2015 Horseshoe Vineyard Pinot Noir
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As usual, the 2015 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is one of the more tightly coiled wines in the range this year, opening in the glass with coaxing to reveal a youthful bouquet of dark berries, exotic spice, currant leaf and complex savory bass notes. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, tangy and tensile, with a firm core of crunchy, concentrated fruit framed by fine-grained tannins and bright balancing acids. At this early stage, it's hard to say whether the 2015 or 2016 Horseshoe will prove superior, as they're both so tight-knit, but I wouldn't bet against the 2015 (which incorporates all the fruit that goes into the Hillside bottling when yields are more plentiful).
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2015 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard is tight and closed, with a mineral, savory quality to it red currants, spice and dried herbs aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, concentrated and with a solid core of sweet fruit, it needs a year of bottle age and will keep for a decade. This was a terrific lineup of 2015s from the team at Rhys. Across the board, these are tight and structured, with terrific concentration. Give them a few years of bottle age. Unfortunately, due to the devastating yields, there’s no Skyline Vineyard or Hillside releases in 2015s. In addition, they have a new estate vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains (bringing their total to seven estate vineyards) that will be coming on line over the next couple of years. Named Mount Pajaro Vineyard, the site was planted in 2010 and covers 18 acres in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, planted all with high density, 3.5 feet row spacing. Harvey commented that they’ve learned a lot over the past decade planting their other estate properties and they’re excited about the quality of this site.
One of the highlights in this range, the 2015 Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard takes over all the senses and never lets up. The aromatics alone are extraordinary. Powerful and yet also beautifully layered in the glass, the 2015 exudes raciness. In this vintage, the Horseshoe has a Syrah-like intensity and spiciness that is impossible to miss. The Horseshoe was done with fully destemmed fruit. Yields were a paltry 0.25 tons per acre. In a word: magnificent!