2021 Rhys Pinot Noir Home Vineyard

The Home Vineyard was the first estate site Rhys owner Kevin Harvey planted in 1998. It is located in Portola Valley, has southwest exposure and is a mere 400 yards from the Family Farm Vineyard. Now always vinified using 100% whole-cluster fermentation, the nose of the 2021 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard is brighter and more lifted with aromas of ripe red fruits, evergreen and dried roses. The palate exchanges the fleshy density of the Family Farm for a more graceful, granular texture. The finish is taut and wiry, concluding with pleasant but persistent tannins. As with all Rhys Pinot Noirs, cellaring is necessary upon release but will pay dividends.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard is a potent, wild wine. Strong savory and floral notes open first, but on the palate the wine is rather reticent. That should not be an issue in another few years' time, but the 2021 is very closed down. This is another wine that is going to need a few years to come together. Today, acids and tannins dominate, signatures of soils that especially rocky.