It’s interesting that many folks will drop 150-200 bucks on an ageable Napa Cab, but shiver at the thought of 99 bucks on an ageable Cali Pinot…(just sayin’). ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Although (and I am a buyer of Skyline) we only presume its ageable. We have not seen a track record yet.
Much as I love the wines my decision to stop buying has been a bit of a relief. I think I’m not cut out for mailing lists. At least not unless I double my storage capacity and that seems like a very bad idea.
Hey, most of those $150-$200 Napa cabs actually aren’t ageable. But it’s great that Rhys has some customers for whom mailing list Napa cabs are the competition, in addition to those for whom Burgundy is the competition.
I just got added to their list for the January 19th offering, with three wines being allocated to me. Being that I am trying to stick to a budget, the only one that remotely comes close to my budget and even then is still over, is the Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noir bottling for $49. I see they’ve only released one other vintage of this blend, the 2009. So what say you - is it worth it?
The '13 FF will also be on my buy list now that I see it being offered. Fairly delicate pn with tart red fruits.
I really like the Rhys blends. I buy them in 375s when they have been offered in futures (the San Mateo), and really enjoyed the '09 SCM (I think I still have 2). I think they are worth it, and I am on the fence about all mailing list wines these days for similar reasons to Jay Miller.
I don’t believe Family Farm is being offered this go-around, at least it’s not listed in my email.
Anyone have experience with the Porcupine Hill?
Porcupine Hill is a new bottling this time around.
From what I can gather, this is a special bottling of a steep section of Bearwallow.
Yes, but not released in this way before.
I, too, like to live dangerously… ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
From the Rhys Press section showcasing a John Gilman review:
The 2013 Porcupine Hill pinot noir from Kevin Harvey and his talented team at Rhys comes in at a very civilized 12.7 percent octane in this vintage. This is a new, high density planting of vines in the Bearwallow Vineyard, that are on a hillside section that was not previously cultivated and are planted to a density of 17,000 vines per hectare! The wine offers up beautiful nascent complexity on both the nose and palate, wafting from the glass in a classy aromatic constellation of red and black cherries, woodsmoke, French roast, a touch of chicory, beautiful dark soil tones, a hint of cedar and a gentle topnote of mustard seed. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and light on its feet, with outstanding intensity of flavor, moderate, fine-grained tannins, lovely acids and superb length and grip on the poised and still fairly primary finish. This will be all too easy to drink out of the blocks, but there is no doubt that a bit of self-restraint will be very well-rewarded four or five years down the road, as this wine has layers of complexity still to unfold with time! As this is still quite young vines, I am sure that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg here and the Porcupine Hill bottling is going to get better and better as these vines get older. 2019-2050. 93+.
So many of the new-wave “restrained/age-able” CA Pinot producers (Littoral, Copain, Rhys, Kutch, etc.) literally have not been around long enough to conclusively demonstrate ageability. My oldest wines from this group are now just 10 years past the vintage date. I have, however, had stunning aged California Pinot from the likes of Dehlinger, Chalone and Trefethen.
Even so, there is a leap of faith involved. One that I believe will pay off handsomely.
The question is how long are we looking for these wines to age. 15 years? 20? What are we hoping they will turn into? They won’t be aged Burgundy, so what should they be?
Not to mention, how long are you all expecting to live? Not to be morose, but it’s not like this board is full of spring chickens!
I’ve got time.
I don’t see myself waiting more that 5-7 years to drink these wines. I’m sure they’ll age longer (Caleras are still drinking well at age 30+), but i’m not sure my enjoyment will be increased with aging them further.
These wines are delicious- certainly now and likely well into the future- they satisfy the wine geek and the crowd- fruity but not overdone- well worth the $ in my opinion
Has anyone tasted/gulped/bathed in porcupine hill yet to comment on how it compares to the Bearwallow and rest of the lineup?
Kevin, is there a story behind the name? You could have easily named it Bearwallow Hillside but I sense there’s more to it.