2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard

[Dennis_Atick]

Drank this last night.
Didn’t love it…Ha.
Yeah, right.
I said last weekend that if all I had to drink for the rest of my life was an Edmunds St John R&G I’d be fine. I forgot about this one. I need this one, too. With Thomas Keller’s EVOO-poached salmon, confit of oranges, and pea shoot coulis. I’d post a pic if it were easier

2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (8/16/2009)
Another stellar showing. This wine manages to balance the hints of oak and buttery goodness with a bracing acidity that really refines the edges. Buttered popcorn and honey up front give way to slate and a long, lively finish. Man, it really lingers. Just a pleasure. I’m going to try, try to not touch anymore for a year or so. Yeah, right.

[Rob_MacKay]

This is a great wine. I’ve had a couple of bottles myself and look forward to more of it.

[Pete_Lawley]

Dennis-

Nice note that nails it as I recall it. I shared a bottle with family and friends on Friday night. Didn’t take notes but was very taken with the complexity and finish!

Lone bottle…

[J_e_r_e_m_y_Hannah]

I 05 Arcadian SH Chard. It never disappoints, and I am not even a chardonnay drinker, typically.

[Nathan_Smyth]

@Dennis Atick

oak and buttery… Buttered popcorn…

What is the oak regimen for Sleepy Hollow chardonnays?

[Dennis_Atick]

“Fermentation took place in Sirugue French oak barrels, of which 35% were new wood. With the addition of our temperature-controlled cellar, primary fermentation lasted well over 30 days. The wine was aged sur lee for 22 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to soften the mouth feel of the wine. Barrels were hand-stirred every two weeks for six months to improve the textures of the wine and to promote the release of CO2 to protect the wine during the secondary fermentation.”

Thanks for all the comments. It is a great wine.
Pete-Get some more!

[Keith_Levenberg]

Just curious… what does it mean to “poach” in oil? Wouldn’t that be more like “frying”?

[Nathan_Smyth]

@Dennis Atick

Fermentation took place in Sirugue French oak barrels, of which 35% were new wood. With the addition of our temperature-controlled cellar, primary fermentation lasted well over 30 days. The wine was aged sur lee for 22 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to soften the mouth feel of the wine. Barrels were hand-stirred every two weeks for six months to improve the textures of the wine and to promote the release of CO2 to protect the wine during the secondary fermentation.

Weird:

@Don Cornwell

08-04-2009, 06:15 PM
Last edited by Don Cornwell : 08-04-2009 at 07:38 PM.
[u]dat.erobertparker.com[/u]

…Mounir believes in reductive wine making. That’s one of the reasons for no racking and the emphasis on the fine lees. He also has an extremely cold cellar which means much lower initial rates of oxidative processes at the winery. His use of higher levels of CO2 would definitely be antioxidative in one respect. When high CO2 levels are maintained in the barrel after the M/L completion, that inhibits oxidation of the wine in the barrel (though there is still absorbtion of oxygen through the barrel staves). Remember, it is the CO2 gas blanket which largely prevents oxidation during the M/L.

Moreover, if Le Moine is using CO2 to sparge dissolved oxygen prior to bottling (basically reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wine before it is bottled), that is also arguably anti-oxidative. This is a technique Bill Nanson wrote about in the Spring 2009 edition of Burgundy Report. The producer that is claiming great results for it is Bichot…

The only possible misalignment I can see are the words “during” and “after”.

[Nathan_Smyth]

More:

@Don Cornwell

08-09-2009, 05:15 AM
[u]dat.erobertparker.com[/u]

I have managed to communicate with Mounir Saouma, the winemaker at Le Moine. Mounir takes a completely different approach from most in trying to avoid premature oxidation.

Mounir believes that many burgundies are suffering from premox because the producers very gently press their wines with their modern pneumatic presses, which results in much lower levels of phenols in the juice. There is good support in the scientific winemaking literature that reduced phenol labels will reduce the oxidation buffer and render wines more readily subject to oxidation. Mounir believes in pressing his wines firmly enough to extract the proper levels of phenols.

Mounir also pursues a completely reductive winemaking style. The wines are placed in barrel with a good quantity of fine lees. Mounir does not do any racking of the wines, which is virtually unheard of, and he engages in no pumping, no fining, no filtering and does gravity bottling. The wines are left on their fine lees and batonnage is usually accomplished by means of injecting CO2 gas rather than opening and stirring, in order to preserve the CO2 blanket undisturbed. A high level of CO2 is maintained in the barrel after the malo-lactic fermentation is completed. The wines are bottled with 1000 ml of CO2 gas, which is more than double the average concentration of CO2 (typically 400 m -500 ml). Mounir believes that adequate levels of phenols from the outset, along with the high level of CO2, reductive winemaking techniques and lack of exposure to oxygen during the elevage will make the wines more long-lived than those made with more traditional techniques.

In terms of SO2 usage, as almost all producers do, Mounir adds some SO2 at the crusher. He adds 10 ppm of SO2 when the wines go into the barrel to begin their prrimary fermentation. No futher SO2 is added until the malo-lactic fermentation is completed. Prior to bottling, another 10-15 ppm of SO2 is added in addition to raising the CO2 level 1000 ml. Mounir readily acknowledges that many producers today bottle with closer to 40 ppm of free SO2 at bottling, but fervently believes his wines will be longer lived with his totally reductive approach to winemaking and use of dissolved CO2 in lieu of extra SO2.

Compare eg:

@Dennis Atick

Barrels were hand-stirred every two weeks for six months to improve the textures of the wine and to promote the release of CO2 to protect the wine during the secondary fermentation.

-vs-

@Don Cornwell

The wines are left on their fine lees and batonnage is usually accomplished by means of injecting CO2 gas rather than opening and stirring, in order to preserve the CO2 blanket undisturbed.

[Dennis_Atick]

@Keith Levenberg

Just curious… what does it mean to “poach” in oil? Wouldn’t that be more like “frying”?

Keith the oil is only heated to 110 degrees. It’s a gentle warming that renders the salmon incredibly unctuous and silky while maintaining an almost uncooked appearance.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

@Jeremy Hannah

I 05 Arcadian SH Chard. It never disappoints, and I am not even a chardonnay drinker, typically.

+1


Joe has managed to craft both the best CA Chard and the best CA Pinot I’ve yet to taste. ('05 SH Chard. & '02 Pisoni Pinot, respectively)

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

@P. Robert

I love this wine…blown through a sixer already

Thank you.

[Jason_Hagen]

Dammit Dennis … I said the rest of mine would sleep but you tempted me. Now I am depleting my stash.

Jason

[CFu]

ugh only have one left… but have a few 06’s still!

[Tony_V_e_l_e_b_i_l]

Stirring barrels to release co2 to preserve wine is utter crAp. You stir barrels to enhance mouthfeel and introduce oxygen. For instance. If you have a bArrel of wine that shows some unwanted reductive qualities (matchstick/sulfur) you wou stir the barrel in hope the oxygen would take care of it. Some winakers feel the prob w mid nineties white burgs and oxidation was excessive stirring on the lees and not enough sulfur close to bottling. Disclaimer. I don’t buy joes wines bc of the things he has said about wine
maker friends of mine

[Dennis_Atick]

@Jason Hagen

Dammit Dennis … I said the rest of mine would sleep but you tempted me. Now I am depleting my stash.

Jason

[Jason_Hagen]

@Tony V e l e b i l

Stirring barrels to release co2 to preserve wine is utter crAp. You stir barrels to enhance mouthfeel and introduce oxygen. For instance. If you have a bArrel of wine that shows some unwanted reductive qualities (matchstick/sulfur) you wou stir the barrel in hope the oxygen would take care of it. Some winakers feel the prob w mid nineties white burgs and oxidation was excessive stirring on the lees and not enough sulfur close to bottling. Disclaimer. I don’t buy joes wines bc of the things he has said about wine
maker friends of mine

That stuff is all over my head so I have a hard time following and not exactly sure who said what. Would those wine-makers say this wine saw “excessive stirring”? Fun discussion but sadly these sometimes seem to become very combative and defensive. Hope that doesn’t happen here.

I will say that Joe’s chards from the 90s are some of the best I have ever tasted from Cali. World class stuff.

Jason

[Tony_V_e_l_e_b_i_l]

My comments about excessive lees stirring are for white burgs only. I haven’t had many of joes chards but several flawed pinots. Enough flawed pinots that I gave up on him and moved on

[Jason_Hagen]

@Tony V e l e b i l

My comments about excessive lees stirring are for white burgs only. I haven’t had many of joes chards but several flawed pinots. Enough flawed pinots that I gave up on him and moved on

Thanks for the follow up. Despite really loving them, I don’t own many white burgs but have still had a fair amount of premoxed ones. Major disappointment.

Jason

[Joe_Davis]

@Tony V e l e b i l

Stirring barrels to release co2 to preserve wine is utter crAp. You stir barrels to enhance mouthfeel and introduce oxygen. For instance. If you have a bArrel of wine that shows some unwanted reductive qualities (matchstick/sulfur) you wou stir the barrel in hope the oxygen would take care of it. Some winakers feel the prob w mid nineties white burgs and oxidation was excessive stirring on the lees and not enough sulfur close to bottling. Disclaimer. I don’t buy joes wines bc of the things he has said about wine
maker friends of mine

Tony,

In the winter after primary has completed and malolactic fermentation is under way, the leuconostoc bacteria require the wine to be a certain temperture around 63 degrees to stay active. In the cold of the cellar in mid winter the bacteria often become inactive due to the cold and so to protect the wine we will stir barrels to release dissolved Co2 to the surface and help form a blanket. Co2 has a higher specific gravity weight than oxygen. Using a dodine to stir barrels just prior to topping actually takes up very little O2.

Please accept my apologies for any slight I may have caused any of your winemaker friends not sure who your speaking of explicitly. I certainly have my points of view but do not hold any malice toward any one in the wine business.