The 2016 Vintage
The 2016 vintage extended California’s four-year string of excellent vintages with delicious, beautifully balanced wines possessing great charm and grace. Similar to the prior three years, a warm spring gave the vines an early start and set the stage for the fourth consecutive early harvest. But, while 2016 was technically considered a drought year, our vineyards experienced a moderate, steady supply of rain throughout the preceding winter which seems to have helped the vines achieve great balance and moderate production through a relatively uneventful growing season.
In contrast to the larger scaled 2015s, the 2016s are beautiful and perfectly proportioned wines with exceptional charm. Tasting through our lineup of 2016 Pinot Noirs has always summoned words like harmony and grace and the vintage’s elegant character is very consistent across all of our estate vineyards. We were also very pleased that 2016 allowed us to produce our full lineup of Pinot Noirs, including the Alpine and Horseshoe Hillsides, Skyline and Swan Terrace.
Bearwallow Vineyard
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Chardonnay
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Chardonnay 750ml $69/btl
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Chardonnay Magnum $159/btl
William Kelly, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018) The 2016 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard is lovely, exhibiting youthful but expressive notes of apple, white peach and a touch of green herbs, subtly framed by a judicious application of new oak. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with bright acids that lend the wine focus and delineation, with good concentration and a chalky, mouthwatering finish. The additional tension and intensity that this possesses over the Alesia Anderson Valley bottling—also derived from Bearwallow Vineyard—reflects how selective, both at the press and in the cellar, the Rhys team is in determining what makes the cut. Follow it for the coming decade or more. 94.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) After the ripe drought year of 2015, it is nice to open the 2016 Bearwallow Chardonnay from Kevin Harvey and his team at Rhys and see the alcohol level at 12.5 percent. These are still young vines, as the first vintage of chardonnay produced here was the 2014, but the vines’ youthful vigor is obviously nicely reined in. The bouquet here is lovely, offering up a nascently complex and refined blend of pear, white peach, a hint of fresh nutmeg, a lovely base of soil, a dollop of almond and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is crisp, fullish and beautifully transparent, with a good core, fine focus and grip, bright acids and lovely balance on the long and complex finish. There is a touch of thoroughbred leanness here on the palate that I really, really like. 2018-2030.92.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018) Supple and racy in the glass, the 2016 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard is simply gorgeous. Apricot, chamomile and lightly tropical notes meld together in this super-expressive, inviting Chardonnay. The 2016 has a lot to offer. Unlike most Rhys Chardonnays, the 2016 Bearwallow will drink beautifully right out of the gate. 93.
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Pinot Noir
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml $69/btl
2016 Rhys Bearwallow Vineyard Pinot Noir Magnum $159/btl
William Kelly, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018) The most approachable of Rhys’ vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs, the 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard offers up expressive aromas of black plums, wild berries, peonies and rich soil. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it’s supple and layered, with a juicy core of crunchy fruit, succulent acids and lovely declination. Already integrated and giving, drink it over the next decade or more. 92.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) The two Anderson Valley bottlings of pinot noir from Kevin Harvey and his talented team are absolutely beautiful in 2016. Both wines come in at a cool and generous 12.9 percent alcohol, with the Bearwallow offering up a superb aromatic constellation of black plums, black raspberries, cola, woodsmoke, a refined base of soil tones, a touch of fresh herbs and just a whisper of new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a sappy core, suave, seamless tannins, excellent focus and grip and a very long, vibrant and elegant finish. This is just lovely. 2022-2050. 93.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018) The 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is a soft, seductive wine. Silky tannins frame the floral, red and purplish berry fruit nicely. This is one of the more nuanced and delicate wines in the range. In fact, the Bearwallow comes across as a bit hushed today relative to how it showed from barrel. There is plenty to admire in the 2016. Best of all, the Bearwallow should drink well with minimal cellaring. 92.
2016 Rhys Porcupine Hill Pinot Noir
2016 Rhys Porcupine Hill Pinot Noir 750ml $99/btl
2016 Rhys Porcupine Hill Pinot Noir Magnum $219/btl
William Kelly, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018) Derived from a section of the vineyard where the vines are planted at such high density that the stakes resembled the quills of a porcupine, the 2016 Pinot Noir Porcupine Hill Bearwallow Vineyard is very attractive, revealing a more brooding and sapid bouquet than the regular Bearwallow bottling. Offering up aromas of plums, wild berries, dark chocolate and incipient coniferous floor, the wine is medium to full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with more concentration and amplitude than the regular Bearwallow, underpinned by bright acids and concluding with a stony, precise finish.94.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) The high density planting from which the Porcupine Hill cuvée hails has produced a wine that is even a bit deeper and more precise than the lovely Bearwallow. The bouquet is beautifully black fruity, offering up a blend of black plums, black raspberries, coffee bean, a touch of cola, dark soil tones, gentle smokiness and a discreet touch of oak. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied and more tightly-knit out of the blocks than the above, with superb mid-palate depth, excellent focus and grip, fine-grained tannins and lovely purity on the long, refined and still quite youthful finish. The higher density planting has produced a wine with a bit more structure than the Bearwallow, but also greater potential for the long haul. 2025-2055+. 94.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018) The high density planting from which the Porcupine Hill cuvée hails has produced a wine that is even a bit deeper and more precise than the lovely Bearwallow. The bouquet is beautifully black fruity, offering up a blend of black plums, black raspberries, coffee bean, a touch of cola, dark soil tones, gentle smokiness and a discreet touch of oak. On the palate the wine is pure, fullbodied and more tightly-knit out of the blocks than the above, with superb mid-palate depth, excellent focus and grip, fine-grained tannins and lovely purity on the long, refined and still quite youthful finish. The higher density planting has produced a wine with a bit more structure than the Bearwallow, but also greater potential for the long haul. 2025-2055+.93.
Skyline Vineyard
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2016 Rhys Skyline Vineyard Pinot Noir
2016 Rhys Skyline Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml $129/btl
William Kelly, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018) The 2016 Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard is one of the more exotic wines in the range, bursting with complex aromas of strawberries, plums, potpourri, rich spice and a subtle bass note of grilled meat. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, layered and beautifully complete, simultaneously ample and tense, rich but weightless. This Pinot Noir’s silky structure and concentration reflect yields so low that ten vines are typically required to produce one bottle. Four or five years of patience will be required and more will be rewarded.96.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) I often have a very, very slight preference for the Alpine bottling over the Skyline Vineyard, but this is not the case in 2016, where this vineyard seems to have absolutely nailed the vintage (or vice versa). The bouquet is superb, delivering a vibrant and very pure mix of black cherries, sweet dark berries, bitter chocolate, woodsmoke, a touch of pomegranate, a beautifully complex base of mineral shadings, a bit of cumin and cedar. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and nicely reserved in personality, with a lovely core, great balance and grip, fine-grained tannins and stunning length on the pure and energetic finish. This is a great wine in the making! 2024-2060.95+.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018)The 2016 Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard is another stellar wine in this range. Deceptively medium in body, the Skyline is translucent, focus and lifted, yet also packs a serious punch. Beams of underlying tannin give the wine much of its shape and salivating energy. This is another wine in which the 100% whole clusters are impeccably balanced. In this tasting, the Skyline impresses for its completeness, as it really plays in all dimensions. What a gorgeous wine it is.95+.
Home Vineyard
2016 Home Vineyard Pinot Noir
2016 Home Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml $79/btl
William Kelly, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (May 2018) The 2016 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard reveals a deep-pitched bouquet of plummy fruit, raw cocoa, potpourri, cinnamon and nutmeg. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, tense and chalky, with a fine-grained but tight-knit chassis of tannins and a long, sappy finish. Vinified with 100% whole cluster, this is taut and structural right now, so plan on cellaring it for 5-6 years, perhaps longer, and following it for the subsequent 10-15 years.93+.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) The 2016 Home Vineyard bottling from Rhys is also a fine wine in the making, but this is a touch lower in alcohol than the Family Farm (12.3 percent) and is a bit more tightly-knit out of the blocks as a result. The bouquet is beautifully precise and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a black fruity mix of cassis, dark berries, espresso, a hint of graphite, a lovely base of dark soil tones and a bit of bonfire in the upper register. On the palate the wine is fullish, pure and still fairly primary, with lovely intensity of flavor, refined tannins, tangy acids and lovey focus and grip on the long and classy finish. While I would not feel guilty about drinking another bottle of Family Farm tomorrow, the Home Vineyard bottling in 2016 really deserves at least a few more years in the cellar to properly blossom. 2021-2045+. 92+.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018) The 2016 Home Vineyard bottling from Rhys is also a fine wine in the making, but this is a touch lower in alcohol than the Family Farm (12.3 percent) and is a bit more tightly-knit out of the blocks as a result. The bouquet is beautifully precise and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a black fruity mix of cassis, dark berries, espresso, a hint of graphite, a lovely base of dark soil tones and a bit of bonfire in the upper register. On the palate the wine is fullish, pure and still fairly primary, with lovely intensity of flavor, refined tannins, tangy acids and lovey focus and grip on the long and classy finish. While I would not feel guilty about drinking another bottle of Family Farm tomorrow, the Home Vineyard bottling in 2016 really deserves at least a few more years in the cellar to properly blossom. 2021-2045+. 95.
Horseshoe Vineyard
2015 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Syrah
2015 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Syrah 750ml $89/btl
2015 Rhys Horseshoe Vineyard Syrah Magnum $199/btl
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018) The 2015 Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard is quite rich, and yet it also has tremendous freshness, especially within the context of the year. Today, the Syrah is a bit more reticent than it was from barrel, but all the ingredients are present for the 2016 to blossom into a spectacular wine over time. The Syrah spends six months in French oak and a second year in cask. Time in cask seems to really bring out striking detail and structure while maintaining a good deal of freshness as well. 96+.
John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018) As I mentioned last year, with the 2014 vintage, there is only a Horseshoe Vineyard bottling of Syrah from Rhys Vineyards, as their parcel of this variety in their Skyline Vineyard was budded over to pinot noir. Given how beautiful the 2016 Skyline pinot is this year (please see below), it is hard to argue with the decision to expand the pinot noir in this vineyard, but at the same time, this 2015 Horseshoe Vineyard syrah is a pretty strong argument that less Rhys syrah is not the most desirable solution! The 2015 Horseshoe Syrah is a brilliant wine in the making, coming in at a cool 12.9 percent alcohol and delivering a stunning bouquet of cassis, pepper, black olive, a very complex base of minerality, just a whisper of cedary wood and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and very elegant in profile, with a fine core, great soil signature, ripe, suave tannins and outstanding length and grip on the pure and nascently complex finish. This is young, but its future greatness is already very, very easy to appreciate. 2025-2075. 95.
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