Wine Advisor
Rhys, Bearwallow Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is a soft, seductive wine. Silky tannins frame the floral, red and purplish berry fruit nicely. This is one of the more nuanced and delicate wines in the range. In fact, the Bearwallow comes across as a bit hushed today relative to how it showed from barrel. There is plenty to admire in the 2016. Best of all, the Bearwallow should drink well with minimal cellaring.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard is a wine of aromatic lift, freshness and energy. It is also less overt than prior years, the 2014 and 2015 in particular. Fresh red berry fruit and floral notes are supported by beams of salinity that extend the finish nicely. The 2016 is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. At present, the Bearwallow includes lots that will eventually be used for the Anderson Valley appellation wine, so there is good reason to believe that the Bearwallow Pinot will be even stronger than this note suggests.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The most approachable of Rhys' vineyard-designate Pinot Noirs, the 2016 Pinot Noir Bearwallow Vineyard offers up expressive aromas of black plums, wild berries, peonies and rich soil. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's supple and layered, with a juicy core of crunchy fruit, succulent acids and lovely declination. Already integrated and giving, drink it over the next decade or more.
About the Producer
Rhys Vineyards is a well-regarded wine producer based in the Santa Cruz Mountains and sourcing fruit from mountain vineyards both in the Santa Cruz Mountain AVA and the Anderson Valley AVA, some 150 miles (240km) north. The Californian estate, which established its first vineyards in the mid-1990s, focuses on three grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Six of the estate's vineyards are based in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the south of San Francisco. These vineyards all differ slightly in terms of terroir, particularly when it comes to soil and aspect. The soil types range from clay loam to shallow, rocky soils – all giving distinct characters in the final wines. The individual vineyards' mesoclimates are largely dependent on their aspects and degrees of slope, as each has a different exposure to sunlight and breezes from the nearby Pacific. One of the vineyards, Skyline, is one of California's highest vineyards, at an altitude of 2360ft (720m) above sea level. Rhys Vineyards make a range of single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, as well as several Chardonnay and Syrah wines. The company also has a 14-hectare (35-acre) site in Anderson Valley planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In the winery, grapes are vinified by block in small, one-ton fermentation tanks. The grapes are treaded by foot, instead of using mechanical punchdowns or pumpovers. Rhys Vineyards uses natural yeasts for fermentation, and the wines are aged in French oak.