Rhys - Pinot Noir Mt. Pajaro Santa Cruz Mtns 2017
Price: $84.96
| Producer | Rhys |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Sku | 602698 |
| Size | 750ml |
The Santa Cruz Mountains remain one of the wine world’s best-kept secrets, producing some of the New World’s finest wines. Benchmark wines like Ridge Monte Bello and Mount Eden Chardonnay have captivated collectors and enthusiasts alike, while producers such as Mount Eden, David Bruce, and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards have helped define the region’s legacy for Pinot Noir. At their best, these wines offer a rare combination of balance, concentration, minerality, complexity, and remarkable age-worthiness. With only about 600 acres planted to Pinot Noir across the entire appellation, Santa Cruz Mountain's wines still remain both highly sought-after and exceptionally rare.
Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and San Francisco Bay to the east, the appellation benefits from a cool, maritime-influenced climate that tempers California’s late-season heat spikes. This allows grapes to ripen slowly, developing intensity while retaining freshness. Beneath the surface, the geology is equally compelling, with a diverse array of soils and rock formations shaping the character of the wines.
Mt. Pajaro is the latest addition to the Rhys estate vineyard portfolio. The 2017 vintage represents their first bottling from it and it is sure exciting, especially now after a little bottle age. The vineyard’s discovery was serendipitous. Located east of Corralitos, in an area where the San Andreas Fault fractures into a network of smaller faults, the land was once an abandoned apple orchard. The region’s complex geological history has resulted in a distinctive soil composition, with clay-rich topsoils layered over brown and black shale. Recognizing the potential of this terroir, the site was developed with a commitment to high-density planting (1m x 1m). The 18-acre vineyard was established using massale selections from Rhys’ top experimental blocks at Alpine Vineyard.
The early wines from Mt. Pajaro already exhibit a unique personality within the Rhys portfolio. The Pinot Noir is especially compelling, offering a deep, layered core of raspberry and cherry, with subtle cocoa accents. The combination of tight spacing, low-yielding clones, and the vineyard’s distinctive geology has resulted in wines of remarkable depth, complexity, and aging potential.
Jeb Dunnuck: 93 Points
The 2017 Pinot Noir Mt Pajaro Vineyard is more upfront and expressive, with lots of bright cherry and raspberry fruit interwoven with notions of scorched earth, chocolate, earth, and dried herbs. It's another medium-bodied, nicely textured, balanced, savory Pinot Noir from this team that's going to benefit from short-term bottle age.
Wine Advocate: 93 Points
This is the first vintage of a Mt. Pajaro vineyard designate Pinot Noir—previously this fruit was blended into the Alesia bottling. This vintage the fruit was picked before the heat spike. Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Mt. Pajaro Vineyard opens with cinnamon, dried orange peel, potpourri, dusty earth and pipe tobacco with a spicy vein over licorice, wild blackberries and soft red berry hints. The palate is light to medium-bodied and silky with intense, spicy fruits, juicy acidity and a grainy frame, finishing long and spicy.
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