Visit to Arcadian --- brief impression TNs on some current and old releases

Ashley and I recently had the pleasure of joining Joe at his tasting room in Lompoc; it had been far too long since our last visit, and the main purpose of the visit was to pickup a fair amount of wine that Joe had graciously been holding for us during the last few years while we were living overseas, but we simply “had to” taste a few goodies, too!

This was my first go at the '08’s, which are the current release Pinots from Arcadian. 2008 was also the first vintage Joe started giving his wines extended time in barrel, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the Pinot bottlings with which I am familiar all showed a different personality than I’ve grown accustomed to.

Some of these notes are better than others, and it should also be noted that all of these were written off a single pour, so take them for what they are — brief impressions. I noted how long each bottle had been open prior to tasting when that information was known, which it was not for all bottles.

2007 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– bottle had been open for 3 or 4 days prior to tasting –

I was initially worried this would show some oxidation when I heard how long the bottle had been open; those worries were quickly dashed once I got my nose in the glass. The aromas on this wine were beautiful, expressive, and not-at-all oxidized — amazing, really. Medium bodied, with a creamy mouthfeel. Nice acidity on the palate; crystalline; zippy lemon flavor; reminds me of the amazing ’05 vintage of the same; 13.6% alc.; I actually can’t decide if I prefer this over the ’05 — it’s that close of a call. Very excellent.

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– bottle open 2 days before tasting –

Very good; leaner than the ’07.

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– bottle opened the day before tasting –

Intensely aromatic Nose: very floral; red fruited; hint of leathery mineral. Light bodied on the palate, with ripe red fruit flavors (but not gloppy); hint of savory garrigue; 13.7% alc… Good to very good.

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Gold Coast - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –

Nose on this one was darker-fruited and tighter than the Nose on the '08 SLH Pinot; hint of Moroccan spice on the Nose, too. Light bodied. Light, and very spicy on the palate; not complex; 14.0% alc.; good.

2006 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– popped and poured –

Reductive upon opening (smelled like popped popcorn, unbuttered); pronounced minerality; not as fruity as the ’05 and ’07 vintages of the same; very good to excellent, depending on your preferences.

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –

Nose is super chalky and quite floral. Light to medium-light bodied on the palate. Very floral (violets), with aspects of leather and mineral; very elegant; fantastic Fiddlestix — indeed, this may be my favorite Fiddlestix bottling that I’ve ever tasted from Arcadian, with only the ’06 giving it a run for its money; I usually find Fiddlestix to be too austere and tannic for my preferences, but this is not that at all. 13.8% alc… Excellent.

2009 Arcadian Chardonnay Sierra Madre Sierra Madre Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –

This wine spent 36 mo. in barrel, and then another 24 mo. in bottle. Moderate mineral tones. This has an overall lighter personality than the Sleepy Hollow Chard…

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –

Nose is very floral with lighter fruit aromas than I’ve grown accustomed to from this bottling; hint of mineral; a very elegant Pisoni, but the Nose, alone, has me a bit worried that this ’08 is going to be wildly different than previous vintages of this bottling — a bottling that has always been my favorite of Arcadian’s lineup. Medium-light bodied on the palate. Aforementioned worries disappeared with my first taste: great acidity; typical Pisoni leathery/minerally funk; I’m not sure this will be as long-lived and slow-to-evolve as previous vintages of the same, but I’ll probably buy a few to find out; a fantastic and somewhat atypical Pisoni Pinot from Arcadian.

2008 Arcadian Pinot Noir Francesca’s Cuvée - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –

Perfumy, floral, mineral Nose: more perfume than the ’08 Pisoni, and less mineral than the ’08 Fiddlestix. Light bodied and tight on the palate right now; nice, deep leathery funk on this; hands off these right now.

2000 Arcadian Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– popped and poured –

Bricking throughout. Nose is savory and slightly funky. Nice acidity; no tannin; still has a red-fruited aspect to it; funky brie-like note on the finish; this has hung-on quite nicely, but the time to drink them is now.

2000 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (7/19/2014)
– tasted a single pour non-blind –
– popped and poured –

Nose was stinky/reductive upon opening; high-toned; tight, with a hint of mineral in the background. Light bodied. Phenomenal acidity; aged red fruit flavors, with a hint of old wood; drinking pretty well right now, especially in light of the fact that this was popped and poured. Also considering prior experiences with this wine, I think this is (finally) in its prime drinking window, but I get the sense that this will be a long-lasting window. I’d suggest opening one now, if you have more than one bottle. Drink or Hold.

Thanks for the notes Brian, Joe’s wines fly under the radar. Quick question on your second note: you have it listed as 2008 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir but refernce leaner than the 2007. Was this a note for the Chardonnay as I don’t see a note for 2007 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir?

Hi, Sean. That note is for the 2008 Sleepy Hollow Pinot. I didn’t taste the '07 Sleepy Hollow Pinot during this visit, but have in the past. I can see how that could be a bit confusing, seeing as how we had both the '06 and '07 Sleepy Chards during this tasting.

Very jealous, looking forward to the day I visit Arcadian. Just out of curiosity, what was your favorite chardonnay? I’ve tasted through numerous PN that I’m very fond of, my favorite being the 01 Sleepy Hollow. One of my favorite CA producers.

Not Brian, obviously, but have had both the 05 and 07 SH chards recently, and the 05 is still superior to its sibling, IMHO.

We also had a taste-off between the 03 and 06 Francesca PNs, and the 06 is in a really nice place.

Thanks for the notes, Brian. Good to have some updates. I haven’t tasted with Joe in ages, but it’s always very rewarding and educational.

Thanks, Brian. I am awaiting on shipping of the 2007 sh chard that I got a heck of a deal on!

So “Very excellent” would be the wine of the tasting?

Hi Nathan,

To be honest, I never considered that question during the tasting. That said, of the current releases we tasted, the '07 SH Chard and the '08 Fiddlestix were probably the two that most impressed me. I’m always a sucker for Arcadian’s Pisoni, and it was no different with the '08, so there’s that, too. Sorry for the so-so answer, but I honestly liked them all; I’m a happy buyer of each of the wines at their respective prices.

Agreed, 01 SH can be ethereal.

Popped a 2000 Pisoni PN yesterday, and it was excellent. It has moved up alongside the 2002 Pisoni, and the 2001 Garys, trailing only the 97 Pisoni in my opinion. While I enjoy the SHs, including the 2001, I tend to enjoy the Pisoni offerings more.

I have stockpiled a pretty good stash of Arcadians over the years, and have been opening a wide variety lately. I am glad I have plenty more.

I am new in the last 6 months or so to Arcadian. After a pretty wide sample, I would have to say that the 2000, 2001 and 2002s are in a pretty nice spot right now. Since I did not have them in their youth, I don’t know if more recent vintages will follow suit. I would have to say that the 2001 Gary’s gets a slight nod over the 2000 Pisoni, but not by much.

I agree with Merrill that 12-14 years seems to have Arcadian pinots starting to hit full stride, though they are still quite fresh and youthful.

Has anyone ever tasted an Arcadian pinot that seemed like it was even into the latter half of its drinking window? I know they only go back to the mid 1990s. The oldest ones I’ve had seem like they are only barely arriving at their best place, if they even have yet.

The '00 SLH I noted on above qualifies. But that’s it. I think it’s quite telling that I have only a 14 yo appellation bottling to nominate as an answer to your question.

Another one of those “I spend too much time on WB” moments. A few weeks ago, I was standing in line for something, and a woman walks up with a dog like the one in Brian’s photo, and I think to myself, "I wonder if that’s Brian Grafstrom’s wife?

Get. A. Life. Chris.

As my wine friends are fully aware, I am absolutely terrible at keeping track of what I have had - I pretty much keep no notes for non-EMH stuff. People I trade notes with right after consumption, or people I consume the wines with, are usually better sources than I of what I have had and what I thought of it. With that said, I have been keeping some empty bottles in a large bay window area in my kitchen, and I just had a look. I was reminded of the recently opened 2006 Arcadian Dierberg Vineyard - I really did like that one a lot! Maybe it blows a hole in my 2000, 2001, 2002 reasoning. For some reason I find it more pleasurable to look at the empty bottles than to read a bunch of scribbles. That window area holds around 50 bottles, and of the 30-some bottles now sitting there, it looks like the Dierberg made the non-recyle-bin cut .

Two laughs in one evening…thanks, Chris. When David and I discuss goings-on on WB, we often refer to one poster or another by his avatar. “You mean the one with the ‘xyz’ as his avatar? You mean that one?”

03’ for me

I tasted with Joe about 4 years ago, and had a great time. That was back when he was in the shed with Prodigal and D-Curran.

Just ordered six bottles. Thanks Brian for the tasting notes and reminding me to buy some wine before the fall shipment blitzkrieg.

k.

Nobody has a fall shipment blitzkried quite like Karring. How many lists are you on these days, my man?