After reading some current, slightly uncomplimentary reviews on this wine, I decided to investigate.
Here’s my review from August 2, 2015:
2010 Rhys “Horseshoe” Chard - 13.4% alcohol
Medium golden color.
Wonderful nose of lemon/lime, Sea salt, toasty oak, vanilla with just a touch of butter.
Young, yet luscious citric, minerally fruit entry led to a very long dry, slightly floral, saline, pineapple finish.
The structure and snappy acid will allow this pup to age and improve for several additional years.
One of the top young Rhys Chards I’ve tasted and I have full confidence this will evolve into something quite special.
At present [94 pts] with possible upgrade given a few…
So, at the time, I had nothing but the highest praise for this pup.
I cracked open another bottle to see if it had changed.
2010 Rhys “Horseshoe” Chard
Mature, medium golden color.
Nose of lemon, pineapple and sandlewood.
Powerful spicy, lemon/lime fruit with a long finish.
This has definitely developed quite a bit since last I sampled it.
It really reminded me of how a Mount Eden Chard sometimes ages.
Some of them develop fairly quickly but still seem to last for many years.
In fact, a few have looked like a young Sauternes with that golden color.
Since the Horseshoe vineyard does not have a long track record and the vines aren’t as old as Mount Edens’, I have no idea if this can improve any further.
This wine has not developed as I would have hoped and my gut feeling is that this should be consumed in the next year or so. But hey, it might surprise given a few more years.
It still a solid wine that I will pound over 2017. I’ll save one for more extended aging.
Adjusted score; [91 pts]
TTT