2018 Rhys Vineyards Mt. Pajaro Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Vinous - "The 2018 Pinot Noir Mt. Pajaro Vineyard is a dark, dense beauty. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, spice, leather and menthol all flesh out in a somber, potent wine built on serious concentration. This decidedly virile Pinot needs time to come around. Today, it is somewhat of a brute, but it is nevertheless a remarkable wine from young vines that were only planted in 2011. It will be interesting to see if the Mt. Pajaro Pinot acquires more finesse as the vines get older, as the other Rhys Pinots have."


Jeb Dunnuck - "Also upfront and already expressive, the 2018 Pinot Noir Mt. Pajaro Vineyard comes from a slightly higher elevation site (1,000 feet) in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is a mix of heritage clones and massale selection. Darker currants, raspberries, scorched earth, spice, and earthy, foresty notes dominate the bouquet, and this medium to full-bodied, elegant 2018 has beautiful tannins, a solid sense of minerality, and a great finish. "


John Gilman - "Last year’s 2017 was the first release of pinot noir from the Mount Pajaro Vineyard that I have tasted from Kevin Harvey and his talented team at Rhys Vineyards and it was very good. The follow-up 2018 version is every bit as fine, offering up a black fruity and classy nose of cassis, black tea, a fine base of dark soil tones, a bit of smoked meats, lovely fresh herb tones (mostly thyme and mustard seed), cedar and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused, soil-driven and nicely spicy (from the whole clusters), with a fine core of fruit, suave, buried tannins, tangy acids and excellent length and grip on the complex and very well-balanced finish. This comes in at 13.8 percent octane this year, but seems cooler in personality. Once again, this strikes me as the most Gevrey-Chambertin-like of the Rhys pinot noir bottlings. Fine juice"


Burghound - "A mild whiff of menthol can be found on the equally floral-suffused nose of poached plum and spice-scented nose that is trimmed in just enough wood to notice. There is good vibrancy to the delicious and powerful full-bodied flavors that retain a good sense of detail on the very firmly structured bitter cherry pit-inflected finish. This is a powerful, bold and robust effort that makes it unambiguously clear that it is intended for extended cellaring. *Outstanding*"