THE ROTATING DINNERS, II.1: RHYS, 2008-10 - Chicago, IL (5/24/2017)
Given all the perpetual hype about Rhys Vineyards and their wines, I decided to crack into the oldest part of my stash to check in on a few vintages and see how the wines were coming along.
Due to some logistical constraints, the bottles were essentially popped and poured. This may not have been the best treatment for these wines.
Alpine Chardonnay
These wines are not as good as I remembered them; they are showing a lot of fleshy fruit and some sweetness that I really don’t enjoy in my chardonnay. As well, some hints of botrytis seem to have emerged; this was not something I had picked up earlier.
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2008 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Golden in colour. Seems mature, which is surprising, since white Burgundies are nowhere at that point yet; I think it has something to do with the relative ripeness here. Not reductive, this shows a lot of fleshy fruit, and perhaps a hint of botrytis as well. A decent full-bodied chardonnay, but it’s certainly not my style. (92 pts.) -
2009 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
I liked this a lot more a few years ago. In the intervening time, this seems to have gotten fleshier and fuller, and seems to show even more botrytis than the 2008. There’s a slight bit of reduction here. On the finish, there is a very persistent amount of bitterness that really detracts from the experience. The acidity here also seems to be overwhelmed a bit from the flabbier butter notes. (92 pts.)
Family Farm Pinot Noir
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2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
The best of the pinots tonight. There’s a good bit of crunchy red fruit on the nose, with a sweet and full palate that veers more towards the black fruit. Neither too acidic, nor too tannic, but hardly exciting either. It seems a little bit shut down or standoffish as well. (92 pts.) -
2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
Not the brett bomb that some people have experienced, though there is definitely some of that here. However, this is mostly a plodding dull thud of a pinot. It lacks the lift and relative freshness of the 2008 and 2010. This is definitely a bit lacking in acidity as well, perhaps the best bet is to wait and see what happens with this. (92 pts.) -
2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County
I feel as if this wine suffers from the California pinot syndrome of candied red fruit and a body that is too thin for the sweetness. The tannins here also show a little grainy and there’s a green note as well that isn’t too pleasant. Perhaps some time will fill this out? (92 pts.)
Horseshoe Pinot Noir
Both the pinot sites we tasted here, Horseshoe and Family Farm, showed commonalities across vintages. Family Farm seemed to show a little denser and richer, while Horseshoe is slightly more mineral and has a bit of better acid character. Going vertically, it seemed to me that 2010 was cooler, as the wines showed that unripe-candied fruit character that I really don’t like in the new-wave California pinots. The 2009s were ripe, and the wines seemed to have suffered for it.
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2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Again the 2008 was the best wine of the vertical. This is a little stemmy and nicely black-fruited here, but there is bitterness on the finish which again detracts greatly from the experience here. A bit of orange peel, this feels like a very full wine, but perhaps more time may expose more? (92 pts.) -
2009 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
This has gotten even heavier than I remember it being. It’s got cherry cola, candied black fruit, and a bit of unpleasant sweetness here. No acidic lift, no freshness. Sort of a thick black wall right now seemingly without too many tannins either. Maybe something will emerge out of this, but right now, it’s really not enjoyable at all. (92 pts.) -
2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
The 2010 vintage seems to be displaying a lot of that candied Californian pinot with palates that aren’t full enough; this again shows that. There’s a nice bit of strawberry and pomegranate here, but the finish here is also very bitter. Too thin for its sweetness. (92 pts.)
Horseshoe Syrah
I’ve maintained that the best wines to come out of Rhys are the syrahs, and tonight’s flight was no exception. These were the strongest wines with a flavour profile that is more in line with their old world analogues (to me, that is a good thing).
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2008 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
The nose here shows quite a bit of syrah character – it’s dark and meaty, with a touch of briny olive. The palate is very full bodied, with tons of rich fruit; perhaps a bit thicker and denser than I am accustomed to in syrah. This is a full degree of alcohol higher than the 2009 and 2010, but this is surprisingly similar to the 2009 in profile. (92 pts.) -
2009 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
The nose here shows a nice mix of white and black pepper, as well as some lovely black-fruited character; this is very clear syrah. Despite being much lower in alcohol than the 2008, I found the two wines to be very similar, with their full-bodied black fruit on the palate. Not too tannic, this seems fairly approachable already. (92 pts.) -
2010 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Easily my wine of the night, mostly because it seemed so much like Northern Rhone. At first, the nose was somewhat unpleasantly green and herbal, but that actually dissipated. Then, it showed a nice mix of red and black fruit, and a white pepper character that evoked Gonon. The palate is a bit lighter (the cooler vintage seems to have helped the syrah a lot more than the pinot noir) and there’s a nice touch of acidity to go with the black fruit. (92 pts.)
The wines tonight did not speak to me at all. I derived little enjoyment from them, though to me it is absolutely clear they are well-made. These may not have been opened in the right window; what that window is, nobody knows. The truth of the matter is that the estate has not been around long enough for any good track record to emerge. Whether these wines resolve into something truly enjoyable in the future is yet to be determined, and anyone suggesting one way or another is quixotic at best (although, I am not optimistic).