2017 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard

This is a stellar set of wines from Rhys, proprietor Kevin Harvey and longtime winemaker Jeff Brinkman. From Chardonnay to Pinot to Syrah, and now Chenin, Rhys just does so many things so well. The Pinots are floral and savory, at times with some whole cluster influence, and plenty of site transparency. As is the case throughout the region, the 2017s are on the lighter side, but here they also have plenty of character. The Chardonnays are equally distinctive, although they typically need more time in bottle to be at their most expressive. In my view, the best wine at Rhys might very well be the Syrah, which oozes with personality and class, yet has a much lower profile than most of the wines in this range. Lastly, many readers have asked me to comment on Rhys's recent settlement with the California State Water Resources Control Board. There appear to be a number of issues at play, including a lack of proper permitting and the destruction of wetlands. These are vitally important subjects, but they are also far outside my area of expertise. For that reason, I prefer to focus my comments to what I think a wine publication should do - asses the quality of what is in the glass.