I bought into the Rhys hype and built around 7cs, I had read Burgundy like and ‘hold’ so I thought I would stock some away and they would blossom…
While I think the Syrah is fantastic, I find the chards good when young, the pinots have been nothing more than disappointing, rich and unbalanced I just don’t enjoy them.
I could try more recent examples but I’ve spent way to much on the cases that I own in order to buy more, at these price points I’ll just buy burgundy and northern Rhone.
Kudos to Kevin and staff for creating a winery that is user friendly and quality minded, I’m just not interested in their style of wine. My 2cents…
I think this captures it perfectly. “I like annoying people.” Is this a positive attribute?
I like the notes. I appreciate the time and effort it takes to write them; too few of us take that time. The purposeful, emphatic FU in every note is extremely distracting and not a flattering look.
And I see him winking each time and I chuckle. I laughed when I saw he’d lowering the scores here to 92.
I don’t why so many of you take it as hostile. I take it as playful.
My two Jewish roommates in law school taught me about repetitive humor – repeating the same joke or endless variations of it. The repetition and the twists become the humor.
(One of their friends, now a Yale law professor, after riffing on jokes of the form “An X walked into a bar,” launched into another with, “The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation walked into a bar. 'Gee,” the bartender said, 'We don’t get many official litigation-facilitating organizations here…" I still chuckle over that one.)
A terrific look at three recent Rhys vintages across a sampling of their range. ALPINE CHARD
The Chardonnays were underwhelming and seemingly advanced. I’ve loved Rhys Chard in their youth, but these seem to get worse as they age. Less vibrant and more honeyed with time. A troubling trend, but I know Jeff/Kevin have made changes in their Chard program.
2008 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium gold. Medium nose is dense with ripe, mature white fruit. On the palate, there is a good core of ripe white fruit. Some sweet honey notes. Good concentration. Moderate acidity provides freshness. A fine Chardonnay but lacking the electricity and depth that this showed in its youth. A bit underwhelming, and seemingly on the back nine. (89 pts.)
2009 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium gold. Medium nose has some reduction/matchstick that is distracting and not complementary to the dense white fruit. Ripe, dense white fruit on the palate with mineral notes. Some honey notes. Medium acids. Similar to the '08 tasted side-by-side, this feels a bit tired and maturing. On the back nine. (88 pts.)
FAMILY FARM
The Pinots are the star of the show. I really enjoyed them (91-95 point range) save the slightly bretty 2009 FF. Loved that they showed both vintage and vineyard typicity quite transparently. The FF are more red fruited, floral and spicy. While the Horseshoe are more black fruited, concentrated and meaty. Well-made, tasty now and I’d bet they improve with time. All the wines were better with food (barbecue Peking duck … yum).
2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
Full, bright nose is red fruited (cranberry, red cherry) layered with florals and clay. The palate is bright and intense. Fruit is concentrated yet made silky with abundant acids. Precise flavors. Long, lifted finish. Outstanding and my favorite of the 08/09/10 flight. Upside from here. (94 pts.)
2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
Full nose has a good dose of bretty horsiness, which does not ruin the wine but certainly brings the feel into the darker/blacker cherry spectrum. A bit more richness and density when compared to the 08 tasted side by side. Again the brett notes bring an earthier, darker taste profile. Tasted in a vacuum, this is solid wine. And it’s not as bretty as other 09 FF bottles that I’ve had, but within the flight it’s clear that it’s defective and not as the winemakers intended. NR (flawed)
2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
The nose is very consistent with the 08 tasted in the same flight. Bright, intense with loads of red fruit, florals and some mint/herb from the stems. On the palate this is lighter and more chalky than the 08. The fruit is not as concentrated and as a result the acids are a touch sharper. Should only improve with time. Upside from here, as with the 08. (92 pts.)
HORSESHOE PINOT
2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium nose. Loads of black cherry, meat and spice. The palate is delicious with good fruit richness and concentration. The structure here is also more chewy. Well proportioned. Fun to drink now, but this has the balance to age and I’d bet it picks up complexity. Upside from here. (92 pts.)
2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium-full nose of dense black cherry, meat, smoke and potpourri spice. Again the palate is already delicious with rich and dense black cherry fruit with loads of potpourri spice. Good balancing acidity. Really enjoyable now, but would guess it picks up complexity with age. (93 pts.)
2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
This kept getting better in the glass. Medium-full nose is bright with red and black cherry, smoke, meat and dried jalapeno (stem). The lightest of the 08/09/10 Horseshoe flight in body but still quite balanced with good density and concentration. The stems add interest and complexity. Upside from here. (92 pts.)
HORSESHOE SYRAH
The Syrahs were just okay. I found the 08 and 09 simple, but the 10 was gorgeous and very Northern Rhone like. I’ve moved away from buying Rhys Syrah as I never seem to consistently enjoy them as much as French alternatives.
2008 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Medium nose comes across as a bit simple. Lots of black fruits with subtle meat and pepper, if you really look for it. The palate is similarly simple with lots of rich black fruit. A bit flat and boring. (87 pts.)
2009 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Full nose with lots of rich black fruit and a nice white pepper component. Medium bodied with rich black fruit and modest pepper notes. Again, a down the middle and solid Syrah that isn’t in any way distinctive. (89 pts.)
2010 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Now we’re talking – by far my favorite of the 08/09/10 Horseshoe Syrah flight. The nose is explosive with loads of white pepper, smoked meat, medicinal herbs, and dried black fruit. Layered and very Northern Rhone like. The palate on the '10 is leaner and far more lifted and nuanced than either the 08 or 09. Good length and precision. By far, my favorite of the flight. (93 pts.)
I’m a big fan of the Pinot program at Rhys, and will focus my future purchases on Pinot. Good, good stuff. Posted from CellarTracker
I don’t mind the chards but am not wowed by them. The pinots on the other hand I like I just think need more time. I had a bottle of 09 Rhys Santa Cruz Mountains earlier this week that was very enjoyable, particularly for a lower level wine.
It is amazing how palataes differ. I do not get the candied fruit element in Rhys PN at all. Reason why i buy them. I have not tried any before 2010 so I cannot comment on the wines referenced. If I have to fault them it would be that the stems need some time to balance out. I find them on the ripe side compared to Burgundy, but with the same mineral profile.
Oldest Chard I have tried is the 10 Horseshoe and in both of my TN I mention a sauternes profile. i remember asking here if anyone noticed Boytritis on this wine, but at the time I seemed to be the only one. No other Chard has shown this profile. Regardless, it made that wine interesting. Overall, I drunk them young and have enjoyed them all.
I am worried about the chards. The palate seems ok, but the coloring is off. Served a '11 Horseshoe at a dinner party and the guests just couldn’t get past the color. It was advanced but certainly not as much as the color would suggest. Its certainly hard to explain. Kevin in the past said it did not appear to be PreMox, but I’m not sure what it is because I’ve now had it across a few different of the “older” chards.
I definitely get candied fruit on some of their wines. 09 and 10 Skyline jump out to me. Same as the FF/Home wines. While the Swan Terrace to me are really delicious.
I’m sipping this wine right now, and I think your note is spot on. I don’t really get the matchstick nose with my bottle, but the color is really quite golden and surprisingly advanced. I totally see the same ripe fruit and the honey notes. I’d characterize the fruit as peach and pineapple. It does seem tired and on the downward slope.
I got more “candied fruit” in Kutch than Rhys, but have found a bit in the latter. In my experience, however, over an evening’s drinking, it fades and the wines had in for me always fascinating direction–more mineral, soil, interesting spice. Mainly only talking 10’s on, and that only a few, as I holding most, but the PN’s have never disappointed. And like Calera, which for some reason never gets sufficient love around here, they have a distinctive, tensile, focused quality that make differentiate them from almost all other Cali PN I drink, a lot of which, to be clear, I also enjoy and like.
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