Welcome to the Fall 2019 Futures offering!

We’ve received several questions recently about our futures program, so we thought a quick summary of how these releases work would be beneficial. Our futures program is designed to give our customers a chance to buy both alternate formats and case quantities of our best wines in our best vintages. We only do futures when we have sufficient production to insure there will be enough for our regular releases. This means that you will still receive your typical allocation of these wines in the normal releases. If you are happy with your standard allocation, there is no need to buy on futures, but if you are interested in both large and small format or case quantities of these wines, the futures release is the only time these are offered. In general, we offer six packs of our single vineyard wines in 375 and 500mL bottles, single 1.5 and 3L bottles and full 12 bottle 750mL cases. The 1.5L, 3L and 750mL bottles all come with a custom wooden box. Our sampler packs are intended to give a preview of the vintage via mixed cases of our most popular wines in small format. These sampler packs typically contain three bottles each of four single vineyard wines, available in both 375 and 500mL formats.

The 2018 Vintage –

The 2018 growing season had a perfect mixture of moderate winter rainfall, early summer warmth and mild harvest conditions. While the quality of a vintage is not always completely explained by the weather, 2018 contained all of the climatic elements that produce the highest quality in our mountain vineyards. We’ve been optimistic about the 2018 wines since harvest, but it’s only over the last month as we’ve been assembling the final blends that we realized how special this vintage really is. The 2018 wines show a rare mixture of powerful concentration and poised elegance that makes them immediately charming and yet capable of extended aging. The mountain vineyards in particular have excelled in this quality, reminiscent of the 2012 vintage but with more grace and focus. We are finding the Pinots to be red fruited, intense and lifted, with great acidity and structure but lacking any edges. The Chardonnays are both powerful and crisp, with lifting acidity and precise finishes. Although it’s going to take years for these wines to show their full potential it’s hard not to be captivated now.

2018 Rhys Chardonnay Sampler pack

The 2018 vintage looks to be as exceptional in Chardonnays as it is in the Pinot noirs, something that doesn’t always happen. The Chardonnays this vintage are true to character with bright acidity, fantastic concentration of fruit and a particular transparency to site that we relish. We’re pleased to offer both 375mL and 500mL cases comprised of three bottles each of our Bearwallow, Alpine, Horseshoe and Mt. Pajaro single vineyard Chardonnays.

Mt. Pajaro Vineyard

2018 Rhys Mt. Pajaro Vineyard Chardonnay

The strides this young vineyard has made in just a few years has been impressive. The Mt. Pajaro Chardonnay from 2018 is an excellent companion to our Alpine and Horseshoe vineyard Chardonnays, displaying a core of concentrated citrus and stone fruit with a pronounced salinity on the finish. We expect a similar graceful development as we see in our other mountain Chardonnays. We’re pleased to offer this wine in 375mL and 500mL six packs, 750mL twelve bottle cases and individual 1.5L bottles.

2018 Rhys Mt. Pajaro Vineyard Pinot Noir

Our newest vineyard, Mt. Pajaro, has ten very densely planted acres of our best selections of Pinot Noir. We’ve suspected that this vineyard will rival our Alpine and Horseshoe vineyards, and the 2018 vintage has started to confirm this notion. Our notes on this beautiful Pinot noir suggest bright red fruit, a crisp and elegant midpalate and ripe, integrated tannins. We’re pleased to offer this wine in 375mL and 500mL six packs, 750mL twelve bottle cases and individual 1.5L and 3L bottles.

Alpine Vineyard

2018 Rhys Alpine Vineyard Pinot Noir

Of the wines that surprised us the most during our barrel selection trials, Alpine stands out. We always expect great wines from our Alpine vineyard, but 2018 is something special and clearly one of the wines of the vintage for us. Powerful red fruit, seamless texture and coiled tannins on the finish promise a long and graceful evolution for these wines. We’re pleased to offer this wine in 375mL and 500mL six packs, 750mL twelve bottle cases and individual 1.5L and 3L bottles.