Name: Rhys Chardonnay Mt. Pajaro Vineyard 2017 750ml
Brand: Rhys
SKU: 974957
Price: 75.94 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 92.3 (3 reviews)

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Winery

Rhys

Shop all from Rhys

Varietal

Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

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.

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.

Appellation

Santa Cruz County

JD 93pts

Jeb Dunnuck

The 2017 Chardonnay Mt Pajaro Vineyard is also more reticent aromatically yet has beautiful purity and precision in its citrus blossom, salty minerality, and white flower-driven aromas and flavors. It's another nicely textured, beautifully balanced Chardonnay with loads of potential, it just needs another year or two of bottle age.

WA 92pts

Wine Advocate

The Mt. Pajaro vineyard was planted in 2010, and the 2017 Chardonnay Mt. Pajaro Vineyard marks the first time Rhys has bottled this as a single vineyard designate. Along with the Horseshoe and Alpine vineyard Chardonnays, fruit was picked both before and after the Labor Day heat wave. "It's less clear, that character," winemaker Jeff Brinkman says of the Chardonnays versus the Pinot Noirs this vintage. The Mt. Pajaro opens with delicate notions of orange blossom, warm hay, spring honey, pie crust and hints of baking spice with loads of ripe orchard and peachy fruit at the core, plus stone and creamy notions. Light to medium-bodied, it's intense, lively and minerally in the mouth with juicy acidity and a long, refreshing finish.

VM 92pts

Vinous Media

The 2017 Chardonnay Mt. Pajaro Vineyard is soft, supple and engaging, with lovely tangerine peel, almond, dried flower and herb notes. This level of complexity is just remarkable for a wine from young vines in its first commercial release. I can't wait to see what future vintages hold.

Winery Notes

• Practicing Biodynamic. • 100% Chardonnay. • Mt. Pajaro Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains AVA). • Clonal selection is Hyde, Old Wente and Dijon. The vineyard has an elevation of 717?-980?. • The soil type of Miocene and Oligocene (Brown and black shale and sandstone). • Hand-harvested. • Native yeast fermentation. • Whole clusters were pressed into barrels where they were fermented. No racking or battonage. • Aged 12 months in 15% new French oak and then 6 months in stainless steel.

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Rhys Chardonnay Mt. Pajaro Vineyard 2017 750ml