I’ve read different articles either stating “Horseshoe” or “Alpine” as flagship…
which is “actually” been considered as flagship for Rhys?
By flagship do you mean the basic pinot or the best in the line. Best in line alpine hillside, Alpine and horseshoe. they make so many good wines. Go on cellar tracker and read reviews from some previous drinkers. Not al reviews are credible so it takes a bit of understanding to know who to follow.
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Yeah I meant best in line…
So Alpine/Alpine Hillside/Horseshoe are kinda on the same lineup in quality? Thanks!
IMO they just make fabulous wines skyline 2021 should also be good in addition to the three i previously mentioned.
i just would not drink these young
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It would be nice if Kevin Harvey chimed in…
I would consider Horseshoe and Alpine the flagships, with the Swan Terrace section of Alpine being perhaps considered the best of the best. IMO Horseshoe makes the longest-lived wines, both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Alpine and Horseshoe.
Hi everyone,
I would be very hard pressed to choose between Alpine, Horseshoe and Skyline and I feel Mt Pajaro is quickly equalling them.
In blind tasting 2021 Mt Pajaro, Alpine and Horseshoe (Skyline gets special treatment), our team has picked each of the three as a favorite at different points in time.
I have poured the wines for critics and customers and it is fun to see how different people react to certain traits of each vineyard.
A big regret is not being able to pour the wines side-by-side for more people more often which I hope to change soon.
Rereading questions above, I realize that I might not have answered fully as I was focused on “flagship” vineyards rather than wines.
We consider both Hillsides (Alpine and Horseshoe) as well Swan Terrace and Skyline to be our “flagship” Pinot Noir bottlings. Just writing that makes me cringe a bit thinking “What about Alpine and Horseshoe (non-Hillsides), Porcupine Hill and now Mt Pajaro”. I guess that’s the nature of “flagship”, some choices have to be made though they are uncomfortable.
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Kevin is obviously the authority, but I’ve been buying and drinking the wines since the initial 2004 release, and also had some opportunities to taste through a bunch of the wines in a few vintages. From a consumer’s perspective, I’d answer that there aren’t any big differences, as in some kind of Burgundy-like hierarchy. For me, it’s more a matter of preference for certain vineyards. For example, I tend to prefer Alpine over Horseshoe, because of certain flavor characteristics I’ve come to find in those two. But I know plenty of folks who have just the opposite preference. Frankly, I don’t consider any of the bottlings (at least the vineyard designates) to be “superior” in some way (with the caveat that I have rarely had the chance to drink the Hillsides wines, and don’t believe I’ve ever had the non-grafted versions). I’d say buy any of them with confidence, and see if you find any personal preferences across the portfolio. I tend to buy a little of everything, within budgetary limitations.
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The only reason I might put Horseshoe a step ahead of Alpine is that Horseshoe makes delicious wine from three grapes, where Alpine only has the two.
Sorry, what do you mean by 3 grapes? Aren’t they all pure points? Or are you referring they are made from 3 different blocks? I failed to understand why that means more superior
I think Horseshoe Chardonnay is their best wine.
Alpine Chardonnay is great too, but I think Horseshoe is even better.
Among pinots, it’s fairly close in price and quality among several vineyards. No one is clearly the king.
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For my more burgundy centric palate Skyline is my favorite. The whole cluster fermentation coupled with the stony site and the specific clones that vineyard is planted with is a great combination.
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Rhys makes Pinot and Chardonnay from Alpine and Pinot, Chardonnay, and Syrah (so three grapes) from Horseshoe. I think the Horseshoe Syrah may be their best wine. The Skyline Pinot is my favorite of the Pinots.
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Mike covered it. The Horseshoe Syrah is a standout in the Rhys lineup.
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Thank you @Larry_Link
In your opinion, how can each of Rhy’s compared to Burg? (Alpine/Horseshoe/Skyline) in terms of villages?
Just some chitchat…
Closing my eyes and winging it:
Skyline reminds me of Vosne
Alpine reminds me of Beaune
Horseshoe reminds me of Pommard
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Larry went where I won’t go lol. I doubt I could successfully link a lot of burgundy producers to their communes, let alone a California producer. For me, Rhys grows uniquely California wines. They are not burgundy, though they have many of the qualities we burgophiles seek.
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Yeah, I really don’t see them as analogous to any particular Burgundian wines. Do they have some characteristics in common with Burgundies, yes, but that’s probably a lot more about the grape involved, rather than the sites.
They do express their Santa Crus Mountains origins, or at least they are clearly different from say Bearwallow which is from a completely different area.
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Me personally would put Alpine as the vineyard where my favorite Rhys wines are produced. The Chardonnay is otherworldly and I think the Pinot is consistently the best North American Pinot made. When I can I try and buy a case of the Pinot on futures and buy several of the Chardonnay.
Also partial to the Horseshoe Syrah which at times has been similar to a young JL Chave Hermitage
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A fun discussion. Having been a buyer since the beginning, it has been great to track these wines over time. I agree, and would have correctly guessed Kevin’s response to the question would have been the Alpine & Horseshoe Hillside, Swan Terrace and Skyline.
The only thing I would add is that I think the most distinctive wine is the Skyline Pinot. Finally, not to be forgotten is the lamented Skyline Syrah. What a great wine! (sorry, Kevin 
)