2016 Syrah Horseshoe 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.

Proprietor Kevin Harvey calls 2015 the most concentrated vintage he has seen yet at Rhys because of the small berries and low yields that are such a signature of a growing season in which the typically paltry Santa Cruz Mountains yields were reduced even further by poor weather during flowering. As a result, Rhys did not bottle their Pinot Noir Swan Terrace or Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard. Not surprisingly, 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. Stylistically, the Chardonnays are all a bit riper in style and seem to reflect the challenges of the year more than the Pinots, something I saw at other estates as well. I also tasted a handful of 2016 Pinots that will be offered as futures. I found more aromatic lift and less overt concentration than in either 2015 and 2014. The sampIes I tasted suggest 2016 will turn out to be another brilliant vintage at Rhys. Lastly, while Rhys has received notable acclaim for their Pinots and Chardonnays, the lone Syrah remains one of the very finest wines being made in California today. Readers should not miss it!