The Bearwallow Vineyard’s Chardonnay is Rhys’s sole white wine from Anderson Valley, produced from hand-harvested fruit fermented natively in a judicious application of French oak, with only a small proportion of new barrels employed. The wine represents a significant departure in style from the estate’s Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnays: where the Alpine and Horseshoe Chardonnays tend toward power and tension, the Bearwallow is more textural and generous, shaped by the Anderson Valley’s cooler, more maritime character and the minerality of the deep fractured shale beneath the vineyard.

The 2016 vintage at Bearwallow delivered a Chardonnay of notable focus and fresh acidity, with clean apple, white peach and subtle herbal notes underpinned by a chalky, mineral finish. Kevin Harvey has described 2016 as a year of “low but not dramatically low” yields that produced wines of silk and perfume across the range. The Bearwallow Chardonnay, with its combination of stony mineral tension and crunchy fruit acidity, is made to age gracefully across a decade or more, a quality made even more explicit in the magnum format with its slower, more even development.

The Wine Advocate awarded the 2016 Bearwallow Chardonnay 94 points, noting the “additional tension and intensity” it possesses over the appellation-level bottling and the “chalky, mouthwatering finish.” Galloni at Vinous described it as “lovely,” acknowledging its delicate balance and expressive character. As with all Rhys wines, availability is tight: the wine is distributed via mailing list and through a select group of specialist retailers and wine merchants, making magnums particularly hard to source.

Youthful but expressive notes of apple, white peach and a touch of green herbs, subtly framed by a judicious application of new oak. Medium-bodied, with bright acids that lend the wine focus and delineation. The additional tension and intensity reflect the Rhys team’s selectivity at both press and in the cellar.  — Wine Advocate