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2011
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2013 and 2018 (based on 5 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.1 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 45 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by jjct on 12/13/2019: Oxidized (472 views) | | | Tasted by Justin S on 9/8/2018 & rated 91 points: A rather distinctive chardonnay with strong acidity and mouth puckering sour-sweet lemon flavors, almost like a sour patch kid. A nicely persistent finish lingers after you taste. Wasn't getting too much aromatically. Enjoyed this wine and was rather surprised by it, as I expected something more mellow at 7 years old. (799 views) | | | Tasted by Cote d'Or on 6/14/2017: PopnPour, tasted over 2 hrs
-translucent light gold
-muted nose begrudgingly yields some sweet lemon
-initial soft entry hides the searing acidity that zooms in near the finish, med- weight fresh lean minerality and sweet lemon remnants, good length
-lively lean minerally fresh high acid old world styled - could be mistaken for Chablis, drinking very well now - this may or may not get more interesting with development of mature elements (1149 views) | | | Tasted by 560 B&W on 2/25/2017 & rated 94 points: PnP. Better than the last bottle. Has matured to a place where it has weight (?!?!) to combine with the wonderful lift. 12.7% (1106 views) | | | Tasted by 560 B&W on 6/9/2016 & rated 93 points: PnP. Superb lift and minerality. Has at least 3 more years. 12.7% (1392 views) | | | Tasted by mkmast on 4/2/2016 & rated 94 points: Wow. Wow. Wow. Not what I was expecting. I purchased a few bottles of A-R a few years ago and didn't fall in love but this was my first chardonnay. I'm a bit of an acid-head so this wine was right in my wheelhouse. Probably the most acid-driven chard I have had and definitely not the typical Cali chard. Lemony and tart, it reminds me of Chablis in a cool vintage but still has a clear terroir of Santa Cruz. Great balance. Love it. (1156 views) | | | Tasted by vanpe003 on 12/28/2015: No detailed notes, but more integrated, not as bracing, as the bottle I had a few years ago. Burgundian in character. (1307 views) | | | Tasted by jeffreylubowski on 12/22/2015 & rated 91 points: Taster below nailed it. Zesty citrus lemon lime. Acid almost searing but there is enough fruit and mostly minerality to keep it from being over the top. The most chablisienne ca chard you will find. (1360 views) | | | Tasted by Habacomike on 9/17/2015 & rated 92 points: This is, by far, one of the best Chardonnay's I've had from California. Great acidity, lots of lemon, little oak. If you like big California Chardonnay, you will NOT like this. It is definitely in the style of a French Chablis. (1110 views) | | | Tasted by slanum on 6/24/2015: Bright and lively. Zesty lemon with a mildly buttery tone to it. Well done on the acidity front--mouthwatering. Everything is in balance. If it were more complex it would deserve to be compared to a fine Chablis. Excellent. (1040 views) | | | Tasted by doubledoc on 11/15/2014 & rated 94 points: Motherfu*king lightning lemon sour zappers mixed sea salt dipped maybe not seasalt but some other mineral rockyness but not like wuss rocky 1 rocky but badass rocky 4 rocky where even tho the russian (drago) beat apollo to dead rocky train hard in russia with pureness that allow him to defeat and make message about glastnost. do you even remember when he drove through that tunnel or when he was training in russia and did those intense sit ups and also ran in front of the car and then ran up the mountain and got to the top and yelled at the top and it made you feel as though even though detroit was failing but we were still ok (i.e., specific metaphor for the pre (and post)-soviet decline of western hedonistic culture and manufacturing prowess we still felt strong and could release movies like gung ho without irony.
lemon, smoke, salt, acid, crazy good, lip smacking
Halloween set: crazy, weird, different. your happy, may want to repeat, change "recreation" if needed (1758 views) | | | Tasted by Cote d'Or on 9/21/2014: PopnPour, tasted over 3 hrs
-translucent light gold with green tinge
-sour lemon, slight funk
-mouth-watering acidity, searing minerality on ripe and slightly sweet lemony mid-palate, power without weight, excellent length
-thrilling dynamic wine loaded with tension, very reminiscent of a Chablis in a riper vintage (1352 views) | | | Tasted by slanum on 2/17/2014: Much more enjoyable than my last experience of this wine. Weightier, more substantial, though certainly not ponderous, it seemed to have added dimension. Still dominated, according to my tastebuds, by lemon flavors but on this occasion they were fleshier, deeper, and consequently more interesting. Some distinctly floral characteristics made an appearance, and whereas the last bottle disappointed me I liked this one very much. (2338 views) | | | Tasted by markydecker on 1/26/2014 & rated 94 points: Consistent with previous note. Wish I had purchased more of this, it's a phenomenal Chardonnay for those who like them unaltered by too much oak. Very enjoyable! (2039 views) | | | Tasted by wineretriever on 11/5/2013 & rated 90 points: Lemon, green apple, overripe pear, white flowers, and a hint of smoke on the nose. Lemon and tart green apple with notes white stone on the palate, which is framed by medium plus acidity. Very enjoyable wine. (1983 views) | | | Tasted by slanum on 9/7/2013: I was bowled over by the 'Watson Ranch' and had high expectations here which, alas, went largely unfulfilled. Very pale in the glass. Aromas were reticent and brought to mind broth and grandma's face powder. No tropical notes, be they pineapple or coconut. So far, so good. For me the flavor was just too simple: one-note lemon--nothing of any depth, nuance, or complexity. Ample acidity, not blowsy, so in no way flawed, but kind of anticlimactic. Not a wine I would be inclined to buy more of except that I already did. Time and air did not improve things. Actually, the more I drank it the more negative my opinion became. Yeah, it wasn't monkeyed with, but I don't find much there there. (1931 views) | | | Tasted by ucbeau on 9/6/2013 & rated 92 points: Chilled this for about an hour in the fridge, then popped and poured. Gorgeous pale yellow with green flecks. Aromatically very Old World in style. Lots of citrus and washed rock with hints of tropical fruit too. As it opened up we found notes of white flower and lemon curd. On the palate it's got tons of acidity, creating a juicy, vibrant mouthfeel. Excellent balance between ripeness and fruit intensity. The finish is clean and delicate. Drinking beautifully right now. (1821 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 9/5/2013 & rated 87 points: Blind Pinots and Syrahs at David's (Enfield, CT): Nicely balanced, but rather nondescript - there's pleasant pear and citrus fruit accented by stony mineral elements, but not a whole lot else going on. It's very light on its feet and precise with bracing acidity, but not showing much depth or complexity right now. (2235 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 9/5/2013: Initially this was all about its acidity. It remained quite severe for a while, appealing only to the hard core Chablis/German Riesling fan in me. After it had gotten some air, and also warmed up a bit the wine became a bit easier to take, so I will consider that for future bottles. (1479 views) | | | Tasted by stevenjstein on 7/28/2013 & rated 84 points: I admire the fact that they tried to do something different than the typical Cal Chard, but this didn't quite work for me. It just seems out of balance. All lemon and acidity, almost like drinking lemonade. Perhaps it was just the bottle, since I recall having this wine before (not sure if it was the same vintage) and the lemon was noticeable, but not so overpowering. (1228 views) | | | Tasted by Andrew Christiansen on 7/12/2013: Excellent balance between crisp, citrus themed fruit and tangy acidity. Perfect summer Chardonnay and a nice meal complement. A non-traditional, new-wave CA Chardonnay without the enamel-striping acidity and under-ripe fruit of many IPOB efforts, at least to my palate. As a chablis lover I expect CA Chardonnay to exhibit similar qualities or I won't bother, which is likely unfair, but it's my preference. The AR Santa Cruz was not a Chablis ringer, at least until day two when a subtle saline note emerged, but it was similar in cut and weight, which is all I ask. If wineries like AR, Copain, Rhys et al keep releasing Chardonnays made in this style (crisp, bright, sans butter and wood), I might finally grow to love CA Chardonnay, or at least a small, emerging subset of it. Rombauer lovers should look elsewhere-you've been warned. (1333 views) | | | Tasted by Onthelees on 6/23/2013 & rated 89 points: Pale straw color; shy nose of citrus and hints of iodine; citrusy lemon with clearly stated salinity and iodine with good acid and length. Just in time for summer (1187 views) | | | Tasted by zscheiner on 4/27/2013: Lean, taut and focused with lime and salinity. Chablisian and delicious. (1570 views) | | | Tasted by geeky? not sure on 4/12/2013: Love these guys. Great salinity and acidity. Lemon and toast followed by un-rip pear on day 2. Bracing and delicious. (1507 views) | | | Tasted by suchitoto on 4/10/2013: so much better a few days after opening; was unbalanced at first (1595 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 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2013, IWC Issue #168
(Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/4/2013)
(Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains) Very light cloudy lemon yellow color; ripe lemon, lightly saline, vanilla, Puligny-Montrachet-like nose; tasty, rich but poised, tart lemon, mineral, saline palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish (from 30 yr old dry farmed vines on sandy loam soil) 93 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.
Chardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican 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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