TN: 2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

WINE TALK
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  • 2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (10/3/2014)
    Great nose of red fruit and spice. On the palate, I agree with the previous note that the wine is brawny with concentrated red fruit flavors and subtle spice. Wine has a silky texture. As much as I liked this wine it left me wishing it had some more zest; more acidity. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Wow, I would think it has loads of acidity, given it was probably picked between 22-23 brix. Are you looking for something more like Ceritas?

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Is this a tasting note for the 2009 which is the the vintage on the label pictured or for a 2010? just curious?

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It was the 2010. The picture comes from cellartracker.

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I thought the wine was really good. I thought it would have been better with a bit more zest, especially when wines have nice dense fruit like this one. Outside of the limited quantity wines, Alpine is my favorite Rhys.

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Hey, it’s California, man, what can you expect? [grin.gif]
These notes that tell of screaming acidity in Rhys, I just haven’t found. They are (or can be) beautiful wines, but I always find them to have decent, but not high acid.

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To me, these wines are different. They come and go more than the usual Cali pinots. Maybe some older ones did this too. This wine needs some time to me. Not saying the acidity will improve. I just think the balance might change. Nice note however.

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My opinion also.
Drinkimg Rhys wines within ten years of the vintage date is a lesser experience. Patience here, as with fine Burgundy, is a virtue.
Best, Jim

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We don’t really know that yet, do we?

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I was going to say the same.

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Yep; poorly stated.
Intent was to compare to Burgundy which I generally age at least ten.
Sometimes I misfire.
Best, Jim

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Makes more sense that way. Thanks. Obviously we are making educated guesses with Rhys (and a good many others), so we shall see.

The wine always has the last word.

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Are we less critical of this winery than we should be? There have been MANY of their wines that i have really enjoyed, but there has been SOME that i have not liked at all. Having said this, the NYC Rhys offline did confirm to me why I remain on the list.

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No winery bats 100% on every wine for every person.

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We loved this wine last night and to say the bottle was poorly cared-for would be an understatement: I found it rolling under an old couch in our garage, mildew beginning to eat up the label!

This wine was a beautiful color and full of tea from the get-go. Even Mel, no lover of domestic PN, flipped out how much she liked this bottle. It’s there with the 06 Alpine for me as my favorite Rhys PN to date. A straight-up, dark-fruited gem. The wine was open in big Riedel Burg stems ~ 2H and didn’t change much so probably no rush to drink 'em up now but how can it get much better than this showing?

Enjoyed with turkey pot pies, I recommend this pairing.
IMG_3603.JPG

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Glenn - how exactly did a wine if this caliber end up rolling around under an old couch in the garage?

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Who knows man? Dogs, wife, son, my gig, my F up…

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2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains (12/9/2022)
– decanted approx. 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 3 hrs. –

NOSE: expressive; moderately aged red berries, and a healthy dose of bottle funk; high-toned; flip-flops between aromas of cherries and purple berries.

BODY: garnet color with medium-light bricking throughout — color is of medium depth; medium-light bodied.

TASTE: high acidity; medium-light oak; straddles red/purple berries line; tastes moderate aged; very light earthy/aged fruit funk (not brett); no tannin; medium+ concentration of fruit flavor; background hint of strong mineral. Strikes me as being in its prime drinking window. Drink Now.

50, 5, 12, 17, 8 = (92 pts.)

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Nice to see this thread pulled from the crypt.
Opened my last one last night - and will revisit later this evening. I am still learning to find the sweet spot for opening up Rhys Pinot Noirs. It is a fun (albeit expensive) journey.

2010 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains (6/7/2023)
Opened and decanted. Saved half in a 375ml bottle.
Dark ruby color. Nose offers a dark fruited profile with tones of forest floor and dried herbs. Some dried tangerine peel as an accent.
Intro on the palate is a tangy cranberry, strawberry note. Lively and fresh with acidity and some macerated red berries.
Quite enjoyable.

I have previously found a crunchy fresh cranberry note to the Rhys Alpine pinots when opened young (4 years or less from vintage).
This with its 12+ years of age, shows some darker woodsy elements. The cranberry is still there - just more like a dried cranberry.

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