Santa Cruz Mountains, Chardonnay, 2021

The 2021 Rhys SC Mountains is a blend of Alpine, Horseshoe and Mt. Pajaro, offering up many of the qualities of these great sites in an earlier drinking package. An expressive Chardonnay with some real palate breadth to it, it then tapers to a salty, keen intensity that suggests this is only going to get better over the near to mid-term. With a core of intense white and yellow fruit, moderate grip and structure, this is undoubtedly the best rendition of this cuvee we’ve encountered. Grown up and fully deserving of its new Rhys labelling.