TN: 2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill (USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley)

Might as well get a thread started on this wine. It’s worthy.

BTW the reference to the flawed bottle was because of a cork failure,

  • 2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (6/5/2016)
    Well, the last bottle was certainly flawed and this bottle confirmed it. What a dramatic difference, incredibly strong showing.

Served chilled, so it may have an effect, but the nose wasn’t the wild aromatics of the standard Bearwallow. Still very nice red fruit and mixed berries. Without being too dramatic, there is strong tension on the palate, almost electric. Guessing it must be the medium plus acid that’s keeping this moving in the glass. Worth noting is an earthy or a game quality, it’s mid palate and pokes out after the bright red berry and apple fruit attack.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for doing what I wouldn’t even dream of doing right now. I usually enjoy the regular Bearwallow quite a bit, so am excited to see what this one has to offer by comparison.

Indeed. I love The regular Bearwallow as well and have been looking forward to seeing some tasting notes since I only have one bottle. Thanks for taking one for the team!

Jason, a friend and I recently did a side by side of the two. We slow-oxed both bottles for 24 hours and then drank them both with and without food. Brig’s tasting notes are spot on and I also picked up that earthy note. The 2 wines were extremely similar as to be expected, the best way I can describe the difference is that the Bearwallow is turned up to 10 and where can you go from there? Nowhere. But the Porcupine Hill goes to 11.

We had a bottle of this last night with a slow-roasted whole chicken (brined two days) from the Weber. I decanted off the minimal sediment about 90 minutes prior to dinner. What a captivating nose this wine has! It smells like a cran-raspberry pie, with a hint of Werther’s hard candy. The palate is so generous and pleasing, following the aromas with layers of fruit and texture. A long finish already. This is so good now it is hard to imagine it getting better, but wine almost always surprises and rewards patience. Fantastic with the chicken. Open now for the sheer joy of it, especially if you have a few and can spare it.

Didn’t get the '13 but did buy one '14 and two '15. Those notes make me think that this wine will be more to my liking than the regular Bearwallow. Maybe I’ll pop the '14 one of these days.

I like that the '15 vintage gave enough fruit where it was produced in quantities large enough to make one not feel guilty about opening one early.

2013 Rhys Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley (4/25/2021)
– decanted about 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 2 to 3 hours –

NOSE: rich; dark cherry; medium+ expressiveness.

BODY: medium-light to medium bodied.

TASTE: rich red fruits – darker than the regular Bearwallow; some espresso/oak; clean; good, but not exciting. Drink or Hold. Gut impression score: 90

Corkupine Hill?

Continuing to sample the Rhys 2013’s to see if there are cork issues. This cork was solid. Popped and poured at cellar temp. Sandalwood, white pepper and cranberry fruit on the nose. Quite tart on the palate, with cranberry fruit and pronounced acidity on the attack with some savory notes on the finish. I think these were quite young vines at this vintage and the wine seems a bit young and simple.

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I have not had the good fortune to try any of the Rhys Santa Cruz pinots yet. But, I did partake of a 2016 Rhys Porcupine recently at a wine dinner. I must say I was underwhelmed. Almost vegetal, very little in the way of pretty fruit, lacking structure and finesse, and just boring to drink. Was it an off bottle, or just another marginal Anderson Valley vineyard, of which I have had many?