With vineyards in both Santa Cruz and Mendocino counties, Rhys can pull from a variety of sources to make a variety of Pinot Noir. With Bearwallow, their vineyard in the Anderson Valley, there is a delicate and quite lovely feel to this – something as smooth as silk. The softness texturally belies its layered complexity. Yes there is the requisite black cherry, boysenberry, loganberry and light strawberry, but there is also black tea leaf, light resin and sandalwood.
Back around the turn of the century, I drank a lot of this wine from the 90's and the 00's. For no reason in particular, it fell off my radar, so it was fun to revisit this. And, I plan on buying more. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is great. Powerful with black raspberries, cedar, black pepper, spice, dust and slight gravel notes. Firm tannins. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, black raspberries, black cherries, some gravel and spice. Long finish. This is a big wine but not over blown. Fresh with lots of energy. This is nice on its own and will work well with
This is mostly Tempranillo but also has 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo (according to the label). This is everything one wants in a Gran Reserva including a reasonable price! Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cherries, slight sour cherries, balsamic vinegar, vanilla and forest floor. Full bodied. Medium tannins. Good balance. On the palate, this has a nice complexity and depth. Flavors of cherries, black cherries, wild herbs, spice and slight tobacco notes. Long finish. Mature but plenty of life left. Drink over the next fifteen years. This is great on its