2009 Alpine Vineyard Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
The 2012 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard opens with attractive scents of lemon peel, apricot, slate and chamomile. Slightly reductive in its aromatics and persistent on the finish, the 2012 offers exceptional finesse in a brilliant style long on focus and tension. This is pure class. (AG)
Critic scores
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The Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard is absolutely stunning! Giving up incredible notes of flinty minerality, green citrus, lemon curd and exotic flowers, this beautiful Chardonnay builds on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness, vibrant acidity and a clean, laser-focused finish that just keeps going. It continues to gain in richness with time in the glass, yet never loses its classy, pure and elegant demeanor. (JD)
The 2009 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard is the most vibrant, mineral-laced of these 2009 Chardonnays. Clean, mineral notes frame the fruit all the way through to the vibrant, pointed finish. This is a terrific effort from Rhys. Bright citrus and crushed rocks frame the finish. The 2007, which I tasted alongside it, has aged gracefully.
The 2009 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard is the most vibrant, mineral-laced of these 2009 Chardonnays. Clean, mineral notes frame the fruit all the way through to the vibrant, pointed finish. This is a terrific effort from Rhys. Bright citrus and crushed rocks frame the finish. The 2007, which I tasted alongside it, has aged gracefully. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Inspired by a love for Burgundy, proprietor Kevin Harvey has set his sights on making top-flight Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Pinots in particular are exceptional for their sheer personality, but I also think the wines could also prove to be some of the most long-lived Pinots from California because of their minerality and structure. I tasted a wide range of wines with Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman, including a number of older Pinots going back to 2006. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) none of those older wines appears close to being ready to drink! The Rhys team is obsessed with their vineyards. Everything else is fairly straightforward. The Chardonnays are vinified using ambient yeasts. The wines are not racked until they are prepared for bottling, which is done with no fining or filtration. The Pinots are made in a similarly minimalist fashion, with a high percentage of stems (50-100%) and little manipulation in the cellar. Harvey describes 2009 as a cooler vintage overall than 2008. Tel. (866) 511-1520; www.rhysvineyards.com