by Matthew Luczy, April 18th 2024
https://www.robertparker.com/

“Two decades into its existence, Rhys is proof-positive that any perceived chasm between Burgundy, California or elsewhere is as much about meticulous planning and obsessive attention to detail as raw materials and potential. In this regard, they are leading the way in closing the gap and should be a benchmark for winemakers on both sides of the Atlantic to constantly examine and push their methods and perspectives.”

After a very difficult year in 2020, Mother Nature provided far more ideal conditions in 2021.

Rhys, from the Santa Cruz Mountains, also falls into this category, especially with their latest 2019s, which are some of the more structured, savory wines I’ve tasted from them.

As readers will see, the 2019s are positively stellar across the board. Some of the most impressive wines in this year’s lineup are from Mt. Pajaro, a relatively new development in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains where the wines have improved dramatically in a very short period of time.

by Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (September 2020)

“Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from this estate and these are world-class, age-worthy Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that are as good as anything out there.”

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (September 2020)

“Two thousand eighteen is the perfect vintage to explore the vineyards in the Rhys range, as the wines are so precise, so defined.”

by John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2018)

“The mineral drive of all of these Santa Cruz Mountain pinots from Rhys is very impressive this year.”

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2018)

This is a positively stellar set of wines from proprietor Kevin Harvey and longtime winemaker Jeff Brinkman. Harvey describes 2016 as having a warm spring before reverting to a more normal weather pattern beginning in July. Yields at Rhys were low, but not as dramatically low as in 2015. In tasting, the wines are silky, perfumed and highly nuanced.

by Will Kelly, Wine Advocate, Interim End of May 2018 Issue

“All the Rhys wines start life quite tight-knit and firmly structured, though my sense is that the Pinot Noir vintages from this decade are more structurally refined than those from the last. They do seem to open up and become expressive more rapidly than their qualitative equivalents from the Côte d’Or, but five or six years of cellaring is certainly recommended, even required. “

by Will Kelly, Wine Advocate, Interim End of May 2018 Issue

“I also encourage readers not to miss the Chardonnays, which are without doubt among the best being produced in North America.”

by John Gilman, View From the Cellar (July – August 2017)

“…I would not touch a bottle (if I could help it!) until the wine has had at least three or four years in the cellar, as there are simply too many good things still to come…”

by Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (August 2017)

“Across the board, these are tight and structured, with terrific concentration. Give them a few years of bottle age.”

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (August 2017)

“I found the 2015 Pinots to be quite dark in flavor profile and densely packed. Silky tannins give the wines a certain degree of approachability, especially among the appellation level Pinots, but I expect the top wines in this range will need a number of years to unwind and be at their true best.

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media (July 2016)

“That said, yields in 2014 were the lowest of the three drought vintages of 2012-2014, with a bit more overall stress in the vineyards given the length of the cycle. The conditions resulted in a set of powerful, intense wines. Harvey adds that acids were generally higher than 2013, but not as high as 2012.”

By Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

“…is a tour de force in Pinot Noir from California!”

by John Gilman, View From the Cellar

“My gut instinct is that some 2014s will eclipse their 2013 counterparts with sufficient bottle age… the 2014 lineup is an absolutely outstanding follow-up to the vinous fireworks here from the 2013 vintage, and no one is going to be disappointed in having any of the 2014s from Rhys Vineyards in their cellar for future enjoyment. “

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

By Jeb Dunnuck, The Wine Advocate

“Kevin Harvey and his team at Rhys have hit homeruns in 2013 and these latest releases are some of the top Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays coming out of California today.”

by John Gilman

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

“With each passing vintage, the wines continue to improve to the point where comparisons to the best estates in California are increasingly less relevant. Rhys is world class. It’s as simple as that.”

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

by John Gilman.

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

“Readers who can find the wines should not hesitate, as these are quite possibly the best back-to-back vintages in Rhys’s short history thus far. It is impossible not to marvel at what Harvey and his team have achieved in just a few years. The Rhys Pinots aren’t just modern-day reference points for California, they are now among the greatest Pinot Noirs being made anywhere in the world.”

by Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar

“2012 was “a godsend”… an example of Mother Nature at her benign best”

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

“Owner Kevin Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman continue to fashion truly remarkable wines, indeed they are consistently among the best examples that California has to offer.”

by Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

“What is the most overlooked terroir in California? It is a question I am asked often. The answer is always the same: The Santa Cruz Mountains. These rugged hillsides just south of San Francisco are home to some of the world’s greatest vineyards and wines. Fabulous, age-worthy Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and Cabernet Sauvignon-based reds all flourish on these dramatic mountain sites.

…. even at the highest level – remain very fairly priced next to global benchmarks. And make no mistake about it, the top Santa Cruz wines are among the world’s elite.”

by John Gilman, View From The Cellar

” Wines from the likes of producers such as Rhys … are really stunning testaments to just what is possible when pinot noir is planted in the right places in California and produced in such a way as to maximize its varietal purity and transparency of soil signature. ”

” … I tasted some absolutely stellar young examples from the likes of Rhys Vineyards … that also looked built for the long haul … “

by Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar
“We’ve never worked so hard for so little wine,” Kevin Harvey told me as we tasted through his 2011s. “We just got murdered” on yields…

“…Harvey has at least temporarily revived his negociant label, Alesia, for 2011 “because we had access to fruit grown in great vineyards by people we trust…”

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

“… owner Kevin Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman continue to fashion truly remarkable wines…

Their winemaking process, from harvest to bottling, is based on a gentle gravity system and Rhys wines are never pumped, fined, or filtered.”

by Josh Reynolds, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

This relatively new winery has probably made as big an immediate splash as I can recall in California, and the wines, which are far more about finesse and complexity than extroverted fruit, are already extremely difficult to find but are absolutely worth the effort to track down.

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

“Simply put, they are unlike any other pinots being crafted in California today. I hasten to point out that this is not because their methods are radically different (there are others who use very high percentages of whole cluster ferments along with natural yeasts). No, the difference is straightforward: it is because Harvey has chosen his vineyard sites with a keen eye and then obsessively developed them with the one goal of obtaining fruit that expresses unerringly the uniqueness of site. Simply put, these are terroir-driven wines par excellence.”

by Josh Reynolds, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

“…the forward nature of his 2009s, which he calls “well-concentrated,” will allow them to be drunk with pleasure on the young side while his “even more concentrated” 2008s will need more bottle age.”

by John Gilman, View From The Cellar

“In a very short span of years Rhys Vineyards has clearly become one of the finest estates in all of California…”

“The current batch of wines at Rhys are the finest yet to be produced by the estate and will be well worth a special search to locate.”

by Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

“Inspired by a love for Burgundy, proprietor Kevin Harvey has set his sights on making top-flight Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Pinots in particular are exceptional for their sheer personality, but I also think the wines could also prove to be some of the most long-lived Pinots from California because of their minerality and structure.”

by Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate

“Inspired by a love for Burgundy, proprietor Kevin Harvey has set his sights on making top-flight Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Pinots in particular are exceptional for their sheer personality, but I also think the wines could also prove to be some of the most long-lived Pinots from California because of their minerality and structure.”

by Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

“… owner Kevin Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman continue to fashion truly remarkable wines…

One other aspect that I find fascinating is that the character of each vineyard is becoming more evident with each passing vintage …”

by Josh Raynolds, International Wine Cellar

“Winemaker Jeff Brinkman called 2010 “a terroir vintage, whereas 2009 was a weather vintage. The ’10s have a site transparency to them and a mineral pungency while the ’09s are more about fruit.”

“This strikingly elegant, precise pinot was among the highlights of my spring trip.”

by Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate (August 2012)

“The result is a series of breathtaking wines, Pinots especially, that are among the finest being made in the United States.”

“… there is no question these are exciting, compelling wines of the highest level.”