I also depleted my inventory of 1 bottle of this wine after following this thread. Followed somebody’s advice above and decanted. Wow that decanter had a very golden hue - uh oh… But no, this wine is firing on all cylinders. Started off a bit flabby but packed to the gills with fruit, butterscotch candies. Within 30 minutes a lot of this blew off and acidity returned, not completely, but adequately and wine was well balanced.
Definitely not over the hill but the long term prospects don’t look good. Interesting to see what happens with time with this wine. Now I wish some of their pinots would evolve this quickly, they seem to age like dinosaurs!
Don’t know about “wonderfully aged” GC White Burg. Never had one. But this was definitely not premoxed. I’ve had too many of those (and at very young ages) to not know the difference.
Jeremy,
We are going to experiment with screwcaps. I have some reservations which might be relieved with some direct experience before we would use them commercially.
FWIW, we have opened several of these recently and the wine is definitely not premoxed. There is no cork based bottle variation and none of the tell-tale sherry or dead apple cider character (unfortunately I am quite experienced with premox) . It is simply a mature wine. I hope people can enjoy it in that context. Recently I thought it was delicious with dungeness crab. As our customers know, we believe in 100% customer satisfaction so please contact us if you have any reservations about your bottles.
[/quote]As our customers know, we believe in 100% customer satisfaction so please contact us if you have any reservations about your bottles.[/quote]
Uh, Kevin, i have some concerns. That bottle of 2010 Alpine chard i opened Friday night for dinner guests got sucked down so fast that I only got one delicious glass. And i don’t have any more bottles.
I pulled a bottle tonight. Loaded with tangerine and a hint of caramel, it is still holding a decent bit of acidity but it is ready to drink up. I’ll probably drink my last bottle within the next 6 months to a year, but I have a little of tonight’s wine left and will revisit it tomorrow.
Day two, and the small amount left in the bottle from last night is showing enough oxidation that it isn’t pleasant, but I enjoyed most of it last night so no harm done.
For my tastes, the Horseshoe is the winner right now, which surprises me. I agree with the general comments that the '10s are ready and not for longer-term keeping. I have been joyfully drinking my supply down and think I’m down to a bottle or two of each. The Horseshoe this week was full of Meyer Lemon, pineapple, and butterscotch fruit with enough acid to keep it from seeming blowsy. The Alpine a few weeks ago seemed to be developing more of that toasted marshmallow character with less of the citrus and mineral signature I was expecting. Both bottles emptied quickly enough.
I made the mistake of sampling a 2012 Horseshoe a month or two back. That one needs some time to unwind a bit. I love the small bottles to dampen the early-consumption pain.
Last night’s bottle showed lemon, nuts and a hint of tarragon on the nose. Excellent texture with earthy flavors and vivid acidity anchored the long finish. Probably at peak now, this is one of the best California Chardonnays I have tasted.
Opened a bottle of the 2010 Alpine this weekend due to reading this thread…though I did not refer to the posts and thought I remembered that it was the Alpine I needed to try. As someone who has cases and cases of Rhys pinot noir but who only bought a smattering of the Chards, I also have never actually tried any of the Chards before. The reason I went so light on the Chards was that I love white Burgundy and CA Chardonnay never really did it for me. Well, I thought the 2010 Alpine was lovely. Delicious flavors and very good acidity. I did not perceive any advanced flavors, and I am pretty sensitive to them after years of opening my white Burgs and compulsively searching for any telltale signs of premox in them. Perhaps there is some bottle variation?
If this is the “least fresh” vintage of Rhys Chard and the least favorable for continued aging, i think I need to start opening a few more of the other Chards and start taking more of my Chard allocations in the future.
2010 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (11/18/2017)
– cork pulled 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –
NOSE: expressive; Champagne-esque (yeasty; bready); popcorn; pineapple; frizzy apple (Champagne); hint of powdered sugar after a couple hours.
BODY: rich, maturing yellow color; medium bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; rich flavor; 13.4% alc. not noticeable; does not seem like it’s maturing too quickly; medium-light oak; hints of clove, nutmeg, and allspice; no premox; touch of bruised apple after a couple hours; Drink now and over the medium term. Excellent.
Warming up for tomorrow night’s call with the Rhys team - my last bottle. Turned quite golden in color, but no signs of excessive oxidation. Tropical fruit, lemon peel and just a hint of matchstick. Nice lemon curd and prominent acidity balancing some mellow honeyed tropical fruit on the palate. Certainly not over the hill, but I am not sure how much longer life it has. Had very mixed experiences with the 10 chards from Rhys, but this was one of the better bottles I have had.
2010 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard- USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (6/27/2020)
– decanted 15 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –
NOSE: expressive; very ripe pineapple, with a bit of lychee; hint of reduction, initially; lemon oil; butterscotch; hint of canned pears.
BODY: rich, golden yellow color; medium bodied.
TASTE: I like this; medium+ acidity; relaxed; richly flavored; I don’t get the impression this is premoxed, but it is noticeably aged, and is probably best consumed Now.
Today, I ended Dry January by opening this wine, so I thought I would revive this thread to add my impressions. I was suspicious when the cork came out in two pieces and the wine appeared intensely golden. But no worries, it’s just fine. In fact, Brian’s note from more than three years ago describes this wine nearly perfectly today. The wine remains vibrant with decent acidity, and the lemon oil (I probably would have said “zest”) is there along with pleasing marzipan/lychee notes. The wine is aged but not tired, and it is a pleasure to drink.
This wine has held up surprisingly well, but I feel like it could be living on borrowed time. While the next one might be just as good, I would not wait too much longer to find out.
I just poured myself a glass of my last 2010 Horseshoe Chardonnay via Coravin. Your description is spot on, Brad! I’m picking up on some butterscotch that I don’t remember in the 2010 Alpine Chardonnay, but also some hazelnut, which I love in all things Chardonnay.
Aside from an otherworldly 2010 Horseshoe Syrah that I had a few years ago, I’ve had my best luck with Rhys’ Chardonnay.
