TN: 2014 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard

WINE TALK
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  • 2014 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Trout Gulch Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (4/1/2016)
    Light gold color with faint floral aromas. The piercing, intense acidity of Muscadet with thankfully much more going on. Precise, focused, minerality, citrusy with hints of orange rind and some stone fruit. Maybe slightly bitter finish. The impression you get immediately is that this is a “Grand Cru” site wine with class and power but in need of time to unwind. Kind of, reminds me of the currently more fully realized 12 Hanzell Estate Chardonnay I’ve been digging lately. I really love this wine where it is right now but, it will be truly excellent when the acid melds a bit or the fruit takes a bit more prominence. You can definitely tell this is a cool site Chardonnay. I prefer this to the great Mt Eden Chardonnay which, for me, shows its oak treatment and less energy than this. 12.7% ALC Terrific value here at $45. These Arnot-Roberts guys really have the touch for finding great sites and expressing it. Perfect tonight with fresh pan seared halibut. 93pt minus / 92pts plus. For immediate drinking the Watson is wonderful. A different wine again, based on the site, and equally great and ready right now. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Craig,
I agree; A-R is releasing great wines. I’ve only opened the '13 Trout Gulch and Watson Ranch Chardonnays. I loved them, but made a note to myself not to open another for several years. I had a '13 Liquid Farm Bien Bien Chard the other day that was beautiful; I think I’ll visit some more LF bottles before I open my remaining AR '13’s and '14’s.

Cheers,
Warren

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Thanks for the notes!

I have not tried any Trout Gulch Vineyard wines, from Alfaro or A-R.

I have only had the Golden Slope from Liquid Farm, and (for the style), I enjoyed it very much.

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I tried the A-R Trout Gulch and the Ceritas version. I liked them both, but preferred the Ceritas - a touch lighter style.

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Does anyone know what year Alfaro started managing the vineyard? I tried a few of the Trout Gluch wines, and wasn’t overly impressed, but have really enjoyed what Alfao has been putting out lately.

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Pretty recently. According to CT '11 is the first A-R Chard and '12 is the first Alfaro PN. That’s the right time period. (Perhaps he was brought in in response to demands from A-R after they did a small test batch?) Yes, before that the wines from there were spotty and rustic (and bottle variant), but there were glimpses of the quality of the site.

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Thanks for the note Craig -

I actually purchased a couple bottles of this (mainly from the buzz on this site) but haven’t popped one yet - first time I’ve purchased a California Chardonnay in at least 15 years so I’m excited to try it.