Rhys
About Rhys
Perched almost entirely on the steep Santa Cruz Mountains, Rhys Vineyards has long been something of an insiders’ secret. Owner Kevin Harvey has been a champion of the Burgundian terroir-focused approach to viticulture in the region, crafting an extensive range of single-vineyard and single-plot cuvées, most of which we are delighted to present below.
Having made wine casually since 1995, Rhys itself was founded in 2001 to almost immediate critical acclaim with a careful selection of individual plots on the mountainside and very high-density plantings. Since the very beginning, Harvey’s focus has been Pinot Noir, but Chardonnay is a close second love and his passion for these varietals has garnered ardent praise from many, including one of the world’s most influential Burgundy-focused critics, Allen Meadows (Burghound).
“Owner Kevin Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman have once again created some genuinely remarkable wines and in particular the Swan Terrance is nothing short of brilliant! Readers should be aware that the Rhys wines are clearly fashioned in a built-to-age style and thus are most assuredly not intended to show their best young. Thus I would suggest that if you're going to buy them do so with the intent to allow for at least a few years of bottle age”
Allen Meadows (Burghound)
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California | 1 | - | $914.00 | |||||
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California | 1 | 96+ (WA) | $1,035.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96+)Not made since 2006 and described by Kevin as the ultimate expression of the vineyard, the 2013 Pinot Noir Alpine Hillside Vineyard was a cellar selection (done blind) that ended up coming all from the same block of steep, east-facing vines. It has an almost Horseshoe like level of minerality in its gunpowder, flinty minerality, dusty soil, dried roses, and sweet red fruit aromas and flavors. Fresh, vibrant and weightless, yet with rocking depth and texture, it's a serious wine that tastes like the Alpine Vineyard Pinot Noir on steroids. It has more fruit and depth than the straight Alpine release, so its actually more enjoyable today, yet will age even better. |
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California | 1 | 96 (JD) | $167.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)The 2016 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is another head-turner and offers complex red fruits, white flowers, pepper, and floral notes as well as incredible balance and purity on the palate. About as seamless as they come, it’s medium to full-bodied, has a layered texture, and a great finish. As with most of these 2016s, it has some accessibility today, yet it’s going to age gracefully on its balance and overall harmony. |
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California | 1 | 95+ (VN) | $979.00 | |||||
Vinous (95+)The 2018 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard opens with striking, floral-infused aromatics that give the wine presence and structure. Savory and finely cut, with superb delineation, and tons of depth, the Alpine is positively stellar today. Layers of fruit enshroud the tannins, making them barely perceptible. The 2018 is a stunning Pinot from Alpine, a site originally planted with 17 heritage clones. |
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California | 2 | 96+ (WA) | $635.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96+)The 2019 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard trades places with its Horseshoe neighbor in this vintage, beginning with a reticent, dark-fruited nose of fresh herbs, black tea, black pepper and allspice that steadily gains momentum. It is superbly elegant and restrained on the palate, with a pleasing undercurrent of sumptuous dark fruits and finessed but persistent tannins. The length and persistence of the finish are spectacular and, in this vintage, is what narrowly edges out the Horseshoe bottling. I find it endlessly fascinating to compare the two as they are consistently neck-in-neck and impressive shapeshifters in the glass. |
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California | 1 | - | $672.00 | |||||
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California | 2 | 93 (JD) | $599.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (93)Starting with the Chardonnays, the 2016 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard comes from Anderson Valley and offers a medium-bodied, fresh, elegant, almost feminine profile as well as classy citrus zest, crushed rocks, and white flowers. With beautiful purity of fruit and a great texture, it’s already delicious yet should keep for 7-8 years. |
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California | 1 | 96+ (VN) | $577.00 | |||||
Vinous (96+)The 2019 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is a powerful, searing wine. I am not sure I have tasted a Bearwallow with this much sheer intensity. Black cherry, mocha, gravel, cloves and licorice imbue this somber, backward Pinot with quite a bit of complexity. Readers should be in no rush here. The 2019 is an exceptional Bearwallow. |
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California | 10 | 96 (JD) | $543.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)A gorgeous perfume emerges from the 2021 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard, which was all destemmed with no new wood and offers very pretty notes of raspberry coulis, sappy earth, and crushed flowers. Supple, approachable, and rounded on the palate, it has a silky texture with great freshness, a plush texture, and a weightless feel. Medium-bodied and very pretty, it’s drinking well now and will also improve with time in cellar. Drink 2025-2037. |
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California | 1 | - | $657.00 | |||||
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California | 10 | 96 (VN) | $1,020.00 | |||||
Vinous (96)The 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is laced with the essence of crushed rocks, white pepper, orchard fruit, white flowers, chalk and mint. It is a bit less forthcoming than the Alpine Chardonnay. Saline notes build into the palate staining finish. This classically austere young Chardonnay just needs time in bottle. Tasted next to the Alpine, the Horseshoe has more mid-palate weight and feeling of phenolic intensity. The differences between the two are remarkable considering the sites are just 400 yards apart. The Horseshoe is planted on Monterey shale, while the soils at Alpine are Purisima, a formation that is about 8 million years younger. Such is the complexity of the Santa Cruz Mountains. |
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California | 1 | 95 (VN) | $914.00 | |||||
Vinous (95)The 2014 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is one of the most subtle wines in the lineup. Black cherry, plum, mint, hard candy and sweet spices, along with ripe, silky tannins, give the wine its sense of creaminess and textural finesse. Super-expressive aromatics and layered, plush fruit add to the wine's considerable appeal. |
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California | 1 | 96 (JD) | $143.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)The 2016 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard offers a more savory, mineral style as well as terrific depth of fruit. Lots of currant and black cherry fruits, ample rocky, earthy minerality, medium to full body, and a seamless texture all emerge from the glass. This classic Horseshoe Vineyard release has building structure that’s going to benefit from a few years in the cellar. |
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California | 1 | 97 (VN) | $759.00 | |||||
Vinous (97)The 2018 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is dense and brooding. Black cherry, licorice, spice, leather, herbs and mineral accents shape this ample, beautifully resonant Pinot Noir. Diatomaceous Monterey soils estimated to be 11-15 million years old yield a Pinot of notable breadth, texture and complexity. |
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California | 1 | 96 (WA) | $788.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)The 2019 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is unusually wide open from the first pour, offering an immediately dazzling nose of perfectly ripe red fruits, cherry blossoms, cured meat, river rocks and petrichor. The palate is silky, suave and precise with less weight than usual, seemingly sacrificing none of the power, complexity and refreshing momentum generated with aeration. Echoing the palate, the finish is initially more subtle than explosive, nevertheless ending up at the same amazingly complex, expansive destination. As always, this does nothing but morph and gain dimension with time, as I have no doubt it will do over the next two decades. |
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California | 1 | 96 (JD) | $672.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)A dark red/magenta color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is savory and resinous with aromas of blackberries, menthol, and rosemary. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with plush, ripe tannins and a rounded mouthfeel . It’s long on the palate and has more richness throughout. Drink 2026-2040. |
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California | 1 | 94 (WA) | $527.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (94)A stunner, the 2012 Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard sports an inky ruby/purple color to go with loads of back raspberry, cassis, licorice, toasted spice and sappy flowers. Deep, rich, full-bodied and textured, with good acidity keeping it honest, this bares more than a passing resemblance to a top-flight Cornas. It needs 2-3 years of cellaring and will keep for over a decade. |
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California | 10 | 96 (VN) | $633.00 | |||||
Vinous (96)The 2019 Pinot Noir Mt. Pajaro Vineyard emerges from a site in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains and therefore has a completely different personality than the rest of the other SCM wines in the range. Here the flavors are darker while the tannins are more incisive. Black cherry, plum, licorice, cloves and gravel infuse this brooding, muscular Pinot with tons of complexity. |
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California | 2 | 97 (VN) | $887.00 | |||||
Vinous (97)The 2019 Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill is a beautifully translucent, nuanced Pinot that shows the heights of finesse that are possible in Anderson Valley. A wine of unreal subtlety and nuance, the Porcupine Hill hits so many high notes. Crushed red berry, mint, spice, tobacco, cedar, rose petal and espresso build over time. As always, the Porcupine Hill Pinot is sourced from high-density blocks on the property and is done with minimal whole clusters. |
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California | 1 | 93 (JD) | $268.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (93)A sweet floral perfume lifts from the glass of the 2021 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountain, which has a dark ruby color. Its notes of raspberry preserves, crushed flowers, cedar, and a hint of sassafras are followed by a medium-bodied, elegant red with ripe tannins, great, fresh acidity, and a ripe, balanced finish. It’s going to drink well over the coming 6-7 years. |
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California | 7 | 96 (WA) | $1,045.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)The 2019 Pinot Noir Swan Terrace bounds from the glass with a blue-fruited, floral aromatic intensity that initially feels more composed and collected than the exuberant Alpine bottling. The palate is exquisite and lifted, with a suave, silky polish that unfolds into a layered but inward finish laden with sturdy, chalky tannins and delicious dark fruits. The most in need of integration and softening of the non-Hillside 2019s, this will be a fun wine to track, especially next to the Alpine bottling from which it derives. |
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