Rhys, Bearwallow Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley

Oh, I love this wine!. And I so love Anderson/Bearwallow for its bright cherry, fruit and distinctive spices, the kind you find in Vosne! This one was shining right when the cork was pulled. Bright cherries, currants, and all manner of Christmas and holiday spices, assault the sense is all at once. I love it when the nose and the pallet vie for attention. On one hand, there’s a currant/persimmon compote wafting from the glass, with stem-like spices exuding from …

2010 vintage

From 375 Clear bright ruby Fresh cranberry nose and flavors Seemingly completely resolved at this point. Drinking well now

2014 vintage

Stood up for 4 days and then decanted off fine. Sediment. This is almost 3 hours after decant. Nice aromas of dark cherries, soy sauce, sous bois, damp Earth and bark. Palate with lovely dark cherries, bark, mild sous bois, minerals and herbs. Medium body with very nice acids and mild tannins on the mid palate. There's also a real nice velvety mouth feel particularly on the mid palate. But somewhat simple finish of dark cherries, bark and maybe some …

2014 vintage

Much better than the Family Farms with the soaked cork. This has the ephemeral bouquet that the best Rhys have. Excellent PN.

2014 vintage

il miglior fabbro (södermalm) : Great wine! At first there is a lean, tarry, salmiac liquorice flavor to it that makes me think of lean Sonoma coast or walla walla in the rocks Syrah. After some air time the blackberries come to the fore and the integrated and seamless wine we have in our glasses after an hour is near perfect. Silky and dark berried and so nice.

2014 vintage

Ready to go. Sweet fruit mixed with earth and slight barnyard.

2014 vintage

Really good. Still very friendly, while having aged well.

2010 vintage

i have not been a big fan of this bottling, but this may be the best bottle yet. Did I open the others too early? PnP. Aromas of strawberries, spice, black cherries, and earth. Medium bodied with strawberry, spice, black cherry, earth flavors. Light tannins in the finish. Good acidity. Has improved with time with a long silky finish. very enjoyable.

2014 vintage

375 ml bottle. All black fruits, nicely rich and well spiced with overall good balance, if not necessarily the most elegant Rhys. I like this more than the 2014 Horseshoe.

2014 vintage

From 500mL On the nose, bright and aromatic - dry, baking spices, pomegranate, cherry notes. More dry tart cherry, earthy medium body and finish. Balanced. Enjoyed with lentil salad.

2014 vintage

my last bottle. While these have always been good, they have never been great. Something always seems to be missing. This bottle is no different. PnP. Aromas of strawberries, spice, black cherries, and earth. Medium bodied with strawberry, spice, black cherry, earth flavors. Light tannins in the finish. Good acidity. Has improved with time, but still seems to be lacking something.

2014 vintage

Outstanding pinot noir from California! Despite its age of 14 years, there is still a lot of primary, cherry and red currant fruit on the nose. Medium bodied with a delicious mouthfeel, again tons of red fruit and acidity. A very long finish, 60 seconds plus. I would suspect this has still a few years left but right now it is simply delicious.

2010 vintage

Drank this alongside the 14 Porcupine Hill, Alpine and Horseshoe. Drinking well and enjoyable but my least favorite of the four. The Anderson valley Pinots are just not as good most years as the Santa Cruz Pinots IMO.

2014 vintage

PnP. Aromas of strawberries, spice, black cherries, and earth. Medium bodied with strawberry, spice, black cherry, earth flavors. Light tannins in the finish. Good acidity. Has improved with time, but still seems to be lacking something.

2014 vintage

Its unbelievable what Rhys and Littorai do at year 10!!! we are having this with grilled salmon!! Mid bodied with acidity, orange, orange peel, earthiness, rhubarb, strawberries, still with some tannins on the back!! Just a damn good wine

2014 vintage

Probably the best Bearwallow I’ve had, but I’m sure 10 years of age helped! We had a variety of wines at a BYOB dinner, and this was the best Pinot, which included a 2014 Burgundy Premier Cru, and a 2018 Grand Cru. Really nice balance of terroir and fruit on the nose, which matched the palate. The finish was long, with a subtle acidity backbone defining the structure. Loved it!

2014 vintage

-- decanted approx.. 45 min. before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over 2 hrs. -- -- 375 mL -- NOSE: strawberry Twizzlers; comes across as ripe, but without going overboard; not funky, oaky, or stemmy. BODY: clear, dark ruby color of medium depth; medium bodied. TASTE: juicy and red-berried, with a pleasant savory streak; dry oak on the finish presents in a way that makes me worry this is starting to dry out; not funky; medium acidity; alc. pokes …

2014 vintage

I like it but it was better the first day it was opened vs. now day 2. More on the bright red fruit profile and fairly aromatic as well. Finish isn't short but it definitely isn't long either. At the time I bought this for the price it was it drinks well.

2014 vintage

Drinking well. Lost most of the red fruits and berries and drinking more like a California Pinot noir. Still a good wine. My last one and just as well.

2010 vintage

30 minute decante for first glass. The wine really opened up after 2 hours in glass/decanter which these notes are based from. The nose is red fruit(strawberry and cherry), rose petals, and allspice. The mouth is a red fruit with cherry lift, cola, white pepper, and old-world saline/mineral on the finish. Still plenty of acid left medium long to long finish with a nice balance. As recent TN notes the wine is in a nice drinking window.

2014 vintage

Had 1/3 bottle opened and sat in glass for 2 hrs - tasted at 30 mons and was slightly savory thrn relaxed into a long medium intensity berries but not sweet finish. Really drinking well now.

2014 vintage

Drinking well. No sign of fading.

2014 vintage

Currently drinking well.

2014 vintage

This was much better than the average CT rating suggests. This is 13 years Old? Tastes half it's age. Well, maybe 4 years younger. But still, it's aged well and in its prime. Paired with shredded chicken thighs in a mushroom sauce. Fantastic!! Need to buy more of this. I have had a few other Rhys wines, a syrah and a chardonnay, and both were excellent. I'm putting Rhys on my permanent search list.

2010 vintage

Tasty but more structured and not as open as the last bottle.

2014 vintage

1st of 4. Decanted x 2 h, paired with veggie stir fry. Wow embarrassingly high quality for Monday. Why not, though? Sl clearing rim and I imagined a beginning of orange hue. Generous nose of ripe and mature red fruit with a touch of bramble. Palate follows as expected with great balance, moderate tannic structure and medium finish. 93-94 with likely upside next 3-10 years.

2014 vintage

Opened nicely, but then fell backwards a bit into its Structure. The nose is (then) still hiding but the length is long. Needs perhaps a few more years. Try next in 2026, at age 12. The retreat of the structure will hopefully lead to a more appealing wine.

2014 vintage

Pale ruby with a very fresh and round red fruit, earthy, spice savory character. Long finish.

2014 vintage

Open for business. Beautiful limpid ruby color, deep flavors of roses and sweet red fruits on the palate. A refined wine of great character and elegance. Really enjoyed this one, one of the best pinots I've had recently.

2010 vintage

Very good bottle, plenty of life. Opened up after 30 min

2014 vintage

OMG, hope this is the only one that is corked. Couldn't drink and have too many bottles for this to happen. Hopefully a fluke

2014 vintage

Delicious Agree with recent reviews Dark fruit and spices Beautiful balance and finish. Enjoy now

2010 vintage

-- decanted approx. 45 min. before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over 3 hrs. -- Very Bearwallow --- relaxed, fruity (red fruits), and some tertiary elements creeping-in now. Seems a bit loose, and lacking in tension, but nonetheless strikes me as ageing well on account of it having everything in good balance/proportion. Drink Now and over the near term.

2010 vintage

A Medlar lunch (Medlar, London) : Seven years on from my last bottle of this and it’s stepped up a gear. Deep cherry. Hint of old-school Ramminet spearmint on the nose. Dark red fruit. Lots of energy. Cherry cut with cranberry on the finish. Long and positive finish, a touch of chalk adding some texture. *****

2010 vintage

Delicious dark cherry and raspberry with earthy notes on the nose and palate with refreshing acidity on the long finish. From magnum!

2010 vintage

Gorgeous showing. Bright, red-fruited, and just a kiss of minerals. Good balancing acidity and wonderful length. Looks like I caught this in a good drinking window.

2010 vintage

Really good, still youthful, classic Rhys spices, good balance. Chengdu Impression free for all wine dinner Yarom group.

2010 vintage

Very nice, easy drinking, well integrated Pinot with bright food and good acidity.

2010 vintage

Outstanding bright Pinot. Abundant red fruits balanced with subtle notes of mineral. Delicious from pop to finish. Rhys has struggled over the years with bottle variation with me but when the stars align it is brilliant.

2010 vintage

Over 2 feet of snow and 50 mph winds and trying to snow blow/shovel a few times to deal with huge drifts before they got huger. Given all that, dry January just got a little damp. Popped and poured at cellar temp. Cork was quite dry, but managed to extract after breaking. Still quite dark color, no signs of age in appearance. Lovely nose of rose petals, brambly red fruit and dark earth. A bit chunky on the palate. Some …

2010 vintage

Out of mag. In a weird spot. Very thin mouthfeel and yet lots of high tones. Some absolutely loved this, I did not. At first I thought maybe it was flawed based on the lack of palette stuffing , but it showed fine to everyone else at the table, and no traces of green elements, premox, or tca.

2010 vintage

Tasted over 3 hrs and day 3 -med dark red -a bit of creamy rhubarb spicy stems and some subtle savory elements; markedly spicy with wet stone minerality on day 3 -med acidity layered on a soft plush texture, med weight mostly faded rhubarb spice, finishes with a touch of warmth a hint of oxidation and remnants of caramel oak, med- tannins; a bit flabby on day 3 -I think this is starting to decline, not very harmonious at this …

2010 vintage

Best bottle yet and last one of this vintage i had. I don’t think it’s at peak yet- showing no age, but we’ll integrated. Round red berries with some lift, long finish and some sweet rhubarb

2010 vintage

Popped and poured. Beautiful cherry inflected nose. On the palate the wine shows cherry, tea and herbs. It has good acidity and energy but at the same time seems a little coiled up still, not showing it’s full potential. This is still fairly youthful and should be able to age at least five more years.

2010 vintage

Translucent dark garnet ruby core with slight fading at the rim. The aromas are similarly dark and brooding with precise notes of black cherries, flint, violets, and forest floor. The palate is crisp yet sweet with near ideal balance including dense red and purple fruits, fresh acidity, and sweet supple tannins. The complexity and persistence is already starting to pop in this wine. Another bottle that bodes well for the ageability of Rhys' wines.

2010 vintage

Tasty red berries and spice on the nose and silky palate with earthy notes on the moderate finish. Aging well but this bottle lost some of its vibrancy.

2010 vintage

-- decanted 1 hour before initial taste -- -- tasted non-blind over 2 to 3 hours -- NOSE: deep, rich, ripe red fruits; a touch earthy/piney; raspberry jam; moderately expressive. BODY: youthful color -- dark garnet, of medium-deep depth, and without bricking; medium-full bodied. TASTE: plush; medium-low to medium acidity; loose; fruit; clean; baked raspberry; hint of skunky pine; a touch better than the 2010 Family Farm from the night before, which was more muddled compared to the more ripe …

2010 vintage

Best bottle of this yet. Lots of earth to marry with pure red fruits. (90)

2010 vintage

Rhys is my favorite U.S. pinot producer, and this is a very good Rhys pinot. I am surprised by how the fruit goes beyond red berry fruit into strong citrus, even grapefruit. The nose also offers notes of cigar smoke and seabreeze. Intensity is high. Tannins are just right. I think this would be a fun wine to watch evolve over the next ten years.

2010 vintage

Very good - see previous notes. Losing a little of the red berries. Drinking just as good day 2.

2010 vintage

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Rhys, Bearwallow Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley

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