A reposting to celebrate the Gospel Of Rhys!
Organized the Annual Tour de Rhys and the date KH was available fell on my Birthday. Couldn’t think of a better present for myself! The weather was hot but fortunately there was some breeze to keep us from getting too well done. Although Truett’s noggin may have got singed a bit!
I always try to bring new people to see these great sites and love seeing their reactions to them. IMO, these plots of land are right at the top of the CA hierarchy. The combination of weather, exposure and soil are perfect for making low octane wines of great character.
We toured Family Farm, Alpine, Horseshoe and Skyline.
The sad news is the vineyards will again have very low yields for the upcoming vintage!
This time we got to tour the Caves being dug into the hill at the Skyline Vineyard site (Indeed, some grapes grow directly above). This will also serve for winemaking, barrel aging and storage. This is an impressive catacomb of caves!
We then shuffled into the Mini Chateau for some serious pounding!
I was eager to see if the wines had opened up any since the Tom Gutting Adventure three months ago to the day.
1)2007 Rhys “Alpine” Chard – 13.7%
Light-medium yellow. Great minerally lime nose with some Honey Butter in the background.
Salty/chalky entry leads to an extremely long, intense finish. Great acid and structure assures a long life. This is truly a fetus. Yet the great quality and potential is more than obvious. So far, the best Rhys Chard made. Please! Keep your lips off this wine! [94+ pts]
2)2007 Alesia “Sonoma Coast” PN – 14.1%
Medium red. Highly fragrant nose of herbs, spice and black cherry.
These characteristics carried into the palate with a great deal of tart spice in the finish. Again, young. [89+ pts]
3)2007 Alesia “Green Valley” PN – 13.9%
Medium red. Primary strawberry/cherry/herb mélange with a hint of white pepper.
Light-medium bodied pomegranate fruit with a firm finish. A youngun’. [90+ pts]
4)2007 Alesia “Falstaff” PN – 14.1%
My favorite of the Alesias tasted.
Medium-dark red. Great floral red fruited nose.
Spicy cherry/raspberry fruit. Needs time. [91+ pts]
5)2007 Rhys “Family Farm” PN – 13.4%
Medium-dark red. Fine sappy earthy nose.
Elegant spicy minerally fruit with some loam looming in the background
Quite yummy. Age it! [93 pts]
6)2007 Rhys “Home” PN – 13.3%
There’s no place like Home!
Medium red. Reticent perfumed nose of violets and earth.
Wonderful feminine pure spicy Pinot fruit led to a nice grippy finish.
A great example of the Home Vineyard! Already great but loads to go. [95 pts]
7)2007 Rhys “Skyline” PN – 12.8%
Dark red. Intense nose of iron/steel and spicy herbals.
Firm, minerally darker toned fruit with a tight finish.
This vineyard really has a unique profile. [93 pts]
8)2007 Rhys “Horseshoe” PN – 12.2%
Dark purple. Intense floral nose of pine sap.
Light-medium bodied fruit with serious minerality.
Quite delicate and still a bit closed at present. [92 pts]
9)2007 Rhys “Alpine” PN – 13.3%
Dark red. Herbal menthol nose.
Reticent, somewhat closed, darker styled fruit with great stucture.
Another embryo. Give this several years. [92 pts]
10)2006 Rhys “Alpine” PN – 14.0%
Dark red. Very floral nose of red berry and serious spice.
Chewy, black cherry fruit with a long structured finish.
KH opened this after the 2007 version to show how it begins to develop after some age.
A beauty! [93+ pts]
Two Syrahs were opened but I couldn’t wait to dive into the goodies Truett had kindly provided. Although both were yummy, I preferred the Skyline over the Fairview by quite a bit. The Skyline is flat out great and I will max out on this pup!
These wines are pretty much undeveloped and hadn’t changed much since the Tom Gutting Tasting
Once again, IMO, I think this project will turn out some of the greatest CA Pinots ever produced. Especially when the vineyards gain some maturity.
Thanks again to Kevin and Jeff for being heavenly hosts!
Paul Galli