TN: 2006 Rhys Alpine Vineyard PN

Brad_S_w_a_l_l_o_w · July 31, 2009, 1:54am

Having never had an estate Rhys until last night and only a handful of Alesia, I thought I would get an early look at the Alpine. I have several more plus a mag thanks to the Odds and Ends offer a few months ago, so why not try a baby? In any event, yesterday the wine showed very little on the nose and was very tight in the mouth. The potential was obvious, but it clearly needed time or lots of air to unwind. A day later the wine is still tightly wound, but what it shows is phenomenal. The nose smells like flowers and gravel (no kidding, I can smell the minerals in this wine). In the mouth, there is some tart cherry and pomegranate, a quarry full of crushed rock, and nice vibrant acidity. I can only imagine what this will become after four or five years in bottle. Excellent juice, but I won’t crack another one for a few years.

Jason_Hagen · July 31, 2009, 2:36am

Thanks for the note. Crazy but I literally had this on deck for tonight … next to the Swan Terrace … but the day took a turn so I sent them back to the dugout. They will go down soon. I hope I find the same pleasure you did.

Cheers,

J

Cris_Whetstone · July 31, 2009, 2:44am

Ah ok…I assume my phone will ring when you DO decide to open them.

Jason_Hagen · July 31, 2009, 2:57am

For sure!

I will totally call you … and tell you how they were

No but really … always fun to taste these somewhat rarities with friends. But they will all be more fun in 4-10 years.

As soon as I can find it in my locker, I am going to pop the 05 Fallstaff too. Happy to share.

J

Cris_Whetstone · July 31, 2009, 2:59am

I have an 07 Falstaff Road I’d be more than happy to pair with a Swan Terrace.

t_moderne · July 31, 2009, 4:07am

Sorry if I’m interrupting the Cris-Jason love-fest…

This wine is drinking quite well right now. Had one a few weeks ago. Sure it has the depth to improve over a few years. 4 to 10 is well beyond my personal drinking window but hey, we all have different taste buds.

This is one of the wines that caused me to be on the computer hitting “refresh” every two minutes waiting for the Odds and Ends Sale to begin.
I have no problem drinking this now; it is delicious. To me, this wine is the reason why I am on mailing lists.
When a wine is this delicious now, I don’t see the reason for waiting.

Brad_S_w_a_l_l_o_w · July 31, 2009, 12:01pm

Funny, I did the same thing the day of the Odds and Ends sale. As my note says, I have no regrets after opening this two nights ago. It was delicious, even if it took a while to open up and reveal its charms. I do think it will improve significantly if I can somehow keep my hands off of my remaining for a few years.

Tom_Gutting · July 31, 2009, 1:41pm

The Swan Terrace is a little more open, I think … but the Alpine is also very tasty. They are wound tight. I think you’ll love the stems on them, Jason … awesome wines. Very young. I don’t even know where mine are, I’m so intent on keeping them buried for a number of years.

Jay_Miller · July 31, 2009, 2:25pm

Put me in the “wait 10 years” camp for this one. I may be wrong, but I keep thinking of a 1991 Mt. Eden Pinot Keith opened late last year. My comment at the time was that if my Rhys taste that good at that age (and I think there’s an excellent chance they will) I’ll be very happy. He expressed the opinion that the Rhys will be even better.

Wes_Barton · August 2, 2009, 10:07am

I had the '06 Alpine a month ago, and estimated the drinking window to be '15-'30. Very impressive juice.

The '07 Falstaff needs a year or so to resolve a bit of harshness, so I would recommend against opening it. My guess is best '13-'20.

Lance_Smith · August 2, 2009, 3:39pm

Brad & All,

I found myself in a similar state of affairs as I have really wanted to try the 06 Alpine for some time. Last night I busted one open along with a '99 Williams Selyem Precious Mountain. My friend accordingly brought over a 04 Ken Brown Clos Pepe and an 05 AP Vin Clos Pepe. A tongue wagging experience if you will…

Anyway, have any of you found that the backbone of the 06 Alpine goes away after some significant air time?

I purely enjoyed the wine, so don’t take this the wrong way. I’ve always loved the minerality and composition of the Alesia/Rhys wines and those didn’t disappoint by any means w/ the Alpine. However, I certainly noticed its disappearance as the night went on. Maybe it was my error in decanting the wine for 2.5-3 hours prior to consuming? We actually shoved the decanter back in the refrigerator later in the evening to see what effect cooling the wine would have.

I look forward to the rest of my Alpines but I am really curious how the next bottle will show.

For the record, the Precious Mountain was incredible for those WS fans out there!