TN: 2013 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard

  • 2013 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (3/16/2018)
    A really nice Rhys Chardonnay. The second glass was better than the first as I think it needed a bit of air in its youth. Lemon and some tropical fruits are the primary flavor profile along with a good bit of acid, which I liked. The nose is very expressive and maybe the wine’s best feature. A few more years to round it out a bit is the plan for the rest of them in my cellar.

Posted from CellarTracker

2013 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (11/19/2020)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hours –

NOSE: youthful, high-toned aromatics; mineral/lemon/oak mixture; medium+ richness; a touch “green”; quite expressive and pleasant.

BODY: signs of pushed cork; foil removal confirms prior leakage; this wine has been stored perfectly since I received it from the winery, so I assume this is how it arrived to me and I simply didn’t notice at the time; the only reason I pulled this wine for drinking now was the pushed cork that I noticed when rummaging around at offsite; youthful color; medium bodied.

TASTE: well, this most certainly is not pre-moxed or heat damaged; lots of mineral; medium richness; high acidity is a bit screechy; excellent; mineral-dominant with a good amount of fruit; salinic; alc. not noticeable; I would probably have a very hard time not calling Burg. if this was presented to me blind (Puligny). Excellent wine that has room for further improvement, but I have zero regrets about having opened this now.

50, 5, 13, 18, 9 = (95 pts.)

I was only on the Rhys list for a couple years but bought quite heavily on the Chards and have been rewarded. Every ‘12 and ‘13 has been lights out and I’ve got plenty more to go. Both the Alpine and Horseshoe are fantastic wines.

Those two vintages you mention, Jason, are absolutely stellar. You bought at a very good time.

2013 Rhys Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains (2/28/2022)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2 to 3 hours –

NOSE: bright; light to medium-light oak; expressive.

BODY: leaker, with a slightly pushed cork (this has been stored perfectly since I took receipt of it directly from winery upon release); medium yellow color — does not appear advanced; medium-light to medium bodied.

TASTE: apple-pear combo, but clearly Chard. (i.e.: not going to mistake it for a Chenin); 13.5% alc. is well-hidden; moderately dense, but fruit certainly seems ripe; some smoky mineral; acidity seems to be medium+; a bit loose; not as good as the bottle from Nov. '20, but still quite nice. Drinking well now.

Thanks for the note. I picked up a 2013 Horseshoe Chardonnay a year or two ago… maybe I should finally give it a try.

Fixed it for you. [cheers.gif]

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Just had this wine last night. Professional storage since release and my cork also leaked a bit, bottling issue? No issue with the wine, the best descriptor I can think of is pristine. Very surprised for how young and fresh it was with a decidedly lemon grass nose. This feels like it has a ton of upside going forward, did not expect it to show so young. Guess I should hold Rhys Chards for ten years before getting to them.