The 2016 Santa Cruz Mountains bottling under the Alesia label is also nicely cool and vibrant, with the same alcohol level of 12.9 percent of the Anderson Valley example. The wine is a bit more black fruity and quite a...
The 2016 Santa Cruz Mountains bottling under the Alesia label is also nicely cool and vibrant, with the same alcohol level of 12.9 percent of the Anderson Valley example. The wine is a bit more black fruity and quite a bit more mineral in profile than the lovely Anderson Valley cuvée, offering up a fine bouquet of sweet dark berries, black cherries, woodsmoke, a hint of gamebird, raw cocoa and a superb base of stony minerality. On the palate the wine is precise, full and marvelously tangy, with a fine mid-palate depth, lovely backend mineral drive, moderate tannins and a long, complex and very classy finish. This does not have the same dimension as the top Santa Cruz Mountain bottlings of pinot under the Rhys label, but it is very easy to see that they all share the same vineyard pedigree. Just a beautiful bottle.