Rhys Vineyards

Alpine Vineyard, Chardonnay, 2019

Name: Alpine Vineyard, Chardonnay
Brand: Rhys Vineyards
Price: 665 GBP

96/100

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

96/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

all 2019 2021 2022

delivery

in bond

portfolio

2019
37.5cl
DP
£56.71
2019
12x37.5cl
DP
£680.50

En primeur

2019
6x37.5cl
EP
£515.00
2019
12x50cl
EP
£665.00

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Smoke and crushed oyster shells, lemon balm, thyme. On the palate a calm entry that gains in energy and raciness as it crosses the palate. Textured and silky and with a touch more flesh and concentration than the 2018 alongside lovely momentum and concentration. Salty mineral and direct, this enters lithe and then fans out as it gains momentum. A slenderer attack than Horseshoe but plenty of finish – class but quietly delivered. Alpine’s soils are formed primarily of Purisma, a soft chalky shale that is around 8 million years younger than the soils found in Horseshoe, despite being a mere 300 metres away. The resulting wines often have a note of sea spray about them..

delivery information

GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of upmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.

Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.

While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.

Further Reassurance

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

96/100

Matthew Luczy,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

It is fascinating how the Alpine and Horseshoe Chardonnays often echo the differences between the Pinot Noirs. Like its red brethren, the 2019 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard begins more coiled and shy on the nose before forming perfectly balanced aromas of yellow orchard fruits, pastry dough, classy hints of oak elevage and a mint-like freshness that I find in both varieties. The palate is succulent, focused, chiseled and edgy without seeming the least bit shrill. The finish is refreshing, zesty and crystal clear, wrapping up a beautiful wine that clocks in at just 12.1% alcohol. This is a prime candidate for a decade in the cellar and should continue to evolve beyond that.

drinking window 2024 - 2039

date of review 04/2024

96/100

Antonio Galloni,

Vinous

The 2019 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. It offers an enticing combination of energy and mid-palate sweetness that only grows with time in the glass. Bright saline underpinnings lend striking tension to the citrus fruit throughout. This classically built, sculpted Chardonnay will have plenty to say in another few years’ time. Readers should be in no rush.

drinking window 2024 - 2034

date of review 05/2022

product details

Specifications

Country:

Region:

Appellation:

Producer:

style:

Grape Variety:

abv:

12%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.