2006 Rhys - Alpine & Swan Terrace

WINE TALK
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2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Swan Terrace Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (8/4/2009)
Served next to the 06 Alpine. Blind FWIW.
Half the bottle was decanted for a few hours and drank over another few hours. The other half was left with the cork in it for two days. ***

This has massive aromatics. Essentially the aromatics are primary fruit and bit of stems. After 2 days the aromatics were even more unstoppable. I was amazed at the amount of fruit this showed. Not to go on Cali stereotypes but there is certainly a bit of cola. Aromatics were near perfection. After smelling this, I was shocked by how closed down this was at first. The tannins shut it down hard. Yeah! Tannins in a Cali pinot! Amazing structure. Initially showing more tannin and bitterness than the Alpine. And less creamy. After 2 days the wine was way more opened up. Very ripe but not what I would call big. The finish is still not sorted but geeze the fruit goes on forever. The stems create another layer of complexity.

*** So I walk into my office and notice I forgot to drink the last glass of this. It has been sitting in my fairly hot office for 2 days with not cork. This was a little too much time and maybe heat for this baby. Aromatics are still alive although starting to turn a but the palate is about gone. I am very pissed off that I spaced on this last glass. I don’t know how that happened. (95 pts.)

2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (8/4/2009)
Served next to the 06 Swan Terrace. Blind FWIW.
Half the bottle was decanted for a few hours and drank over another few hours. The other half was left with the cork in it for two days.

At first the aromatics were similar to the Swan Terrace but they quickly departed from each-other. Reminds me of American pinot but more in the Oregon realm. Not feminine although a flowery element does creep in. Doesn’t have the intensity of the Swan. Shows more earth and stems. This is fairly wild and brooding. The fruit more wrapped up in wood, stems and earth. The nose does have a sappy quality. It may be the stems but it reminds me of a Cristom. On the palate this is a wild one. Miles away from a simple fruity cali pinot. Does not show the same purity as the Swan Terrace and the middle became a bit richer. Again there is a long finish focusing on tannin and a saline quality. This needs to stay sleeping. (91 pts.)

Cheers,

Jason
Posted from CellarTracker

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Those sounds ok. [wink.gif]

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What Cris said. I’m holding out on mine for a few more years but they sound awesome.

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Great to hear your impressions of these, Jason. I’ve only opened the regular Alpine so far, but I also found it to be dominated by stem characteristics. It’s certainly a well-endowed wine and tasting it is kind of an academic exercise at the moment: the elements are all there, lots of them, but it’s going to take a while before the wine settles into itself and gets over the primary phase where it’s showing its structural elements.

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I am rarely put off by stems so this worked fine for me. But it needs years to unify itself.

Jason

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Wait until you taste the stems in the 07s, Jason … man, those are great wines. I agree that stems rock. I’m a fan. Great notes.

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Does this mean I should expect a decade before a mag will be unified?

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That’s what I was thinking too Russ, I hope I’m alive still.

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josh brought the swan terrace to dinner tonight. beautiful nose, fresh and full of beautiful fruit and floral notes