TN: 2010 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard

  • 2010 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (1/21/2019)
    This is a tale of two wines, but they were both in the same bottle. When I opened this wine it was undrinkable. Heavy sour cherry, mouth puckering, enamel stripping acidity. It improved a touch on day two but not enough so I left it under cork for three days and revisited it then. It really needed all that time. The sour palate calmed down, the dark fruit emerged, the acidity softened and the grippy tannins took over. Very enjoyable after 6 days open but that time and the grip keeps it laying on its side for at least another 5 years before I take another bottle out.


Posted from CellarTracker

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rekindling this thread. I’ve heard that Arnot-Roberts syrahs were made in more of ‘new world’ style until their style changed sometime in 2010s. Is that true? Curious to see when the style shift occured.

Interested to know as well with how many bottles are on WineBid right now…

My first purchases from them were 2009 Cab Sauvs and 2010 Syrahs and they were lean then.

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Great note my friend! Your initial take on day 1 has been my experience with Arnot Roberts syrah. Rip your face off, screeching acidity, that is not enjoyable to drink. I keep hearing that they get better, so im holding my 2014 Clary Ranch to see what happens.

That said…im a big fan of their Trousseau :cheers:

Note that he cut his teeth working for Pax when it was Pax 1.0 - yep, the earlier wines were definitely ‘heftier’ in style…

Cheers

Right, I remember trying their syrahs from '05 and '07 vintages, which were closer to Aussie than Northern Rhone. '13 and '14 I’ve tried recently were more cool climate CA syrah I am fond of and akin to Northern Rhone. Wondering if it was around '10 the style changed and what prompted it.

Clary Ranch is probably coldest site they buy from. It’s out in the Western part of Marin County. Barely gets warm enough to ripen. Sit on that one for a while.

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That was around the time Pax had his epiphany and started Wind Gap. Nate and Duncan were making wine in the same facility in Forestville so perhaps they had the same relevant moment in their winemaking style at that time.

Don’t forget 2010 was a challenging year to grow grapes…especially in a tough site like Alder Springs. It was a very late year.

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2010 AR Alder Springs nontheless seems to have good reviews no?

Alder Springs vineyard is one of the top 3 in all of Mendocino. I’ve visited twice and was toured by Stu Bewley himself. Especially for it’s size, it’s incredibly farmed.