2022 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard

From a steep site divided into half-acre tightly spaced blocks, the majority of which is planted to Pinot Noir, 2022 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is from a site surrounded by redwood and bay trees, which show in up both aromatically and on the palate. Sinewy and savory, this medium-bodied wine exudes soft, silky layers marked by pine resin, leather, and even caramel, the fruit subtle in raspberry and fig. There’s plenty of structure here for aging; enjoy best from 2027-2037. Rhys has two estates in California, one in Anderson Valley called Bearwallow and an estate winery and six estate vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Its Santa Cruz winery, where organic and dry farming are typical, is set across the fault line from Ridge Monte Bello and Mount Eden. The first commercial release was 2004. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and sparkling wines are all made by winemaker Jeff Brinkman and sold direct, with these ocean-influenced wines considered among the finest in the state.

Ever the introvert, at least initially, the 2022 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard opens with a classically shy, inward and coiled nose of turned earth, fresh herbs, black cherries, pomegranates and blood orange rinds. Despite this relatively reticent entrance, it endlessly unfolds and segues into its three-dimensional form, aromatically developing alongside its persistently expansive and definitively exquisite palate. It concludes with a typically weightless finish, adding evermore juicy, plush concentration with time in the glass, with an extremely fine-grained and wide tannin structure. It's a wine of pure class and allure.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard is a wine for readers who can be patient. In 2022, the Alpine offers a bit more up-front fruit, but it is not too long before its characteristic mineral and savory signatures make an appearance. Taut and beautifully persistent, the 2022 is also quite reticent today. But that's exactly what readers have come to expect here. The long, intensely saline finish is richly evocative of what lies ahead. - Antonio Galloni