2015 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard
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Here the restrained nose is cool, airy and wonderfully seductive while displaying enough floral, herbal tea, sandalwood and spice elements that it resembles in its fashion what one sometimes sees from Vosne; in short, I love the aromatics. There is a lovely sense of verve to the rich and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that brim with dry extract while delivering superb depth on the lingering finish where the only reproach is a hint of warmth. This is an absolute knockout and while it could be enjoyed young, make no mistake that underneath all of the extract lurks very firm tannins that will likely emerge with a few years of age. *Outstanding*
Punteggi della critica
Punteggio medio
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Jeb Dunnuck
Altre recensioni e punteggi
Coming together in the glass with constantly evolving aromas of wild berries, rich spices, orange rind, espresso roast and violets, the superb 2015 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is a medium-bodied, tight-knit wine that needs a minimum of 5 or 6 years' bottle age. Intensely concentrated and underpinned by succulent acids, the quality of the powdery, velvety tannins is first-rate, and this Pinot Noir's finish is extremely long and stony. There's no doubt, however, that it has shut down since it was bottled. If readers are tempted to pull corks in the near term, I suspect the 2015 Alpine will never be as structurally unforgiving as some of Rhys' efforts from a decade ago, but the real excitement emphatically lies in the future.
I think a significant step up over the Horseshoe Vineyard (time will help clear this up, though), the 2015 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is straight up sensational. Its medium ruby color is followed by a deep, slightly reticent bouquet of cherry pits, black raspberries, dried violets, forest floor and spice. Incredibly nuanced, seamless, silky and refined on the palate, with terrific tension, purity, and concentration, it’s one of the do-not-miss wines of the 2015 vintage! This was a terrific lineup of 2015s from the team at Rhys. Across the board, these are tight and structured, with terrific concentration. Give them a few years of bottle age. Unfortunately, due to the devastating yields, there’s no Skyline Vineyard or Hillside releases in 2015s. In addition, they have a new estate vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains (bringing their total to seven estate vineyards) that will be coming on line over the next couple of years. Named Mount Pajaro Vineyard, the site was planted in 2010 and covers 18 acres in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, planted all with high density, 3.5 feet row spacing. Harvey commented that they’ve learned a lot over the past decade planting their other estate properties and they’re excited about the quality of this site.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is another superb wine in this lineup. Nothing in particular stands out. Instead, all the elements come together effortlessly. Rich ample and pliant, the 2015 possesses remarkable depth and density in all of its dimensions. The 2015 was done with only a touch (10%) of whole clusters. What comes through most is the extraordinary quality of the fruit. An infusion of blood orange, pomegranate, mint, white pepper and spices leads into a finish laced with exoticism and allure. Yields were just 0.75 tons per acre. (AG)