I believe, for my tastes, I’ve never tasted a better Chardonnay. That’s how good this.
2017 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (4/23/2020)
This wine needs some more numerical reviews, as the glowing (and correct) reviews below don’t assign a score. So, I was a bit concerned when I got all three wishlist bottle granted, on top of the three I was allocated. Trying this now, boy am I glad I got these bottles!
Holy smokes, this may be my favorite Chardonnay that I’ve ever tasted! Mostly because it hits my palate preference precisely.
The nose explodes with peach, citrus, white flowers, light rocks / flint, and some tropical notes. On the palate, there is a beautiful balance of energy and precision along with beautiful, rich fruit: pear, peach, and focused lemon curd. Not sure I’ve ever tasted anything so beautifully layered with fruit and acidic lift, dancing together so perfectly.
Stylistically this is much closer to the vibrant Kutch chardonnays than it is to Aubert’s richness (and I have many bottles from both producers over many years). But this Rhys Horsehoe benefits plenty from rich layers of fruit. To my palate the split is something like 60% energy and precision and 40% fruit. A perfect bullseye for the flavor profile I seek in Chardonnays. Far more France than Cali. (BTW, at 12.5% alcohol this is also much closer to Kutch, and France, than to Aubert’s 15%+ behemoths.)
This may go without saying, but there are many years of fabulous drinking here. The challenge will be to lay off of my remaining bottles. What an effort here! (97 pts.)
2017 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (7/26/2019) July 2019 Rhys Visit–Taste The 2017s and some new stuff (Rhys Estate (At The Winery)): Tasted at the winery. 12.5% ABV, with 15-20% new wood. My notes are starred for the wine, and I liked this best of the 4 Chards, for sure. Lemon is the lead flavor with a persistent core of intense citrus that is married with a wet stone quality that is intense, long and in my notes the words ‘painfully concentrated’. Take that for a positive, as this was lights out good. Thinking back, I have to say this vintage of Shoe Chard really struck me as one of the best I have ever tasted from Rhys. Outstanding.
Shoe and Alpine are consistently amongst the best Domestic Chardonnays I’ve tasted. Not a fan of Aubert, Certainly a fan of Kutch, Ceritas, Goodfellow, Walter Scott, Vincent, Arterberry Maresh, and Ian Brand.
For those who have 3+ bottles (if not 2), I would recommend opening one now to formulate your own opinion. While awfully tasty, this '17 didn’t strike me as being as good as the superlative 2012, and I might put the '13 ahead of the '17, too.
The 2012 was special for sure, it is not often I remember distinct vintages of Rhys Chard since the ladies take most of it. Had it in 2017 and was blown away, and that was just a half glass.
We couldn’t help ourselves and cracked one with some Moroccan style cauliflower, preserved lemon, and tahini sauce. Here is the note.
I asked Suzy what she thought about it. Says she doesn’t want to tell me because then I will drink it too. Mentions it is very different (we are chablis and white burg centric). Goes on to say there is some nectarine butter going on. Well that piqued my interest so grabbed a glass. On the nose there is lemon and then a melange of citrus and orchard fruits, very expressive and lifted. The palate is a straight knockout. If you are familiar with the beverage science of hitting high amplitude flavors over a broad range that come together into a single palate impression greater than its parts, that is this wine. You know immediately that something special is happening, it is cohesive and melded together in precise fashion. It starts at the top with lemon and acidity, then washes over the palate transitioning into a kaleidoscope of citrus and orchard fruits, all the while with the lemon and acidity as the backbone, even hitting that nectarine butter note that Suzy mentioned. It sparkles on the palate and I mean that literally, it is so lively and dancing between so many aspects that I feel like it is sparkling on the palate. It is intense but the acidity is present throughout and subsides with some pith before moving into a long finish of all flavors mentioned. I have only had a few really good burgs, GC batard-montrachet comes to mind, but if categorizing that is the kind of turf I get into. Dynamic and singular.
Following up on this day two. Managed to sneak a 1oz pour from Suzy. The lemon and acidity is still in control but now we have flint and aged cheese reduction. All of the fruit is there and it remains a solid wall of balanced and composed chard. I do not purport to know what that means but perfectly composed young and mildly aged chard on two days is something to ponder.
2017 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (9/9/2021)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2 hours –
– 375mL –
NOSE: lemony butter of moderate intensity; light watermelon note; hint of flowery perfume; more “light” and “fresh” than “heavy,” “dark,” or “ponderous.”
BODY: pale yellow color of medium intensity; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: lots of mineral; medium-light butter note; medium+ concentration; medium+ acidity; 12.5% alc. not noticeable; a bit tangy; very nice, but not mind-bending like some Rhys Chardonnays I’ve had.
We had a bottle (750ml) of this last night. My thoughts are pretty much in line with yours. I may have liked it a little more - maybe 93 or 94 points. I don’t drink a lot of Rhys (a little spendy for a brewer’s budget), but I thought it was quite good.
For my tastes, I generally drink Alpine before Horseshoe. I think that there have been a couple of vintages where I drank them at the same schedule. I use the smaller format bottles to check in frequently and then rotate the 750mL into the drink-now queue when they hit their stride for my tastes. A 500mL of 2014 Horseshoe last night has upgraded that one into that position. It was lip-smacking good.
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