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Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard 2018 750ml

size
750ml
country
United States
region
California
appellation
Santa Cruz County
subappellation
Santa Cruz Mountains
WA
96
VM
95
JD
94
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2012
WA
96
Rated 96 by Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is darker in color and more aromatically dazzling out of the gate than its Horseshoe counterpart. It offers a captivating, herbal nose of black fruits, garrigue, tree bark and sweet tobacco. The palate is powerful and assertive, springing off the tongue and coating the mouth with elegant dark fruits, fine, persistent tannins and perfectly balanced acidity. The finish is intense yet full of finesse, providing a wonderful juxtaposition to the upfront attack of the palate and intensity of the nose. It is an endlessly fascinating wine on its own, and even more so with the Horseshoe next to it. Given the energy and textural vivacity on display, this should remain in the cellar for another few years to capitalize on this immense potential. ... More details
Image of bottle
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Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard 2018 750ml

SKU 898113
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$1029.24
/case
$171.54
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 6 bottles
* This is a Long-term Pre-arrival item and is available for online ordering only. This item will ship on a future date after a 4-8 months transfer time. For additional details about Pre-arrival Items please visit our FAQ page.
Professional Ratings
WA
96
VM
95
JD
94
WA
96
Rated 96 by Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is darker in color and more aromatically dazzling out of the gate than its Horseshoe counterpart. It offers a captivating, herbal nose of black fruits, garrigue, tree bark and sweet tobacco. The palate is powerful and assertive, springing off the tongue and coating the mouth with elegant dark fruits, fine, persistent tannins and perfectly balanced acidity. The finish is intense yet full of finesse, providing a wonderful juxtaposition to the upfront attack of the palate and intensity of the nose. It is an endlessly fascinating wine on its own, and even more so with the Horseshoe next to it. Given the energy and textural vivacity on display, this should remain in the cellar for another few years to capitalize on this immense potential.
VM
95
Rated 95 by Vinous Media
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.
JD
94
Rated 94 by Jeb Dunnuck
Redcurrants, flowers, chalky minerality, spice, and loamy soil notes all emerge from the 2018 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard, which is medium-bodied and has a supple, elegant texture, no hard edges, and a great finish. It shows more and more minerality with time in the glass and is a classic expression of this steep, southwest-facing vineyard. It has plenty of upfront charm and accessibility yet still has ample underlying tannins. My money is on it benefiting from 2-3 years of bottle age and evolving nicely for a solid decade.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
United States
region
California
appellation
Santa Cruz County
subappellation
Santa Cruz Mountains
Additional vintages
2019 2018 2012
Overview
The 2018 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is darker in color and more aromatically dazzling out of the gate than its Horseshoe counterpart. It offers a captivating, herbal nose of black fruits, garrigue, tree bark and sweet tobacco. The palate is powerful and assertive, springing off the tongue and coating the mouth with elegant dark fruits, fine, persistent tannins and perfectly balanced acidity. The finish is intense yet full of finesse, providing a wonderful juxtaposition to the upfront attack of the palate and intensity of the nose. It is an endlessly fascinating wine on its own, and even more so with the Horseshoe next to it. Given the energy and textural vivacity on display, this should remain in the cellar for another few years to capitalize on this immense potential.
green grapes

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is one of the planet's most widely grown and enjoyed grape varietals, and thanks to the popularity of the key wines it is associated with – Burgundy and Champagne – it has successfully spread from its native home in France to much of the wine producing world. Pinot Noir means 'black pine' in French, and this refers to the extremely dark, inky color of the fruit, and the fact that it grows in conical bunches, resembling a large pine cone. It has long been revered for its wide range of refreshing, summery flavors, and the fact that it produces red wines of a beautiful garnet color and light body. More recently, sparkling wines made exclusively with Pinot Noir have been extremely popular, and the orchard notes found in the fizzy 'blanc des noirs' wines mark out just how versatile this grape varietal really is. Despite being notoriously difficult to grow, it isn't hard to see why this grape is now found in vineyards all over the world, as it is synonymous with romance and decadence, quality and fantastic flavor
barrel

Region: California

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
fields

Country: United States

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews

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More Details
Winery Rhys
green grapes

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is one of the planet's most widely grown and enjoyed grape varietals, and thanks to the popularity of the key wines it is associated with – Burgundy and Champagne – it has successfully spread from its native home in France to much of the wine producing world. Pinot Noir means 'black pine' in French, and this refers to the extremely dark, inky color of the fruit, and the fact that it grows in conical bunches, resembling a large pine cone. It has long been revered for its wide range of refreshing, summery flavors, and the fact that it produces red wines of a beautiful garnet color and light body. More recently, sparkling wines made exclusively with Pinot Noir have been extremely popular, and the orchard notes found in the fizzy 'blanc des noirs' wines mark out just how versatile this grape varietal really is. Despite being notoriously difficult to grow, it isn't hard to see why this grape is now found in vineyards all over the world, as it is synonymous with romance and decadence, quality and fantastic flavor
barrel

Region: California

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
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Country: United States

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.