2015 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
The 2015 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley is already quite expressive, exhibiting attractively lifted aromas of sweet red berries, blood orange, cocoa nib, subtle spices and rich soil. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and expansive, with juicy acids and a juicy core of sapid fruit, framed by rich, fine-grained tannins. While this will certainly reward a few years in the cellar, it won't be a crime to pull corks today. Note that from 2016 onward, this cuvée will bear the Alesia label.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Leading off the wines from Mendocino, the straight 2015 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley is terrific. Black raspberries, singed herbs, earth and sappy flower notes all emerge from this supple, textured 2015 that’s already a joy to drink. It’s certainly one of the more approachable in the lineup, yet like all the wines from this estate, it’s going to keep nicely for a decade due to its balance and classic style. This was a terrific lineup of 2015s from the team at Rhys. Across the board, these are tight and structured, with terrific concentration. Give them a few years of bottle age. Unfortunately, due to the devastating yields, there’s no Skyline Vineyard or Hillside releases in 2015s. In addition, they have a new estate vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains (bringing their total to seven estate vineyards) that will be coming on line over the next couple of years. Named Mount Pajaro Vineyard, the site was planted in 2010 and covers 18 acres in the southern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, planted all with high density, 3.5 feet row spacing. Harvey commented that they’ve learned a lot over the past decade planting their other estate properties and they’re excited about the quality of this site.