2015 Rhys Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard

The 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is laced with the essence of crushed rocks, white pepper, orchard fruit, white flowers, chalk and mint. It is a bit less forthcoming than the Alpine Chardonnay. Saline notes build into the palate staining finish. This classically austere young Chardonnay just needs time in bottle. Tasted next to the Alpine, the Horseshoe has more mid-palate weight and feeling of phenolic intensity. The differences between the two are remarkable considering the sites are just 400 yards apart. The Horseshoe is planted on Monterey shale, while the soils at Alpine are Purisima, a formation that is about 8 million years younger. Such is the complexity of the Santa Cruz Mountains. (AG)

The 2015 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is more aromatically shy than its Alpine counterpart, unfurling with aeration to reveal a complex nose of crisp green orchard fruit, white flowers, subtle beeswax and oyster shell. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, intense and tightly coiled, with a bright line of acidity and an unmistakable stony, saline quality that defies the taster not to invoke the much-abused term "minerality." Beautifully delineated and pure, this could also go toe to toe with Burgundy's best, but it will demand 4 or 5 years of bottle age before it realizes its full potential.

The 2015 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is also world class. Slightly more aromatic and exuberant than the Alpine Vineyard, yet with slightly less density on the palate, it gives up a masculine, mineral-laced style in its orchard fruits, fennel, wet stone, campsite and citrus aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, bright acidity and a clean, classic and structured finish, it should be better in another year and keep through 2027. 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.