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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.7 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 26 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by jjct on 4/18/2020: Fresh, crunchy red fruit, mineral, very aromatic. Noticeable tannic grip. Finishes a bit short and bitter. Very Beaujolais. (1175 views) | | | Tasted by VlgJeff on 11/24/2019 & rated 90 points: Slo-oxed for about 15 minutes. The wine showed a bit cloudy in the glass, but there was no sediment found in the bottle. On the palate, this medium bodied wine had strong red fruits, touches of spice and earth, and nicely balancing acidity. There were some tannins but they were completely integrated and soft. Can hold for a couple of years, but drink sooner. (1258 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 2/18/2017 & rated 94 points: 12.5% abv. Medium burgundy red, very aromatic. Raspberry, black cherry, mint and lots of sweet and savory spice. Excellent energy, depth and length. Outstanding! (2962 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 2/15/2017 & rated 92 points: In NYC with some casual dinner at the apartment.
Picking up from my prior notes: "Medium garnet color, nose has dark fruits, earth, barnyard. Medium body wine, restrained and elegant. Black cherry flavors, tart raspberry. Savory herbs and a hint of lavender on the finish."
I think Kherrrick got it right...The whole cluster "greener" notes when first opened, wine was lean and not as expressive. Left bottle for about 3.5 hours and it really blossomed, expressive with good secondary characteristics. Still has a good arc ahead of it. Sadly, last bottle... (2679 views) | | | Tasted by kherrick on 10/9/2016 & rated 94 points: At first i was disappointed. Huge wholecluster nose, but tart and tight on the palate. with 3/4 btl left, I put the cork back in and drank it later with dinner. in the few hours that it sat, it transformed. the fruit became ripe, sweet, and open; while the wholecluster gave it a beautiful floral quality. very balanced and moderate alcohol. (2780 views) | | | Tasted by DrakkarNoir on 5/13/2016: Reduction initially, then nose is muted, although with slight cola, black cherries, but also a vegetal note, like fresh rhubarb. Very lean in the mouth, with slight green tannins and acidic finish. Disjointed at this stage. 12.5% abv. (2184 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 2/19/2016 & rated 92 points: 12.5% abv. Medium ruby red, moderate aromatics. Raspberry, black cherry, cranberry and forest floor on the palate. Light and lively with great focus. Medium depth, good length. Should age beautifully. (2336 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 9/26/2015 & rated 92 points: In OCNJ for Race weekend, been a couple years since I visited this wine...
Consistent with prior notes: "Medium garnet color, nose has dark fruits, earth, barnyard. Medium body wine, restrained and elegant. Black cherry flavors, tart raspberry. Savory herbs and a hint of lavender on the finish."
About where we left it last time, seems to be hanging in there with a few more years at this level.. Opened up nicely in the glass, splash decant helped, would give it more air time for next bottle.
Not Valerie's style, rest of the group loved it (1426 views) | | | Tasted by DaButtah on 8/9/2015 & rated 93 points: Decanted for 6 hours and it needed all of it to even start to open up. This is something that will be really special in a few years but almost painfully young right now. (1612 views) | | | Tasted by Onthelees on 5/4/2015: Deep burgundy; the most appealing aspect of this wine is its lip smacking acidity which was truly mouthwatering; the nose showed prominent brandied cherry and herbs: the palate offers herbal elements, cherry and strawberry flavors which evolve through a spicy phase into the acidic, lightly tannic finish. Thin from a body perspective with average length. Less complex on day 2. (1429 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Dildine on 11/21/2014: 12.5% abv, deep Burgundy red. Red fruit and baking spice on the nose. The palate is dominated by dark fruit and a strong tannic edge. I'm going to wait awhile on my final two bottles. (1750 views) | | | Tasted by chanukha on 3/30/2014 & rated 89 points: Maybe it's in the awkward phase now. Funky nose. Smells like dirty feet. Maybe corked bottle, not sure. Disappointing. (2471 views) | | | Tasted by yhn on 1/13/2014: No formal notes, but here's my impression: Well made, intense dark fruit, pretty extreme in whole cluster character and very complex. Very compelling and has the stuff to age. Initially tasted blind, at a winery, with Pinot Noir producers. No one thought this was a Pinot. Also, at this point, this wine shows zero vineyard character from what is a unique, and one of my favorite, Pinot Noir vineyards in California. Maybe, hopefully, time will change that. Duane Cronin, Frank Ashton and Ian Brand manged to make compelling PMR PNs. I would think the A-R guys, with their resources, would improve on that. Not sure they did, not sure how they could by using 100% whole cluster. (2988 views) | | | Tasted by vinocerus on 11/28/2013: Rather unmemorable. Had it with a flight of 4 other pinots including Anthill Farms, Brewer-Clifton, Demetria, Rivers Marie and really did not stand out as much as I expected having heard the raves with the AR style. Did not decant but opened a few hours prior to drinking. It's good and definitely on the subtle side of the fruit spectrum but not overly earthy. How else can I express how pedestrian this wine was drinking? I admire what these guys are doing but the more I drink their wines the more I realize the subtlety is lost on my palate. (2539 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 11/3/2013 & rated 89 points: This is one of the more interesting renditions of Pinot Noir I have had in a while. It's lighter in feel than most, but has a great deal of complexity, combining fruit and earth tones in an interesting way, all backed up by more than sufficient acidity. My only nit would be that it feels a bit sharp on the palate, but time may address that (or not - who can tell). I'll let my other bottle rest a few years to see what happens.
Jet lagged tasting note, so take it with a small grain of salt. (2624 views) | | | Tasted by ToddS on 7/6/2013: Holy smokes. Way better for us than the 91.4 average currently on CT. Day one PnP and we could not get this to do anything more than tease us. We could just tell that complexity was there.
Day 2. Awesome wine. Fruit showed up, but the earthiness was still all there. (2614 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 3/18/2013 & rated 92 points: By chance, a friend broght a bottle of this to a meeting in Denver. We had discovered AR courtesy of Rajat Parr at Michael Mina's in Las Vegas...
Shared with a group of friends. This was really nice out of the bottle (per prior notes). Great for pop and pour. Red fruits and texture are there, herbs/lavender on the finish. With next bottle I will give it an hour decant to see if I get a different result. Nice wine, very small production. AR is a a great up and coming producer. (2536 views) | | | Tasted by walkerjfw on 3/15/2013 & rated 92 points: Dinner at our house with Beth and Dave first bottle opened from this purchase. Served with salad and first course.
Medium garnet color, nose has dark fruits, earth, barnyard. Medium body wine, restrained and elegant. Black cherry flavors, tart raspberry. Savory herbs and a hint of lavender on the finish.
This is a really nice wine, a surprise to the upside, everyone loved it. AR making terrific and diverse set of wines at reasonable prices. My guess is it will drink at this level for the next 2-4 years. Not sure it has big upside with aging. (2307 views) | | | Tasted by keelegl on 2/28/2013 & rated 90 points: Nice fruit on the palate with a mix of savory herbs. Solid effort that should age well in the short term. (2461 views) | | | Tasted by toddvh on 2/11/2013 & rated 90 points: decent acidity, medium body, decent earth and other flavor to add complexity to the fruit. good balance. could use some aging (2319 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 2/4/2013 & rated 92 points: Medium dark cherry red color; very appealing, sous bois, rosehips nose; tasty, sous bois, rosehips, mineral, Burgundian palate; medium-plus finish (100% whole cluster) (1288 views) | | | Tasted by wgmccallum on 11/17/2012 & rated 91 points: Dark fruit aroma with barnyard overtones, hint of mace, concentrated black cherry flavors with a long finish at the back, overlaid with a light red cherry acidity, a firm but friendly grip of tannin, still opening up after an hour. A-. (2274 views) | | | Tasted by Cote d'Or on 11/16/2012: -med red with some purple
-strong beet root/rhubarb and spice
-med acidity, med concentration, herbal, bitter chalky tannins
-ok (622 views) | | | Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 3/19/2012 & rated 91 points: 2012 In Pursuit of Balance Tasting (Julia Morgan Ballroom, Merchants Exchange Building, San Francisco, California): Barrel sample - dark cherry red color; lifted, floral, heirloom, roses, forest floor nose; tasty, tart red fruit, rosehips palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 91-92+ points (4691 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Sonoma...A Thrill a Minute (Jul 2013)
(Arnot-roberts Pinot Noir Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2013, IWC Issue #168
(Arnot-Roberts Pinot Noir Peter Martin Ray Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/4/2013)
(Arnot-Roberts Pinot Noir Peter Martin Ray Vineyard) Medium dark cherry red color; very appealing, sous bois, rosehips nose; tasty, sous bois, rosehips, mineral, Burgundian palate; medium-plus finish (100% whole cluster) 92 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (3/19/2012)
(Arnot-Roberts Pinot Noir Peter Martin Ray Vineyard) Barrel sample - dark cherry red color; lifted, floral, heirloom, roses, forest floor nose; tasty, tart red fruit, rosehips palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 91-92+ points 91 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Arnot-Roberts Producer Website
Jamie Kutch left a highly paid career as a stock trader in 2005 to move to California and pursue his dream of making wine. People thought he was crazy, until the first Pinot Noir he released scored 93 points in Wine Spectator. That shouldn't come as a surprise as Jamie has cut his teeth among some of the best producers in the Pinot Noir world. From his time spent working at the revered Kosta Browne in Sonoma to receiving sage advice from none other than Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Jamie has taken everything he has learned to produce some of the most compelling and terroir driven wines in California.
The Kutch wines are made as naturally as possible. After the grapes are harvested by hand, they are sorted meticulously and moved only by gravity, before being fermented in small open-top containers with hand and foot punch downs using indigenous yeasts. When fermented, the wine is gravity flowed into French Oak barrels, where they age sur lie (on the lees). The vineyard pursues a minimalist philosophy, trying to produce the purest expression of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from a particular place and time.
Since foundation 2001, Arnot-Roberts has been one of the most progressive and revolutionary producers on the California landscape. Initially their focus was just on making great Californian wines, but when the cool 2005 vintage gave them wines in a more austere, high acid style than the region was used to, Nathan and Duncan reacted completely differently to practically everyone else in California – they loved them and decided to pursue lower ripeness levels and higher acidity in all of their wines henceforth.
The intent is to produce wines that express the character of the sites in which the grapes are grown. No vineyards are owned. Fruit was sourced by arrangements with farmers from prime sites in Napa, the Sonoma Coast, the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Santa Rita Hills, Moon Mountain and the Sierra Foothills. The focus is on single vineyards, but some regional / appellation wines are also made if the grapes show strong association with their origins. The common thread is that most of the fruit is sourced from cooler vineyard sites.
Arnot-Roberts Pinot Noir Peter Martin Ray VineyardThe Peter Martin Ray vineyard is part of the original planting of Pinot Noir on Mt. Eden above the town of Saratoga in the Eastern Santa Cruz Mountains. Dating to the late 1800’s this site is of historical significance as many of today’s modern Pinot plantings have been made with genetic material that originated on this hill. The vineyard is 3 acres of old stake trained vines that are dry-farmed at 1,600’ in Franciscan Shale soils. The vineyard is still owned and farmed by Peter Martin Ray the son of legendary California vintner Martin “Rusty” Ray. The site is exposed and the soils here are notoriously poor in nutrients which lead the the vines to struggle for survival. The resulting wine is true to its mountain grown roots and is a nod to the rich history of this site. We are honored to work with the Ray family and look forward to many more years of harvesting beautiful fruit from this plot.Pinot Noir Varietal character (Appellation America) | Varietal article (Wikipedia)
Pinot Noir is the Noble red grape of Burgundy, capable of ripening in a cooler climate, which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot will not reliably do. It is unpredictable and difficult both to grow and to vinify, but results in some of the finest reds in the world. It is believed to have been selected from wild vines two thousand years ago. It is also used in the production of champagne. In fact, more Pinot Noir goes into Champagne than is used in all of the Cote d'Or! It is also grown in Alsace, Jura, Germany, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, and so forth, with varying degrees of success.
Pinot Noir is one of the world's most prestigious grapes. It is very difficult to grow and thrives well in France, especially in Champagne and Burgundy. Pinot Noir thrives less in hot areas, is picky on soil, and deserves some oak storage.
Pinot Noir, or Blauburgunder / Spätburgunder in German, is a blue grapevine - and, as the German name suggests, the grape comes originally from Burgundy in France.
The grape, which thrives in calcareous soils, is used primarily for the production of red wine, and it is widely regarded as producing some of the best wines in the world. The wine style is often medium-bodied with high fruit acidity and soft tannins. It can be quite peculiar in fragrance and taste, and not least in structure - which may be why it is referred to as "The Grapes Ballerina".
Pinot Noir is also an important ingredient in sparkling wines, not least in champagne since it is fruity, has good acidity and contains relatively little tannins.
The grape is considered quite demanding to grow. The class itself consists of tightly packed grapes, which makes it more sensitive to rot and other diseases.
Pinot Noir changes quite easily and is genetically unstable. It buds and matures early which results in it often being well ripened. Climate is important for this type of grape. It likes best in cool climates - in warm climates the wines can be relaxed and slightly pickled.
In cooler climates, the wine can get a hint of cabbage and wet leaves, while in slightly warmer regions we often find notes of red berries (cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants), roses and slightly green notes when the wine is young. With age, more complex aromas of forest floor, fungi and meat emerge.
In Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary, it often produces light wines with less character. However, it has produced very good results in California, Oregon and New Zealand.
With its soft tannins and delicate aroma, it is excellent for white fish, chicken and light meat. For the stored wines you can serve small game. Classic duck breast is a matter of course, a Boeuf Burgundy and Pinot Noir are pure happiness.
Pinot Noir loses quality by over-harvesting.
Pinot Noir is prone to diseases, especially rot and mildew. Viruses cause major problems especially in Burgundy.
Pinot Noir are large round grapes with thin skins. Relatively high in alcohol content. Medium rich tannins and good with acid.
As a young person, Pinot Noir has a distinctly fruity character such as raspberries, cherries and strawberries.
A mature Pinot Noir, the taste is different. Cherry goes into plum and prune flavors. It smells of rotten leaves, coffee, moist forest floor and animal wine. This must be experienced.
In warm climates you find boiled plum, some rustic, little acid.
If the grapes are over-grown, the wine will be thin, with little color and flavor.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Santa Cruz Mountains Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
Once referred to by wine writers as the Chaine d'Or -- or "golden chain" -- the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA sits above Silicon Valley, running along the craggy range next to the Pacific on some of the prettiest parts of Northern California. The area supports more than 75 wineries, despite being limited by geography and high land prices.
In 1981 the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Appellation became federally recognized, one of the first American viticultural areas to be defined by geophysical and climatic factors. The appellation encompasses the Santa Cruz Mountain range, from Half Moon Bay in the north, to Mount Madonna in the south. The east and west boundaries are defined by elevation, extending down to 800 feet in the east and 400 feet in the west. |
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