TN: 2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard

2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County (6/30/2019)
Not at all mature, but drinking quite well now, the 2013 Home is showing plenty of red fruit, along with a touch of spice and a loamy undertone. It’s persistent and quite mouthfilling, but not at all heavy. If I had more I would wait 2-4 more years prior to opening another. It still has some finishing structure that will mellow out with additional time. Lovely wine with a bright future.

Posted from CellarTracker

Thank you for your sacrifice. I debate if Home vyd is my favorite or second favorite Rhys Pinot and always order a couple extra due to their longevity.

Looking forward to these in a few years.

Are there any Rhys Pinots that you feel have proven themselves to be not long-lived?

I’m not James, but my experience with somewhat older Bearwallow and Family Farm does not suggest they fall off of a cliff, but that they do not develop in as interesting a way as Horseshoe (my favorite), Skyline & Alpine.

I have limited experience with Home, and I am not a fan of Swan Terrace, so judgement reserved.

David, have you yet had a Rhys Pinot you felt was showing tertiary characteristics? I’m still waiting, but that’s mainly because I didnt start buying until the 2008 or 2009 vintage.

Some 2006 Alpine earlier this year.

The oldest Home vineyards I’ve had are 2010 and those took a good 2-3 days to blossom, with each day revealing new flavors and aromas. I know that’s not a perfect predictor for longevity or, as David put it, further development, but it’s the best proxy I have. My comment derived from the trend of Home always being tight as nails when I open one.

I also started buying with 08 and 09 vintages and haven’t had a Pinot or Syrah show tertiary characteristics yet, but I’ve picked up older alpine chards from auction and started to see it with the 07 and 08s. 07 alpine chard @ 10 years old might be the best Rhys I’ve tasted to date.

! agree 100% with this.
The 2006 Alpine is one of the best Rhys pinots ever…

TTT

David, James,
Thank you for your replies.

Good to know! Just ordered one and will try in the fall.

It feels like whenever I see someone describing a Rhys Pinot it is about how the wine is not ready to drink yet. Has any human has yet tasted a Rhys Pinot at maturity?

Well that’s a really negative way to put it.

I can confidently state that while I have not had a “fully mature” Rhys, I have not had one (other than the known brett flawed 2009 Family Farm) that was developing in the wrong direction. They are really fine wines that seem to have a lengthy development curve.

The thing with Rhys for me is that the body of work is evolving, so I think about the older vintages being part of their learning curve and how those might not age the same way as the more recent vintages. The vines are getting older, their approach towards stem inclusion and de-selection (to the Alesia bottlings) and that impact to the SV wines, etc. I have a little 06 and 07 Alpine, some 08 and then really then my stuff accumulates again after 2012. My sense, like with any artist or innovator, is that time improves the product and the results.

Have you listened to anything The Rolling Stones released after 1978? I don’t necessarily agree with your sentiment here.

What I do agree with is that Rhys seem to be headed in the right direction! You can also back fill older (early to mid naughts) for a very reasonable price. That makes it easy to follow along with the winery’s progression even if you weren’t an early follower.

Try after 1973.

You have to give them Some Girls. Even if it was the dead cat bounce after five years of duds.

Then I will give them Tattoo You, at least for Start Me Up and Waiting on a Friend.

I had this a couple of months ago, at an offline, and it was strutting it’s stuff. Very flamboyant right out of the gate.

2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County (1/16/2023)
– decanted for about 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2.5 hrs on Day 1; revisited on Day 3 –

NOSE: expressive; high-toned; earthy; red fruits (cherry and strawberry); wet stones mineral aspect; tightened-up over 2.5 hrs. on Day 1. On Day 3, the brett had intensified, presenting a very medicinal band-aid overtone to the Nose.

BODY: dark garnet color of medium depth; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: medium-light to medium concentration of fruit flavor; red-fruited, with some leather (it’s brett); no tannins; medium acidity; Drink Now and over the near term. Day 3: medicinal note is strong – canker sore medicine I remember from my kid days – and Band-aid brett. Ultimately marking this as Flawed, but my Day 1 score is below:

50, 5, 12, 15, 7 = 89

NR (flawed)