2023 Rhys Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains
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Tasting notes
Blending grapes from Mt. Pajaro Vineyard, Alpine, and Horseshoe, the 2023 Pinot Noir exemplifies the old adage that the sum can be greater than the parts, exuding tension and sinewy red fruit within supple complexity. Without whole-cluster fermentation, the wine spent 15 months on the lees and was then blended off the lees then aged 18 months in air-dried French oak. The tannins are smooth and silky, allowing the purity of the Bing cherry and pomegranate to glide along the palate spiced in cardamom and forest floor. This is a delicious, medium-bodied wine that overdelivers (and then some) on its price point. Drink now through 2035.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Matthew Luczy, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains) shows all the hallmarks of the appellation. Underbrush, garrigue , mint and tart cherry meld with blood orange zest and a pulse of minerality that runs through from start to finish. There’s more Mt. Pajaro in the blend this year, lending a saline snap and added tension through the close. Lively, nuanced and expressive, it’s pure Santa Cruz Mountains, and certainly one of the most overdelivering appellation bottlings in the canon of California Pinot Noir.
The 2023 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains perfectly encapsulates the region and vintage, opening with a bright, coniferous bouquet with orange blossom, pine needles and turned soil flourishes. The palate is soft and silky with a deceptive amount of concentration, releasing into a poised, even-keeled finish that balances earthy undertones, purity of fruit and a refined tannin profile.