WineLovers Discussion Group

Red cherry colored. Wood and red fruits on the nose. Bright red-fruited mouth, with tangy sugar powder candy, noticeable wood dust on the end, wood spice and powdered wood tannins dry the mouth on the end. Similar to a 2008 village Burgundy in weight. A slight floral component comes out with airing. Fruit, but not much body to it. Second day that 'California roast' (I detect this on many Cal. pinot noirs. A slight roasted carob-like flavor on the end that reminds me of summer ripening). B+

I opened a 2009 of this on Thursday, and it was affected by so much Brett, the the fruit was totally camouflaged. I ended up drinking water with dinner. The next night I opened another 2009, and it, also, was loaded with Brett, but this time, I had a backup of the 2007 Family Farm. A clean bottle, but not showing much. I think I've written off Rhys Family Farm.

Diane - Kevin Harvey has noted elsewhere that they had a batch of 2009 FF affected by brett & they are replacing/refunding for the bad bottles.

David-I've been in touch with Eric at Rhys. It seems they were taken by surprise by the appearance of Brett in this bottling as it hadn't shown signs of it prior to and just after it was bottled. It didn't show until it was released. You are right that they know about it.

I feel they should have reached out to their mailing list and informed us of Brett being present, and not wait for unsuspecting loyal customers to make this discovery at the dinner table.

Diane,

It's only showing in one of the two bottling lots. What do you do then?

David - as you know, the wines are not inexpensive. My storage space is at a premium and would rather not take up precious room with bottles that have a good chance of being defective. I've been buying since the first release, so I think a heads up to the problem would have been a good gesture. Yes, I realize not every bottle is affected, and, also, everyone's tolerance is different. Personally, I hate Brett.

I put up a note on this wine on CT, and a member sent me a message about contacting Rhys because there is a problem with Brett. Otherwise, I may have been oblivious to the problem, although I have since seen the discussion elsewhere regarding the 2009 FF, and Kevin's offer for a refund.

Rhys does provide excellent customer service, and they were forthcoming with problems with the Brett in the 2004 vintage. They have made substantial changes since then, and I am sure it is devastating to discover that Brett affected their wine once again.

I continue to be a supporter and a customer, but right now I am disappointed in them.

Diane wrote;
They have made substantial changes since then, and I am sure it is devastating to discover that Brett affected their wine once again.

Hi Diane,
I just finished reading David Darlington’s book “An Ideal Wine”. In it, Kevin Harvey is reported saying that he wants his customers to have a “love-hate relationship” with his wines. (In a sense this is what “natural” wines or “naked wines” is all about).

Salute

Kevin also pointed out yesterday that his initial first hand experience with the bad batch was just last week. It's not like he's known about it for a long time.

I also think that the immediacy of the internet has resulted in unrealistic expectations regarding the speed of winemaker/winery communication.

Victor - I also read the book, and appreciated Kevin's comment. He is so very correct as his wines can be very grumpy at times, and at other times they are a pure and beautiful Pinot.

David B - Eric did not reveal to me that the problem was just discovered last week in our email exchange. I did see that Kevin stated it.

By the way, I am not trying to imply that you should not be bothered by the bad bottles. I unfortunatley have a dog in this fight as well, with 2 bottles of '09 Family Farm lurking somehwere in my cellar. I plan to dig them out next weekend, and open one sooner rather than later.

Good luck, David. Let me know.