2007 Arcadian Pinot Noir Rose Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Red-pink color. Perfumy nose strikes me as being minerally, and leads into the surprisingly dry palate: light fruits and beautiful minerality on the medium-light bodied palate; strawberry on the finish; 14.2% alc. gives this a little pep in its step, but doesn’t come across as alcoholic. Nice, different, not outstanding. I like it.
2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
I got nothing new to say about this wine. Same notes as 3/15/09 and 7/18/09. Simply awesome. Will age well.
2006 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Very similar to the ‘05 Sleepy Hollow Chard., but not quite as much depth or breadth. More tropical than the ‘05 on the palate. Butter, toast, and tropical fruits on the palate. I prefer the ‘05, but this is still very nice.
2006 Arcadian Chardonnay Dierberg Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Medium-full bodied. Somewhat underbrushy and oaky on the palate; buttery; smooth, not alcoholic; minerality is there, but not as pronounced as it is in the Sleepy Hollow chards.
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
– bottle open for 2 days before tasting –
Lots of spices, raspberry and black cherry on the nose. On the palate, a bit funky, with strong cigar wrapper; raspberry; nice minerality; 14.1% alc… Probably my favorite wine of the tasting today. Very very nice, and way too young.
2006 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Rustic purple-garnet color. On the nose: leather, darker fruits and not as spicy as the ‘05 Sleepy Hollow; hint of honeydew melon. Tight as hell on the palate: old wood; fruitier than the ‘05 SH; tannic; wait at least 5 years; 13.8% alc…
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Rich aromatics of black cherry, cedary spice, and manchego funk. Medium bodied, and very tight, on the palate: red fruits, a bit spicy, great tannic grip on the finish; needs time – serious time … hands off!; a bit green on the finish; 13.7% alc…
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Earthy aromatics: leathery; red/purple fruits; a bit horsey. I can tell before tasting this that this will be right up my alley. Medium-light bodied on the palate, with loads of minerals, hint of cigarette smoke; a bit candied and jammy (raspberry); a bit tart; cedary on the finish. Probably my second-favorite wine of the tasting. This, too, needs lots of time.
2005 Arcadian Syrah Stolpman Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Purple color of considerable depth. Very fruity – red fruits on the straightforward nose. Medium bodied. Tastes very much like a warm-climate syrah – concentrated red fruits, and oak. Seemed tight.
2006 Arcadian Syrah Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Dark garnet-purple color. Loads of black pepper on the nose, with additional notes of cigar wrapper and leather. Black pepper and cigar are repeated on the palate; fruits (loganberry and blackberry) are darker than what are shown in the ‘05 Stolpman Syrah. Very well-balanced. I prefer this over the ‘05 Stolpman. One of the more impressive wines of the tasting. I don’t know how the CT ave. value for this wine is hovering around $21 (IIRC, it is $36 at the winery), but if you can find it for near that price then back it up!
2004 Arcadian Syrah Westerly Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
– tasted non-blind at Arcadian’s 2009 Fall Open House –
Incredibly dark inky color of incredible depth. Lots of tar/asphalt on the “dark” nose. Medium bodied on the palate: very roasted, earthy, dark fruits, and tannic. Not elegant.
Also tasted ‘06 Jill’s Cuvee, ‘05 Francesca, and ‘05 Homage a Max. The ‘06 Jill’s struck me as being more fruity than spicy, open-knit, and pretty straightforward. The ‘05 Francesca seemed very elegant, but somewhat uni-dimensional right now. The ‘05 Homage a Max was very nice – an elegantly-styled Syrah – but I actually prefer the Purisima Syrah I tried last time I visited, and the SH Syrah I tried this time. I could see the ‘05 Max and ‘05 Francesca aging well … not as sure about the ‘06 Jill’s.
Joe was a great host – lots of fun stories, an incredible cheese spread, some lovely walnut paste made by his wife, and some killer truffle honey. The cheese came from a downtown cheese shop run by an old buddy of his - we stopped in on our way back to L.A. and picked-up some epoisses, morbier, and raclette. All very very tasty. The shop is on State St., near Nordstroms.
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