A couple of nice ones and a surprising letdown by an Arcadian Pinot.
2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (1/10/2010)
When I’m in the mood for a nice big Pinot Noir, I am never disappointed by Kosta Browne. The 06 Rosella’s Vineyard has great depth and weight with lots of nice black cherry flavors mixed with some clove and spice elements. Smooth texture and a great finish. Excellent balance with the relatively high alcohol well concealed. (91 pts.)
2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (1/9/2010)
This is the first time I’ve been really disappointed by an Arcadian wine. When first opened this was very acidic and didn’t really show much else. The fruit was very tart and there was little to no finish. After a couple hours in the decanter it started to gain a little more weight but never really shook off the tartness in the fruit and the acidity continued to dominate. The fact that this was $80 really made this a disappointing experience. Oh well, can’t have a great bottle 100% of the time I guess. I’ll score it as “good” and I think that’s generous given the horrible QPR. (80 pts.)
2006 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate- USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (1/8/2010)
Very dark red-purple color, nearly opaque. Tasty ripe fruit but quite a lot of tannin as well. Overall I see this as being a bit backwards. There’s certainly lots of structure but the tannins dominate right now. Given enough time they should resolve quite nicely. I certainly preferred the 05 to this 06 but I think this one has lots of potential for improvement although it might take quite some time. (91 pts.)
Interesting, Rob. We had a bottle of the 01 Pisoni a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t find it “acidic” at all. There was some, but seemed to be well integrated(after an hour or so) and I found it well balanced and pretty complex. I wonder if this is a case of acidulation that didn’t integrate. I am a bit of an acid whore, so take my comments FWTW.
That certainly could be the case John. I’ve had other Arcadian PNs that I’ve really enjoyed and this one just seemed to be way off in comparison. It’s unfortunate, especially considering the price of the wine.
Thanks for the notes. Too bad about the 01 Pisoni … I actually accidentally opened one the other day but it turned out to be excellent. Still this wine is very over priced. I would never buy but it came with the GCS.
Had the 01 Pisoni not long ago, too, and enjoyed it a lot. I agree that it’s spendy – more so than I’d normally go since Pisoni isn’t my favorite vineyard. But a solid wine. Could be bottle variation, but there is a good deal of acidity. But I’m an acid freak, too.
thanks for the notes, Rob. that sucks about the Arcadian … most CT notes seem to indicate it has years of life ahead of it, so I’m trying to keep my hands off for as long as I can … Arcadian’s ‘02 Pisoni is still the best CA Pinot I’ve ever had.
It must have been an off bottle. I respect the pinot palates of those that have chimed in and I doubt that this wine was supposed to taste like it did.
