Even public school tuition ain’t what it used to be, sadly.
Luckily, my days of paying tuition are over. I bought three of each to get the wood case.
Having practiced administrative law for more than 20 years, dealing oftentimes (but not always) with factually flawed claims, I don’t put any weight to the fact one settled such claims. In most cases, it was a sound business decision to put claims, including claims that are hotly disputed, behind one.
Hopefully, the fact others perceive humor in this will go away quickly for Kevin.
damn, August is going to be a tough wine budget month.
Ordered mine yesterday, bought pairs of each this year so I can side-by-side them once they arrive. I want get a handle on these, a baseline for how these taste. I probably will put a 16 Shoe and 16 Alpine alongside them, blind all 4 bottles together, and see how they fare. That to me is the most objective and meaningful way to test the Hillside program. I need to find some palates locally who want to be at that table to take that ride with me.
I look forward to reading your notes on this trial.
I am seriously debating putting the '13s into a blind tasting next month.
Order in! Didn’t buy mags; we just never open them.
^^^^^
Do it! Post notes! I got singles of them. CT notes seem to say hold
Having sampled 13 Swan recently (part of Alpine), I wouldn’t touch it for quite a few years. Always fun to try wines when they come out, but given the limited availability (and cost), it would be kind of a shame not to let these reach their potential down the line.
The issue remains that I don’t think any of us know what the trajectory of Rhys wines really is, or where the potential bar is set. I agree it’s a bit of a crap shoot to open them soon, but it’s a crap shoot to open them later.
We don’t know when the time will be right.
You’re free to ignore my advice, of course.
I was going to anyway. 
Actually, '13 might just be the right vintage to try given the general nature of wines from that vintage. I’m tempted to do so myself.
Won’t make a difference as to whether or not I buy now (and I hate to miss out on anything from '16), unfortunately, as I’m on a strict no buy schedule until Aug 23rd.
Well said. Ok I’ll open em at some point soon. Ha
2023
I understand why you’d say this, but the '08/'09/10 wines that I have seem to be evolving very slowly and very positively. Even the non-vineyard designate wines I’ve opened have plenty of life left, and those are the only ones showing any tertiary character (which is minimal at this point). Personally, I’m pretty confident (not sure, of course) that these wines will reward considerable cellar time, and Rhys is the only California Pinot Noir producer whose wines I often consider buying again, largely for that reason. I don’t think it’s a crap shoot to keep holding for a while, especially with the younger vintages and higher end bottlings being discussed here.
FWIW, I am a believer in the wines, but 2012 forward are very different from 2006-2010 IMO. (I don’t like the 2011s.)
With the 2013 and 2014 in the cellar, and 2016 on the way, I think it’s time to assess whether I want to follow these wines in future vintages, or stick with the regular, especially Horseshoe, which is my favorite. It feels a little silly to potentially have three vintages of $150/bottle wine in the cellar, and never have tasted any of them.
David, can you please elaborate on your thoughts regarding the differences between those eras? I hold Rhys wines from 2007-2013, but my experience has been fairly minimal because each time I’ve opened them (which hasn’t been recently) they seemed to need more time in bottle. Thanks in advance.
The biggest thing is that I think the 2012 and forward wines have greater nuance. The older vintages are a bit blocky. They will of course all develop, though differently. 2013 as a vintage, from regionals through the SV wines, has given pleasure almost since release. That’s the only reason I am even considering opening the Hillsides.
I am just confused by all of the comments and notes on Rhys pinots that suggest to me the taster found the wines too young to drink. I rarely find that to be the case. are people just saying “no rush” or otherwise indicating the wines can be cellared a lot longer. If so, ok - i certainly haven’t found any rhys wine i’ve had in need of drinking (pinot anyway). But if the comments are intended to indicate the wines weren’t attractive or accessible, albeit immature, then that isn’t my experience at all.