09’ Rhys SCM Chard- I read the notes from the past thread and there were varying reviews so I decided to try one for myself…
Wow… Some tropical notes on the nose with mineral, stones, wood, vanilla and lift. The palate has great acidity that really lifts the whole wine. I found this really fresh with good acidity and except for no sea-shell, I felt this could almost be a PC Chablis house that shows oak. Kept on going back, absolutely delicious.
Are you being serious?
I loved this. So much so I pounded through my stash already!
David, what about the original post suggests that Jason is joking?
Maybe David suspects that Jason is looking to unload the rest of his bottles on Commerce Corner.
How did you find the wine?
Because honestly, if this was put in between the 07’ Brocard line-up it would have held it’s own.
If he is looking to unload them, he can just PM me and consider it done.
I liked this wine too, back in February. Kevin Harvey expects it to tighten up and show greater delineation in a year or so. So I will try to save 1 or 2 to see if it does, but darn good now IMO.
Oh it is getting very hard to not open one of my meager two bottles…
It’s a ok wine, but about as Chablisienne as a Rombauer. I exaggerate, but not by much, especially with respect to the tropical fruit profile and the fat texture. Theres a reasonable view that it’s a well made example of tropical, superripe CA chard; no one who isn’t engaging in shameless Rhys ball-washing would equate it to Chablis without the seashell (whatever that means).
Wow David,
Can’t there be different strokes for different folks? While I found the nose a little ripe, I found the the acidity was on the higher side for me (and this is coming from someone who loves to pucker when they drink wines, I love acid) and I found the acid led to a nice chalk-y perfume that came short of having that crushed seashell that we all adore about chablis. Have you tried a riper vintage of Chablis, say Brocards wines? I loved the 07’,08’s and 09’s, they show a slightly riper profile to Chablis while still having great nerve and balance.
Also, I have no idea why you are saying that I’m falling all over myself for Rhys? (ballwashing, ect.)
It’s a tasting note! And,I liked the wine, imagine that.
And yes, in your infinite wisdom you know more than all, congrat’s, your one of the cooler kids, above it all…
I suppose it’s also possible that you guys had different bottles at different times and they showed . . . differently?
I appreciated the OP’s note because he gave his take on the wine. I haven’t tried mine yet, and it’s always good to read different points of view.
As for the comments about “ball-washing” and the like, do people stand in front of mirrors and admire themselves when they write stuff like that? Get off on your BAD self!
I’m not sure I’ve tried this particular bottling as of yet but I have tasted several vintages of the Alpine previously. None of them, or any other Cali Chard for that matter has comes all that close to the 07 Brocard lineup for me. Possibly the lower end St Claire VV bottling but I find very little affinity between California Chardonnay and Chablis. There have been occasions where some have approached it but I usually find more correlation between Chards of the Cote d’Or but even that is in a minority of instances.
I think there are some California chardonnays and pinots that are more “in the direction of” Burgundy, but I don’t find any that seem indistinguishable from Burgundy, particularly Chablis. And if the greatness of Burgundy is how the wines reveal the terroir of Burgundy, then it wouldn’t make sense that wines from California could be, or should try to be, exactly like wines from Burgundy.
I think with age, chardonnays from Mayacamas and Mount Eden can have some similarities to white Burgundy. A recent Copain Brosseau Vineyard chard was trending in that direction. I would guess Rhys falls into this camp, but I was allocated only one bottle of 06 Alpine chard, no 07 or 08, and finally two bottles of 09 plus some of this SCM. So, I’ve never actually tried one of their chards.
I agree with this. That you managed to make these points and somehow remain civil makes it so much more persuasive!
You must be talking about the 2009, which I think is absolutely fantastic. Burgundian? That wasn’t necessarily my thought, but it is a lean, steely version of Californian and I can see why you brought it up in this context.
I’ll reiterate what I’ve said here on this board probably twice before. This is No Chablis. Not even close. The profile is totally different. Low acid, no seashell, not much minerality. Now what it is: a delicious slightly ripe chardonnay that tastes like there is some skin ferment going on, which definately helps it, yellow fruited, but packed with a lot stuffing. A decent wine that could see 3-5 years evolution. I’d say it reminds me of a heavier Friulian/Slovenian skin-fermented white, well made in it’s style. But don’t look here for a replacement to Chablis.
That is actually the best note I have seen on this wine personally. Many have pointed out the more prominent fruit this wine displays while wishing it had more acidity to lift it. The notes of skin ferment certainly interest me though. I doubt my lone bottle will make it to the end of the year.
+1
There have been a proliferation of steelier, leaner Chards in California. That is a trend that I hope continues.
Whenever I hear of a CA chard being described as Burgundian, I always assume they mean “susceptible to premature oxidation”. 
If you haven’t tried Rhys ball-washing for yourself, you don’t know what you’re missing.