First post after years of semi-lurking so I realize I come in with zero credibility but this thread is what finally prompted me to get off my arse and join the community. I understand wines under-perform at times but I just cannot fathom anyone saying Joe Davis’s wines are not worthy of A to Z. Perhaps I’m biased (OK, I am) but I’ve been a huge fan of Joe’s wines and a GCS member since the 2000 vintage and have had the pleasure of visiting Joe twice for two amazing tastings (one when my kids were pretty young and we left the kids to run around the winery after an amazing jeep tour of the vineyards while Joe opened bottle after bottle and we talked kids, life and, yeah, wine). Joe certainly doesn’t need me to defend his wines and I know we all need to put our big girl pants on here, but to call Arcadian wines "a mess’ and to say you wouldn’t “waste money on the Pinots” is just so completely foreign to my experience that I had to post. I do agree that Joe’s Syrahs are fantastic. I have bought cases of various Westerlys for ridiculously stupid prices and the wines are just amazing. If you can, please take Joe up on his offer. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. The first time I had the 2001 Sleepy Hollow Pinot it was one of those aha moments in wine and, really, I just don’t get that from A to Z.
Thanks for a great first post, Sue! I’ve also managed to snag some Arcadian Westerly syrahs for amazingly cheap ($19) and when someone offered the Sleepy Hollow chardonnay for $25, I instantly bought a case. I think John Glas would even be a buyer for those wines. 
Wow! Getting the Sleepy Chard for $25 is pretty much criminal.
Strictly as a research project, I had to open an '03 last night and what a wine it was. I’m with you Brian, this wine is my favorite of Joes pinots to date, just screams class.
4/4/2017: In the proverbial window - drinking so well now. Perfectly balanced with mature fruits, earth and acidity. Close to a perfect pinot for me on this night. Paired perfectly with Bistro fare - fried crawfish, hanger steak, lamb and barramundi/cream dish. I would guess it will be in its prime for 5+ years but who knows - drink now for the enjoyment.
Remember when there was a distributor dump of the 05 Sleepy Hollow Chard? It was sub $30 a btl. To me the best chard Joe’s made in the 2000s.
for what it’s worth, I had a bottle of the 2002 Francesca’s cuvee pretty recently, over a couple of nights, and didn’t get any notes of barnyard, pool water or fish tank. Had it with a nice pizza, not a pork dish, however haha. I picked up the wines directly from the Arcadian tasting room in Lompoc so it didn’t go through any shipping/temperature variations like that, if that makes a difference. Overall I was really impressed by the wine, maybe you guys had flawed bottles or maybe (probably) it’s just not to your taste? Different strokes for different folks…
You’re killin’ me! Glad it showed so wonderfully once again! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
ETA: ahhhh, so you are TBONE on CT! You’ve been a favorite taster of mine for years, but I never knew it was you! (now, I suppose, you’re going to tell me this information is contained in the CT Handles thread I started years ago … 
)
I do not remember that, as I’m fairly confident I never knew about it. I feel bad for Joe about it being available at that price. The '05 is a favorite of mine, too, but I prefer the '06 and '07. I see the '06 being a much longer-lived wine, but who knows … I guess we’ll see.
Maybe there was some heat damage to the pinots? Arcadian Pinots in general to me are some of the most Burgundian wines of California. I have never had one I would mistake for Syrah, let alone Aussie Syrah. On the other hand, tasted blind, I would be more likely to mistake Arcadian Syrah for a riper CA Pinot …
Maybe there was some heat damage to the pinots? Arcadian Pinots in general to me are some of the most Burgundian wines of California. I have never had one I would mistake for Syrah, let alone Aussie Syrah. On the other hand, tasted blind, I would be more likely to mistake Arcadian Syrah for a riper CA Pinot …
Good point Robert. I have not had many Arcadian Pinots. Love the Syrah’s overall and would rank them top 3 in California for quality/price point. Will have to revisit them in from a direct source. Arcadian Homage Max might be my favorite US Syrah!
I popped my one bottle of this wine that I got at BD17 and it was corked! ![[swearing.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8a0d3f3461d40641d294442fc2be78039bf94d19.gif "[swearing.gif]"){kind=small}
Didn’t even get 10 mins of beauty…it was Grandma’s damp, dank basement right from start to finish. Double bummer as this was my first Arcadian. I still have high hopes for the '08.
Scott
John, my impressions of these wines are very much like yours. I am not the greatest Arcadian expert, but I have had a fair amount of bottles. My general thoughts have very much mirrored yours. It was interesting for me to read
Drank second bottle of the 2002 Francesca,s Cuvee from Berserker day and it was pretty bad. Sadly, undrinkable. The first bottle was quite mediocre. Acidic and faded fruit. But the second bottle was truly horrendous. The fish tank TN actuallly seems appropriate.
Loved the syrah an have loved every bottle of Arcadian i have tasted before.
Im a fan of the wines across the board Joe makes and was a GCS member for a few years and still buy as much as I can justify. I have not had one disappoint yet.
In the last 4 months I have had the 2001 Fiddlestix Pinot Noir, 2006 Pisoni Pinot Noir (2 bottles), 2009 Sierra Madre Pinot Noir, 2007 Pisoni Pinot Noir, 2009 Francesca Pinot Noir, 2009 La Encantada Pinot Noir, and the 2004 Max Syrah, along with a chardonnay or 2, and maybe even one or 2 I forgot. Every bottle was great and nothing like some of the descriptors being used. I usually open these wth another PN to compare and contrast and they definitely hold their own against domestic or imported PN for me and the wife’s palate. Ill be in for at least another case some fall.
Joe like any winery palates will be different for each taster. I wouldn’t spend $30 on any of the Pinots I tasted. The Syrah’s I have always enjoyed and like the Chardonnays.
Oh I totally get that, I just wanted to offer up my palate perspective from the last few months. It looks like were not comparing the exact same vineyards or vintages either, though same producer of course.
One of my wines last year got an 86 and a 93 by 2 professional reviewers with in the same week or 2. One stating hard and acidic to the point of almost undrinkable and the other saying never ending layers and layers of flavors that should evolve into more complexity over the next decade+. Heck even me and the wife don’t agree all the time, she generally likes PN older then I do.
I have seen a huge array of notes on that 2002. I opened mine today (from BD) and it was fortunately a very sound bottle.