Rhys Horseshoe Syrah Santa Cruz Mountains 2016

Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Rhys Vineyards' owner Kevin Harvey and winemaker Jeff Brinkman fashion a bevy of brilliant pinot noirs, Chardonnays and syrahs from a diverse set of mostly estate vineyards. While Kevin made wine in his garage starting around 1995, it wasn't until 2001 that he decided to create Rhys Vineyards. He set out with the goal to find hillside sites in California that were similar to those in Burgundy. All of his new sites favor high-density plantings (in some cases upwards of 17,000 vines per acres) of suitcase pinot noir clones, and they're all farmed biodynamically by the team at Rhys. Where they can, they utilize dry farming, but the driest, rockiest sites (Skyline) still require moderate irrigation. Rhys is on fire right now in restaurant lists and in geeky wine cirlces arcoss the country. Try throwing one of these pinot's or Chardonnay's into a blind tasting of Burgundy and prepare to be blown away.