Introducing Rhys Sparkling Wine!
The Rhys sparkling wine idea gestated and evolved for many years. It began as a conversation with our Champagne-loving spouses and gained steam while observing the revolution brought about by the grower movement in Champagne over a decade ago. As with many endeavors, the first step is to clarify the objectives. In our opinion, a great American sparkling wine would feature the elegance and balance of Champagne but highlight the unique expression of our very different soils. After some investigation and experimentation, we concluded that to fully achieve these stylistic goals, we would need to start “from the ground up” and plant specific sparkling-dedicated blocks in our vineyards. There were several considerations. First and foremost, great sparkling wine needs the tension and minerality that only rocky soils can provide. Fortunately, this is also a requirement for the location of our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. However, achieving the finesse, weightlessness and balance that we desired would be more challenging.
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Through an introduction from a Burgundian friend, we were very fortunate to meet one of the greatest producers of grower Champagne, Rodolphe Peters of Champagne Pierre Peters. Even more fortuitously, Rodolphe had an interest in producing sparkling wine in California and agreed to collaborate with us. Working with Rodolphe has been incredibly interesting and illuminating. Growing up immersed in Champagne traditions at his family’s domaine, Rodolphe’s lifetime of sparkling wine production experience has helped him develop a very gifted palate for blending. This blending skill is critical in order to envision the final results while blending the base wines for sparkling production. We feel very fortunate to have his help!
After so many years of planning, hard work and building anticipation, we are extremely excited to offer the first results of these efforts, the 2015 Bearwallow Blanc de Blancs! Made entirely of Chardonnay in a very dry, minimal dosage style, it offers a smoky mineral aromatic, weightless lively palate and a crisp long finish that highlights the iodine-like soil signature of Bearwallow vineyard.
Without prior experience understanding our customer’s interest in this wine, it was not possible to offer guaranteed allocations. Instead we have kept the allocations low and offered on a “first come first served” basis with the expectation that most of the wine will be granted on through the wishlist feature. This should help ensure that long-time customers will have access to the wine and past patronage will be rewarded. It is important to note that about 40% of the production was bottled in magnums. Magnums can be a superior format for the aging of sparkling wine and are fantastic for the festive occasions where sparkling wine is often served!
While this first release is limited, we have many future sparkling wine offerings aging “en tirage” in our cave. Aging “en tirage”, a process of bottle-aging on the yeast that created the bubbles, is a critical step for developing the complexity of great Champagne-style wine. Each year these bottles will be tasted to determine which bottlings are ready for our annual sparkling wine offering. Currently, these bottlings include vineyard-designated Blanc Des Blancs from Bearwallow and Mt. Pajaro as well as a traditional blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and multi-vintage “solera”.
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