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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.9 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 84 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by diggydan on 12/11/2021 & rated 94 points: Seems to be getting a little more secondary. Secondary and savory, but also ripe blackberry and olive. Impressive. (1007 views) | | | Tasted by diggydan on 7/22/2020 & rated 93 points: Packed with ripe blackberries and a savory, olive filled finish. (1433 views) | | | Tasted by Sourdough on 7/2/2020 & rated 92 points: A near perfect Syrah IMO. Absolutely delicious and a very, very good wine but not over the top to the point that it won't mesh well with food. Wonderful wine. (1344 views) | | | Tasted by MLipton on 12/5/2019: Opened with roast tenderloin of venison. It started out rather primary, with blueberryish fruit; with time, it turned more meaty and took on more savory notes. By the end, it had developed distinct green olive character. All in all, it was a very satisfying example of what an American Syrah could be. (1623 views) | | | Tasted by treidling on 10/20/2019 & rated 91 points: Excellent on opening, degraded somewhat after a few hours in decanter. Would decant no more than an hour or so. (1612 views) | | | Tasted by Cote d'Or on 9/5/2019: Tasted over 1 hr
-dark red no bricking
-moderately expressive cool dark fruit wet stone
-med acidity gives a fresh faintly citrus burst at the finish, med- weight fresh stony dark berry fruit, fine but abundant med+ tannins and a slight yeasty element (mild brett?) that adds complexity
-this is super pleasant and nicely approachable now though the tannic and fruit structure should allow for several more years of excellent drinking (1331 views) | | | Tasted by BigTex22 on 7/18/2019 & rated 92 points: Opened this back in 2015 and wrote this was too young. Tonight was a different story. Cranberry in color, this really hit its stride about an hour after decanting. Tannins subsided, some bright fruit left, but beginning to take on some tertiary notes. Just entering its drinking window, this should hold well over the next several years. Paired well with pasta and chicken parm meatballs. Well done! (1155 views) | | | Tasted by ucbeau on 12/14/2018: Opened about 1.5 hours prior to serving. Pours a bright garnet-flecked red. Nice bit of earthy peppercorn and tart red fruit initially, along with more subtle dried herbs and even some oak. Wonderful acidity and brightness, we all felt this wasn't really showing much age. If it is, I think it's from the integration of the tannins. Good red and black fruit mix, without being overripe. A spicy, woodsy finish suggests some stems and aged oak. Drinking wonderfully right now. (1498 views) | | | Tasted by wgmccallum on 5/6/2018 & rated 92 points: Complex nose of game, bright red berries, incense, flowers, with a hint of chocolate. A little spritzy on the palate with a top layer of acid over a very focused tunnel of concentrated dry-sweet fruit moving into a long finish. 50 + 17 + 17 + 8 = 92. (1583 views) | | | Tasted by Sourdough on 4/22/2018 & rated 91 points: Dark purple color. Deep, earthy nose. Initial flavor of dark, tart cherry. Good acidity and minerality. Long finish. Very cool weather Syrah. Classy! Open next bottle in 2020. (1472 views) | | | Tasted by kcp on 2/24/2018 & rated 87 points: If I had been told this was another varietal I might have scored it higher. But as a Syrah, it's a bit, shall I say, wan. I can easily double down on UOFM's earlier comments. (1582 views) | | | Tasted by UofM on 1/16/2018 & rated 88 points: No marked improvement since my last bottle. Green pepper, some minerality, very subtle fruit. Tannins are present, but slight. I'm a big fan of AR and their take on Rhone styles. However, still need a little punch from Syrah and this doesn't have it. (1732 views) | | | Tasted by pgb67 on 1/8/2018 & rated 88 points: This wasn't my cup of tea - too austere and mineral driven when I was more in the mood for some cherries and bacon. (1463 views) | | | Tasted by Ben F on 11/24/2017 & rated 92 points: From 750ml. Opened and slow-oxed for two hours. On the savory end of the spectrum, and a complete contrast to the overtly sweet 2007 William-Selyem Westside Neighbors PN served alongside it. Distinctly Californian, but with a nod to cooler climate Syrah from the Northern Rhône. Not all at the table gravitated to this one, but it was in my view more interesting and enjoyable by a long shot. Drinking well now. (1451 views) | | | Tasted by David_T on 11/15/2017 & rated 91 points: Very cool climate/N Rhone like showing tons of black olive, bell pepper, black pepper and game notes with a bit of red fruit. Integrated light+ tannins and medium acid. Nice syrah. (1291 views) | | | Tasted by slanum on 11/4/2017: A magnum of this wine was offered for tasting at today's open house. No doubt stored perfectly, the wine was singing with impressively varietal characteristics of smoke and olive aromatics, while the palate featured first-rate fruit without a semblance of overripeness. One of the staff on hand offered the comment that "this isn't ready yet," but I'd beg to differ and would be delighted to place it on the table tonight. I passed on this upon release but brought some home with me today. Excellent. A fine example of what A-R does so well. (1320 views) | | | Tasted by Aravind Asok on 9/27/2017: Not bad. Pop and pour. A hint of cola and green pepper. A bit tart and acidic on tbe palate, but lots of brambly blackberry. A touch of pasty tannin on tbe slightly acidic finish. Not sad this is my final bottle.
Day 2. Sat unrefrigerated on the counter overnight. Holding steady (i.e., not oxidized, but still tart and acidic). Nose shows a bit more blood/iron today, but still very branmbly. Still a bit shrill on the palate, and the tannin is a bit less pasty. (1412 views) | | | Tasted by Sourdough on 7/7/2017 & rated 93 points: Rich nose of dark fruit and earth. Smooth initial mouthfeel. Rich dark fruit flavors of black plum, blackbérry, with white pepper and a touch of tar. Long evolving finish with both white snd black pepper. Exceptional - especially at the price. Drinking very well right now. (1585 views) | | | Tasted by jmw17 on 6/6/2017: AR has a gleaming reputation, is packaged beautifully, and carries a premium price tag. That's a lot to live up to when the cork is pulled. As a commercial matter, this bottle fulfilled the "brand promise." The wine was refined, precise; maybe even bespoke. I really feel that I got what I expected. I enjoyed the bottle and would have no problem drinking it again. That said, it was all those things to a fault. It was not exciting, surprising, or even particularly interesting. I guess I should just go open a Texier now. And trade in my Lexus for a VW bug. (1803 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 5/3/2017: Two years on from my last bottle, and this is a wonder of savory Syrah. It needs 30 minutes to blow off some trapped CO2, but once it does the edges are honed down, and it is an integrated medley of black olive, roasted meat, leather, rosemary and fruit that is as dark as midnight. The balance is precise, and the finish long as a night watch. This is both interesting and delicious now, with the requisite depth and balance for several more years of profitable aging. (1996 views) | | | Tasted by flwinos on 3/12/2017 & rated 90 points: Popped and poured two glasses, and let breathe for ~45 minutes while cooking dinner. Dark fruit flavor profile. Blackberry, blueberry, earth, with a hint of a grapey note that took away from the enjoyment of the wine (which subsided with more air). Northern Rhone in style - we would not have guessed this was CA Syrah if we had drank this blind. After the ~45 minute "decant", it continued to get better throughout dinner. Overall, an decent Syrah. I would suggest a decant for 1+ hours to get more Syrah-like characteristics from this. (1725 views) | | | Tasted by Sourdough on 12/10/2016 & rated 92 points: Miderately dark, though light for a Syrah. Subdued but good nose. Wonderful mouthfeel and older world fruit flavor. Lots of fresh acidity. Tannins remain a bit prominant. Very good. Long finish. (1940 views) | | | Tasted by plechazunga on 5/14/2016: Popped and poured. We drank over the course of an hour. Unripe berries and a little earthy. Thin mouthfeel and the high acidity gave it a thin flavor impression. Doesn't stand up to strong foods and doesn't have enough heft to enjoy on its own. Would hold and hope it comes together! Hopefully not past its prime. (2728 views) | | | Tasted by davergny on 5/3/2016 & rated 92 points: Bold, juicy, young syrah. Dark red fruit, white pepper, sage, savory and a bit meaty. Delicious expression of syrah. (2301 views) | | | Tasted by rama on 2/22/2016: Perfumed nose- almost like a muted bojo. Austere mid palate, tannic finish. Enjoyable, but a bit thin and simple right now. (2444 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2014, IWC Issue #174
(Arnot-Roberts Syrah North Coast) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/22/2014)
(Arnot-Roberts Syrah North Coast Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Sonoma and Beyond: New Releases (Feb 2014)
(Arnot-roberts Syrah North Coast North Coast) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and JancisRobinson.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.
Syrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. 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 North CoastThe North Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) in California, covering more than three million acres, includes Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties, and portions of Marin and Solano counties. (see The Wine Institute for more information)North CoastLodi |
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