Rhys’s “off the charts” mailing-list-only Chardonnay
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- 97 pts Wine Advocate97 pts RPWA
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2021 Rhys Vineyards Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
California’s Coastal Grand Cru
At this point, there’s no debate: Rhys Vineyards is one of the greatest Chardonnay producers on the globe.
“With each passing vintage,” wrote Antonio Galloni of Vinous, “the wines continue to improve to the point where comparisons to the best estates in California are increasingly less relevant. Rhys is world class. It's as simple as that.” Wine Advocate called them “a benchmark for winemakers on both sides of the Atlantic to constantly examine and push their methods and perspectives.”
That’s because Rhys founder Kevin Harvey’s passion for the details of winegrowing may be unmatched in California.
The Horseshoe Vineyard sits in Rhys’s Santa Cruz Mountains back yard, just ten miles from the foggy, dramatic Northern California coast. The steep south-facing site, which sits on a base of diatomaceous soil and Monterey shale, is planted with nearly 18 acres of vines, but just 3.5 acres of precious Chardonnay. At 1,500 feet of elevation, cooled by the Pacific fog, this is a prime place to grow exquisite wine.
Rhys’s methods are as remarkable as their sites. In their modern 30,000 foot facility dug into the hillside off of Alpine Road, the harvested fruit is unloaded into a 40-degree room. All grapes are hand-sorted and gravity-fed into small tanks in a painstaking process that ensures that only the very best fruit makes the cut, then is handled as gently as possible. This Chardonnay spent 12 months in 15-20% new French oak, then six months in tank to come together before bottling.
This is a world-class Chardonnay. Whether you’ve never had the pleasure or are an avid Rhys fan, don’t miss it.