My recent road trip to Rhys Vineyards, perched deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was unforgettable and long overdue. Within minutes of arriving, we were on the ridge discussing terroir and topography with their director; then we were off to explore the snaking cellar beneath their home vineyard; and finally, we tasted through a mixed bag of current releases, new projects, and back vintages. That’s how we came to be the proud owners of today’s remarkably supple and perfumed 2016 “Alesia” Pinot Noir. Except, curiously, it isn’t from Santa Cruz, but rather their lone estate vineyard way up in Anderson Valley, in a little patch called “The Deep End.”

There are a lot of luxury-level California Pinots out there, and as most scale the ladder in price, so do their oak, alcohol, and extract. Not Rhys. Never Rhys! Instead of following the “bigger is better” tagline, Rhys promotes and infuses their wines with genuine soil character, freshness, and elegance. Across the board, Rhys has consistently shown a deft touch with true cool-climate Pinot Noirs, and when they tack on a few years of bottle age, like today’s beauty, one gets to experience the full panorama. As this is a limited library release, purchases must be capped at six bottles each. 

Rhys’ first estate parcel was owner Kevin Harvey’s quarter-acre “Home Vineyard” in the hills of Woodside, California, planted in 1995. In the years since, Harvey and the Rhys team have vastly expanded their presence in the Santa Cruz Mountains, developing new sites throughout the appellation through rigorous, and borderline “mad scientist,” soil research. At present, they farm six different vineyards within the Santa Cruz Mountains—but today, we're homing in on their only site outside of the appellation, 150 miles north of home base: Bearwallow Vineyard, in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. Why did they seek out this land? I’ll let them tell you: “The geology in the valley is quite diverse but includes a band of rocky southwest facing hillsides that produce intense, mineral-driven wines of great elegance. Our Bearwallow vineyard [is] in the coolest northwest corner or “Deep End” of the valley where we have planted 31 acres.” What’s more, the soils here are a rich mosaic of shale, quartz, and sandstone that have two-million-year-old origins. 

Previously, the Alesia label was for Rhys wines produced from purchased fruit, but they’ve since done a 180, and starting with this vintage, they are now 100% estate-grown “appellation” wines that are crafted to be more accessible in their youth. In essence, Alesia is for broader appellation classifications such as ‘Anderson Valley,’ without any mention of a single vineyard site; henceforth the Rhys name will be used for single-vineyard bottlings.

The 2016 “Alesia” Anderson Valley bottling is a barrel selection entirely from the Bearwallow Vineyard which is farmed with both organic and biodynamic practices. The de-stemmed grapes fermented on native yeasts in one-ton stainless steel vessels, and the skins were trodden by foot twice daily. Aging occurred in French oak barrels, just 11% new, for 18 months before bottling. In short, Rhys captured plenty of ripeness but also a level of tension and elegance that only the very best Californian wines manage to preserve.

As Kevin Harvey figured out a while ago, sometimes you don’t have to go further than your own backyard for a great Pinot Noir. This 2016 spills out perfumed, high-toned aromas of black raspberry, juicy wild plums, Kola nut, dewy rose petal, and sweet licorice before unveiling more delicate notes of damp moss, forest floor, loose tea, and baking spice. The palate is soft, lushly textured, and medium-bodied with a juicy layer bear-hugging a strong mineral core throughout. Not only is it a perfect introduction to Rhys, but also the Anderson Valley and California wine as a whole! I suggest decanting a bottle about a half-hour before serving in large Burgundy stems at a brisk 60 degrees, and if you can keep your hands off the others, I suspect it’ll make California proud by evolving beautifully for another five years, if not longer. Cheers!