2018 | Rhys Vineyards | Horseshoe Vineyard Chardonnay

Lemon confit, orchard fruit, matchstick, tangerine oil and a range of saline-infused notes all run through the 2018, a Chardonnay that exudes finesse, elegance and a real sense of energy.

Reviews:

• Jeb Dunnuck: Always a singular, exotic wine, the 2018 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard has an incredible bouquet of crushed stone, gunpowder, tart pineapple, caramelized lemons, and musky flowers. As with all these 2018s, it has a bright spine of acidity yet is concentrated and balanced, with a wonderful texture and a great finish. This is world-class, age-worthy Chardonnay.

• John Gilman: The wine was bottled fairly reductively, so it takes a bit of time in the glass to blossom, but eventually soars from the glass in a blend of pear, apple, salty minerality, white flowers, iodine, a bit of almond and a deft framing of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is bright, zesty and full-bodied, with great mineral undertow, a fine core, lovely focus and grip and a long, nascently complex and vibrant finish. This will need some bottle age to blossom, as it is more reserved in personality out of the blocks than either the Bearwallow or Mt. Pajaro bottlings.

Producer Information

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.

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