed fairly constant over the last 36 hours: very floral with a sweet red fruited tinge and some vanilla, touch of dried herbs and orange rind. This wine is big in the mouth, but not in the way I'd normally describe big as 'ripe'. This wine just has tons of everything - acid, tannin, fruit, etc. It was somewhat overwelming to pick-through this wine at first, as it hit my taste buds with everything all at once.
This wine has plenty of acid that runs the length of the wine and keeps the finish going for at least 30 seconds. Black tea, anise and other asian spices start to become more apparent with time. Dark fruits all the way but that often takes a back seat to the black tea and hints of stems and forest floor. Ample, yet stiff, tannin pucker the inside of my cheeks as the wine goes down, with a slight hint of heat in the back of my palate. I'll say it agian - Looooong finish! Give this 3, if not 5 years before opening your next bottle.
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7/21/2009 - vanpe003 wrote: 91 Points
Popped/poured. Initially, sweet cola, lilac and sour on the nose, with the sour component blowing off. On the palate, nice depth of fruit, no overt out-of-balance acidity. Some floral notes I can't quite place, other than to say "it tastes like perfume smells", especially on the midpalate and finish. Refined, balanced, with noticeable minerality. Mid-weight for a California Pinot. Not deficient in fruit, but more regal and elegant than many. Didn't notice the tannins mentioned by other reviewers. While this probably wouldn't hold up in a horizontal tasting with "bigger" entrants, it is sublime on its own. Feminine in styling, but in no way diluted. The floral notes of this remind me of a Kalin Cellars I had many years ago that had certain unique aphrodisiac qualities.
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7/10/2009 - JeffcB wrote:
This showed very different with some air and a long decant.
Initial reactions: Plenty of carbon dioxide, that splash decanted out. Extremely floral bouquet, with some vanilla. Opens with gobs of tongue dehydrating tannins, before a medium nice finish of dark cherry and mild blackberry fruit that still succumbing to the dry lingering tannin. Overall shows with some very positive elements (the nose) and some very negative (unappealing tannins).
After a long decant, the harsh tannins are more integrated, with a strong wet soil, earth and mushroom flavor developed and dominating the wine. Interesting. Will be curious how this continues to develop with significant bottle time, and wouldn't open one soon.
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6/27/2009 - yhn wrote: 96 Points
Nose - nice smooth fruit, some rustic stinkiness, red and black fruit, plum, graphite and iron, sweet pipe tobacco.
Aggressive and intense, smoky, resiny, red plum, green herbs, graphite. Drink '15-'30.
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6/7/2009 - GrowOrganic wrote:
this has a wonderful nose of rose petals, strawberry and a slight earthy scent. Dark in color, and on the palate this is very smooth dominated by red fruit medium acidity and a long finish.
i think it could benefit from at least an hour decant. we just popped and poured at slightly lower than room tempature.
More notes to follow
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5/30/2009 - T-Mac wrote: 93 Points
Decanted 4 hours. One of the most distinctive new world pinot noirs out there in both aroma and taste. Amazing complexity for such a young wine. A lot of producers claim that their pinot has minerality, but I find that few really deliver on that promise. Rhys does. Sounds crazy, but you can actually smell the rocks in this. Black raspberry, Sonoma Coast-like spice, and an underlying steeliness that continues throughout. Go lick a lead fishing weight and you'll know what I'm talking about. Fine tannins provide welcome structure. Bonus points for individuality.
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5/23/2009 - blondon wrote:
Decanted two hours. Beautiful dark ruby red. Expressive nose of earth, forest floor, baking spice. Dark fruits, mushrooms and bracing acidity. Enjoyable now with air, cellar time should produce magic.
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5/22/2009 - joe d wrote: 85 Points
Pretty big, dark wine. Stemmy note adds complexity. Improved over an hour. Good now, I am optimistic that it can improve over time.
My discrete CT scale: 95-extraordinary; 90-very good; 85-good; 80-fair; 75-poor
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5/21/2009 - yhn wrote: 93 Points
Nose - candied, roasted fruit, black plum, sage.
Tight. Spiced plum, dusty, bay, sage, redwood, with a toasty char finish. Drink '11-'21 93+ pts
My #3, group #2 3/2/3/0 (63)
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5/16/2009 - decaturwinedude wrote: 89 Points
Very nice, but in need of time. Stemmy, perfumed nose. Palate shows some dark fruit. A bit austere right now. Wait some years on this for my palate.
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5/14/2009 - salil wrote: 91 Points
Californian Pinots at Troquet with Kathleen Inman (Boston): Surprisingly dark in colour and one of the most interesting wines to follow over the course of the evening; this starts out showing a whole lot of red and dark fruited flavours on the nose and palate initially but with time and air the fruit takes a step back and allows nuances of violets, forestal underbrush, pine cones and spices to emerge. Feels a little tart and astringent on the finish though with the tannins and acid making their presence felt.
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4/24/2009 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 90 Points
Rhys (Seasonal): A sea change in style after the Home Vineyard. The density and inkiness are almost a shock to the system. Like my last experience with this wine a few months ago, the scent is practically a textbook in whole-cluster aromatics.
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4/15/2009 - sachsen wrote: 93 Points
First experience with a Rhys single vyd. Less in-your-face fruit forwardness that I find with most CA pinots. Rather, this was lush--almost creamy--refined experience of cherries, spices and so much more that I couldn't specifically name. Very happy to have jumped on the Rhys bandwagon!!!
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4/12/2009 - ctunes wrote: 89 Points
2006 Excellent Pinot...probably needs more time before opening the other bottles. Decanted one hour before meal and the flavor held solid throughout the meal. Thanks to Leon Perakis for recommendation
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4/11/2009 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Nicely balanced & full of fruit, this also had a somewhat distracting road tar element.
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4/11/2009 - glaze3 wrote:
Decanted 1 hour- drank over 3 hrs. This has the nose of a Sonoma coast pinot- pine needles and earthy forest floor. Really showing the whole clusters at this point giving the wine plenty of bite, very dark color and supple red fruits. Needs a couple of years in my opinion to smooth out the rough edges, but should evolve very nicely.
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4/10/2009 - sdatl wrote: 93 Points
Very elegant and well-balanced, with savory notes of herbs at first opening up to beautiful cherry fruit with nice tannins; Mark was a huge fan as well!
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3/26/2009 - etherscreen wrote:
kevin harvey and jeff brinkman can really do no wrong. after a knock out '06 sonoma coast pinot earlier in the week, i felt compelled to pull out a bottle of indeed, this is way too young, however as a matter of academics and to appraise future potential, i cracked a bottle.
initially a bit tight, so i decanted this for about 45 min. i'd have done this longer, but i began preparing dinner, and quite frankly, if there is wine in the kitchen it belongs in my glass! complex nose of high tone red fruits overshadowing some dark fruits lead by rich cherries, as well as fresh flowers, baking spices, menthol, and all the while envoloped by a profound earth/mineral component, thus providing a true sense of place. i get the sence this is only a glimpse of very beautiful things to come. very rarely do i find truly noticable tannins in cali pinot, but i suppose this one of those times. this silky wine displays a offers a deep flavor on a delicately balanced palate. fantastic finish of mouth watering acid, cherry skins, and earthy minerality. tannins noticable as well.
all in all, this is a terrific offering, and i'm very pleased, not only to have more in the cellar, but to part of what will most certainly be a fantastic journey with rhys.
fwiw, this wine continues to evolve as i compose this note. lots of potential here.
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3/22/2009 - mmasterson wrote:
Decanted at lunch and consumed slowly over the course of the afternoon into early evening. Not yet ready to drink, as the tannins are still dry and the fruit still fairly primary. Given the acidity and minerality hiding underneath the fruit in the wine, it will be very interesting to see how this develops, but for right now it's just not showing all that it hopefully will.
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3/16/2009 - steffenpelz wrote:
Been open for two days. Has evolved into a much smoother velvety wine than on day one. Surprisingly soft and round for a wine this young. Whole cluster inclusion shows on the palate (in a positive way) by way of the wine's structure. Dark fruit spectrum, and good length and great balance. Screams California Pinot with its orange zest undertones on the palate. Reminds me a lot of some of the older Walter Hansel Pinots from 2002, or even from 2005. The wines share a similar texture, dryness, and orange zest component, only this wine is much cleaner than the Hansels of old (not a positive in my book). Good wine, but it lacks a little in the complexity department for me. I expected a far more complex wine than this. Like I said...good, but not great.
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3/7/2009 - WetRock wrote:
San Diego Mini Offline (Wine Vault, San Diego): Decanted ~3 prior to consumption and returned to bottle. Lots of fruit here without being over ripe, too sweet or overly oaky. Nose is most reminiscent of of Sonoma Coast Pinot showing some pine resin type notes among it's dark berry fruit. Lots of pretty substantial red fruits on the palate though in balance. This will appeal to a great many audiences right now with its generous fruit at the moment but clearly has the legs to go for a long time and be a subtle wine.
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2/11/2009 - Siggy wrote: 91 Points
As many others have noted, this really needs decanting. Initially this gives up a big blast of super-ripe dark cherry fruit, cola, root beer, sassafras, and orange peel flavors, with a fair amount of vanilla and oak in evidence. With an hour or so of decanting time, the sweetness begins to integrate, the fruit gains precision and focus, and the overall palate impression is sappier and more complex. This is absolutely NOT "Burgundian" to my palate -- nor should it be.
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2/5/2009 - cookie7 wrote: 93 Points
Note after 3 hours in the decanter. Great finesse. Very Burgundian. Nice structure and long finish. Best Cali Pinot I have had in a long time.
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1/29/2009 - silton wrote: 93 Points
Wow. This is ridiculously good here on day 2 and will surely improve in the cellar. I can pick out some oak along with forest spice and complex red fruit; many prior notes ring true. I don't understand how a Pinot fan couldn't find something to appreciate here, if not fall in love. The empty glass has a better nose than most wines.
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1/23/2009 - jbaron wrote: 92 Points
Nice, saturated nose, especially for a young wine. Mouth of (unusual) very saturated blood oranges and strawberries/cherries, with a nice sense of lift and balance. Some minerals and tannin here. Decent (though not spectacular) length that permeates up and around the back of the mouth.
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1/20/2009 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 93 Points
This shows much more richness than it did last year. In fact, it starts out quite sweet and really needs an hour or so in a decanter before that primary syrup recedes, but even in that phase the crushed-stone feature keeps it interesting. With more air, it reveals a stalkiness that contributes a lot of structural precision and bite, a really vivid demonstration of what whole clusters do.
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1/20/2009 - onewineheaven wrote: 92 Points
It has a nice melange of fruit, spice, and earth with hints of menthol. It balances on the palate nicely with no edges but it still needs time to pull together. I get more red fruit than blue but not bright red, more of a burgundy. It is bery enjoyable but could use a bit of verve in the mid-palate; it's just a bit too quiet.
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1/10/2009 - olm2000 wrote:
I was expecting a profile closer to Burgundy than Sta Rita Hills, but found this ripe and a bit hot...I will say that it was complex and had great texture...have enjoyed most previous Rhys pinots but was disappointed with this one
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1/5/2009 - jwwinec wrote:
Very nice Pinot, this drank better on day 2. Nits: The fruit profile is a bit too ripe and Californian for my taste, I get some cola flavors, and the alcohol shows somewhat.
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1/4/2009 - yui wrote: 92 Points
nose is very dusty, some melody of fruit, hot rocks. very deep w/ hints of minerals, sage, thyme, 5-spice , and dark cherries. I liked this a lot. More going on than their Alesia line. I also get a lot of cloves. When opened it was more CA (fruit fwd) like but over time and decanted, it was very complex.
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1/2/2009 - rc@ughey wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. Wasn't taking notes because it was NYE but I couldn't have been more impressed. Deep, seductive nose and an extraordinary depth of fruit. Decanted for 3 hrs and it continued to improve in the glass. I'm going to let the rest of these sleep.
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1/1/2009 - CO CHRIS wrote:
Quite nice. The decant time wasn't necessary for this bottle. Open for business tonight.
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12/28/2008 - JOJ wrote: 95 Points
Very tight upon opening, but opens nicely with a 2-3 hour decant. This is a wine of grace and finesse. The aromas are like walking a path through the forest, with some cranberry and cherry accents. Not overwhelming, but pretty. Palate features an incredible melange of cherry, black cherry, blackberry, and strawberry fruit, with notes of Asian spices and cloves. Great acidity and long finish. A knockout.
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12/14/2008 - winelovr2001 wrote: 94 Points
This wine is totally closed when you first open it, not giving anything at all. After an hour it is showing a little better, but not much. I corked it and waited until the next night and it really shinned. Great balance and well integrated oak.
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12/13/2008 - jlm wrote:
I share the general optimism in this wine's future. The palate displays good depth of fruit, a firm core of acidic structure, and a good tannic frame. It is unabashedly Californian in flavor profile, with a certain dark cherry character that one does not find in Burgundy. The tannins to me were also a bit chalky in texture, another thing I associate with CA Pinot. I also found the oak treatment noticeable at this stage, particularly on the palate and finish, providing a creamy gloss to the fruit that stood out to me. Kevin and Jeff are sanguine about this vineyard's ability to soak up oak, so I am hopefully that it will back off as the wine ages. Glad I got to taste this one young to get a sense for its potential, but I will hold off for a number of years before opening other bottles to allow this to move beyond its youthful stage.
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12/8/2008 - Moorese wrote: 93 Points
Vigorously splash decanted and enjoyed over the course of 2 hours, this is really a fine effort. After a few ho-hum Alesias (04 and 05 Kanzler and 04 Sonatera) over Thanksgiving, I was (halfheartedly) questioning the merit of staying on this list. No more. A spicy nose of incense and gravel dust, with zesty bing cherry and pomegranate. Superb lift and racy acidity. Very focused, but without any hard, lean edges. This doesn't show any sappy sweetness, but nonetheless has a silky quality that makes it glide across the tongue. It doesn't seem that it will "gain weight" as much as it will soften into a rounder mouthful of pinot. The fruit is definitely there. Beautiful typicity. A very enjoyable drink now with tremendous upside. The booze is a (mere) 14%. I'm really looking forward to popping a Chard, although I'm trying to hold off. Some pinot mailers may have to go in the coming economic gloom, but it won't be this one.
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11/28/2008 - CO CHRIS wrote: 93 Points
PIECE OF ADVISE: Decant this wine...a small sample after pouring into the decanter revealed a VERY high acid, verve of a wine...so I decanted for 3 hours and that led to this gorgeous incarnation of CA Pinot Noir...the nose is quite deep, revealing rich essence of Pinot Noir, very red, quite ripe - not alcohol driven, but ripe fruit driven, stem goodness, slight smoke, flirtatious...great texture, much more concentrated than the 06 Rhys Alesia SMateo, as one would expect...the finish has verve, tremendous acidity, texture, and must last for 30+ seconds. An amazing PN, and considering the price, this is a wine I wish I more than 3 remaining. As noted before, if you're going to consume one, let it aerate, I actually poured in decanter, then back to bottle 3 or 4 times, then let the wine sit in decanter the final time for 3 hours. This really brought the wine to life.
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11/28/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:
No score due to too much thanksgiving going on. Lovely fruit, good structure, earthiness and complexity. A bit lighter than many Cali pinot, not a bomb. Look forward to trying another after some time. Definitely 90++, loads of potential.
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11/27/2008 - riccodog13 wrote: 92 Points
Very dense, yet light on it's feet with bright, crisp black cherry and cranberry, supported by holiday spice and mineral. Fresh and elegant with the complexity and structure to improve. Posseses a lot of structure with tannins and acidity that should carry it to a decade or more of graceful aging. Drink now-2018. 92+ pts.
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11/27/2008 - jryoung wrote:
No Rating - I did not decant and paid the consequences...well not consequences it just wasn't as good and I believe it to be. However, a few hours after I awoke from my turkey induced coma I found a touch left in the bottle. The wine had some nice cherry aromas with a bit of baking spices. The palate was much more stable, tart cherry, with a smooth finish. Unfortunately this was only one sip. I'll let the rest of these go nighty-night for a couple of years.
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11/22/2008 - jonphillips wrote:
Beautifully made wine ... didn't like the taste on the finish ... a little too sour. We'll see what time does.
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4/9/2008 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 94 Points
Rhys and Alesia Spring '08 release dinner (Tabla): Stony scent. Slightly darker, zingier, and more stone-inflected palate than the Alesias. For the first time, though, the Rhys distinguishes itself almost entirely with the uniqueness of the Santa Cruz Mountains terroir -- the quality standard across both labels in this vintage is on par.
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2/6/2008 - 5laton wrote:
Initially very tight and closed, time in the glass reveals a deep, intense nose of strawberry liquor and a subtle green, stemmy aroma, maybe green tobacco. On the palate this is a rich and very concentrated wine that is clearly of California origin, with lots of sweet red cherry and strawberry fruit liquor-like baby fat, and dried green herbs. Highly structured, this is just loaded with fine mouthcoating tannins and needs a long sleep in the cellar. Some sweet oak shows on the finish. 100% whole cluster fermentation.
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