-- popped and poured -- -- tasted a couple glasses non-blind over approx. one hour --
Gorgeous moderately-aged aromas: red-fruited (cherry and strawberry), with a hint of old wood. No tannins. Medium-high acidity. Red-fruited on the palate, with a pleasant savory aspect. Still in its prime window, which I expect will stay open for quite some time. No brett. Brighter than an '00 Francesca's which was consumed alongside. The superlative showings for this wine continue. Gut impression score: low to mid 90's.
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-- popped and poured -- -- tasted non-blind over 2 hours --
NOSE: expressive purple fruits; damp earth; hints of crushed rocks and leather/funk; gentle spiciness.
BODY: garnet-violet color of medium depth; medium-light bodied; slight bricking.
TASTE: ripe red/purple fruits; powerful, yet elegant; lovely back-end herbal note; pleasant mid-palate specks of spice (perhaps oak-derived?); seamless; plum; black cherry; fig; incredibly delicious!; medium+ acidity; no tannin; alcohol is a tiny bit noticeable; in its prime drink window now, but not tired; I'm not sure there's any room for further improvement, so Drink Now and over the next few years. Truly phenomenal wine!
50, 5, 13, 18, 9 = 95
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Decanted 90 minutes; minor need or benefit. Reddish brown with orange tinge and approaching translucency. Nose has an almost a rustic red fruit quality, with earth and spice tones that gives it a nuanced complexity. Medium light fruit weight. Silky texture on entry that expands flavor and acidity on the palate. Still with a juicy pinotness behind tamed tannins and secondary flavors. Great match for wild king salmon. Table was surprised to find this was from Cali and shocked that it came from Pisoni vineyard.
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This started off a bit weak when opened. Rustic, rough edges, missing acidity. But after being open 45 mins or so, somehow the wine blossomed. There was terrific acidity, red fruit and a smoothness to it.
Decant or at least give the bottle a chance to breathe, or do as we did, follow the evolution in your glass.
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Popped and poured. Showed well with 20 minutes of air. This is drinking at or near now, but will probably hold for a few years. Elegant with bing cherries and nice acidity.
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Opened and gave this a short decant of maybe 30 minutes or so. The absolute best showing of this wine I have had, and have consumed a half dozen or so over the years. The tertiary flavors are starting to show through, and the wine has become fully resolved, although there is no hurry to drink up. Raspberry/strawberry/cherry with spice, but there is a very pleasant and unmistakeable mushroom lurking in both the fore and background. The wine now possesses a smoothness that surrounds the tongue, while not overwhelming it. A pleasure to sip, and I just enjoyed the sensation, but the finish was certainly long and rewarding as well. I am not sure if Joe has any of this left, but if he does, well worth the coin. I am happy to have 4 more bottles of this. Outstanding wine
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Initially, a bit diffuse and a tad sweet. With time in the glass it lost most of its sweetness and seemed to come together somewhat. By far the cleanest/least funky bottle I've had of this. Still very good, but this bottle lacked the excitement of previous bottles.
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– popped and poured – – tasted non-blind on Days 1 and 3 –
NOSE: Day 1: cool raspberry; some funk; underbrush; smoked meat; expressive. Day 3: rich minerally Nose; sappy; red/blue fruits; hint of oak; Day 1's leather/funk note is gone now; smells a bit sweeter than it did on Day 1; hauntingly cool; this myriad of descriptors is a real testament to how complex this wine’s Nose really is.
BODY: Day1: purple-garnet color with slight orange towards edges; color is of medium depth; medium-light to medium bodied. Day 3: rustic black-garnet color of medium depth; medium-grained particulate matter present, but otherwise clear; medium bodied.
TASTE: Day 1: hints of cinnamon spice and red apple skins; a bit of leather; cool berry fruit; (a friend who tasted this blind guessed New World Pinot, Monterey, 2008, with American Oak). Day 3: has picked-up some weight since Day 1; intense earthy leather; pomegranate and black cherry fruits; smooth; lush; good minerality and acidity; a bit ashy; slight hint of funk on the finish; good concentration of fruit; a bit of garrigue (or dried herbs) comes through mid-way through the long finish; again, all these descriptors are a reflection of this wine’s complexity: I don’t get all these aspects at the same time, but rather at various times throughout the bottle/glass; tannins are integrated; slightly juicy acidity; slightly on the acidic side of well-balanced between acid and tannin; alcohol is a little noticeable in the belly (13.7%); medium-long to long finish of moderate to moderate-great intensity; very nicely structured: seems to have enough fruit and acid to sail for another 10 or 15 years in the cellar. Still my favorite American Pinot Noir I’ve ever had; a truly stunning effort!
B: 50, 5, 13, 18, 9 = 95
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Tasted next to the 2002 Williams Selyem Precious Mountain--the Arcadian smashed it. The wine picked up a juicy raspberry/cherry note as it sat along with a nice spicy component. Kind of grew on me as we drank it, finishing with a note of hard red candy.
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Medium red color with orange edges. Nose of cherries and spices. Beautifully balanced. Taste of cherries and spices. Full range of flavor. Long pleasing aftertaste. Wonderful with the food.
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Popped and aerated in the glass for 20 mintes. Sparkling ruby color. Nose of gooseberry, intense raspberry, forest floor, earth. Lush, dense berry palate loaded with spice, mineral, and licorice, setting up a presence on the tongue that maintains through a 40-second finish. Bracing acidity and smoothed tannins. Wow, this thing is practically alive.
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Consumed over the Christmas holidays, although also had a bottle of this at Downtown 140. An outstanding, balanced wine that has purity of fruit, yet the balance and finish puts it all together. I have ordered more of these. Certainly able to drink, but will age for a long time. My second best pinot of 2008, only behind the 1997 Pisoni
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Arcadian in the OC with Joe Davis (Jim Dietz's): Oddly complex nose of big dark fruits, herbals and some heat. Pisoni blackberries with a dose of herbs on a tight grippy palate. In need of more time to integrate clearly.
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NOSE: funky; nice secondary spice. Smelled like a Burg with some age on it.
APPEARANCE: ruby with orange at edges. medium depth to the color.
TASTE: very nice; full palate; well-balanced; tastes like it has some age. Funky, pure fruits ... tastes like terroir in a bottle. This was my hands-down WOTN. The points make it look closer than it was...for my palate, the Arcadian blew everything out of the water. I was blown away when the bags were pulled and this was not a Burgundy ... I'm totally impressed Pinot of such elegance and restraint is being made in CA. A bitchin' Pinot!
B: 50, 5, 13, 17, 8 = 93
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I decanted for 4 hours in the cellar then poured it in the bottle and left it there for another 4. then back to the decanter at room temp for a few hours before dinner. In the glass the wine had a pureness in appearance. On the nose it showed spices with some leather in front of some chery or light berry fruits. The palate was much the same, bright and spicy with a definite firmness. The finish was long and pure. An elegant wine. This was not your typical cali-pinot with the fruit leading the way. Somewhat of a European side to it? I think.
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Tasted blind. Almost Grenache-like nose of rather intense spice, light leather, red/black fruit. On the palate, red fruit, baking spices. Decent acidity. Shows some heat.
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Joe suggested I decant this for 12 hours and 24 would be even better due to the very low levels of dissolved oxygen. Thus, I decanted for 14 hours in the cellar and double decanted for another 6 hours. The color is much lighter than any other Pisoni I have had and is a very pretty translucent brickish/crancherry. The nose is very burgundian - crancherry, rose petal, herbs, meat, spice and exotic wood. Spicy crancherry mid-palate. Very long and expansive finish that is wonderfully balanced with orange peel/cranapple/spicy crancherry with deliciously integrated acidity highlighting the citrus/crancherry/earthy flavors. A stunning world class pinot that will only improve and should be hitting its stride at the end of the decade and drink well for many years after. Not only the best Pisoni I have had but also one of the best pinots I have ever had.
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9/8/2018 - grafstrb wrote:
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted a couple glasses non-blind over approx. one hour --
Gorgeous moderately-aged aromas: red-fruited (cherry and strawberry), with a hint of old wood. No tannins. Medium-high acidity. Red-fruited on the palate, with a pleasant savory aspect. Still in its prime window, which I expect will stay open for quite some time. No brett. Brighter than an '00 Francesca's which was consumed alongside. The superlative showings for this wine continue. Gut impression score: low to mid 90's.
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4/19/2018 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious red raspberry, cherry, and herbal aromas and flavors with earthy notes culminating in a long refreshing finish.
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1/23/2018 - Ali wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well with pop and pour. Fully resolved are ready to go
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9/10/2016 - grafstrb wrote: 95 Points
-- popped and poured --
-- tasted non-blind over 2 hours --
NOSE: expressive purple fruits; damp earth; hints of crushed rocks and leather/funk; gentle spiciness.
BODY: garnet-violet color of medium depth; medium-light bodied; slight bricking.
TASTE: ripe red/purple fruits; powerful, yet elegant; lovely back-end herbal note; pleasant mid-palate specks of spice (perhaps oak-derived?); seamless; plum; black cherry; fig; incredibly delicious!; medium+ acidity; no tannin; alcohol is a tiny bit noticeable; in its prime drink window now, but not tired; I'm not sure there's any room for further improvement, so Drink Now and over the next few years. Truly phenomenal wine!
50, 5, 13, 18, 9 = 95
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7/3/2016 - thomaskeil Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 90 minutes; minor need or benefit. Reddish brown with orange tinge and approaching translucency. Nose has an almost a rustic red fruit quality, with earth and spice tones that gives it a nuanced complexity. Medium light fruit weight. Silky texture on entry that expands flavor and acidity on the palate. Still with a juicy pinotness behind tamed tannins and secondary flavors. Great match for wild king salmon. Table was surprised to find this was from Cali and shocked that it came from
Pisoni vineyard.
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11/11/2015 - Ali wrote: flawed
unfortunately, TCA infected
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8/26/2014 - Colima74 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This started off a bit weak when opened. Rustic, rough edges, missing acidity. But after being open 45 mins or so, somehow the wine blossomed. There was terrific acidity, red fruit and a smoothness to it.
Decant or at least give the bottle a chance to breathe, or do as we did, follow the evolution in your glass.
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6/20/2013 - Ali wrote: 94 Points
Popped and poured. Showed well with 20 minutes of air. This is drinking at or near now, but will probably hold for a few years. Elegant with bing cherries and nice acidity.
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11/23/2012 - Dave Mci wrote: 94 Points
Opened and gave this a short decant of maybe 30 minutes or so. The absolute best showing of this wine I have had, and have consumed a half dozen or so over the years. The tertiary flavors are starting to show through, and the wine has become fully resolved, although there is no hurry to drink up. Raspberry/strawberry/cherry with spice, but there is a very pleasant and unmistakeable mushroom lurking in both the fore and background. The wine now possesses a smoothness that surrounds the tongue, while not overwhelming it. A pleasure to sip, and I just enjoyed the sensation, but the finish was certainly long and rewarding as well. I am not sure if Joe has any of this left, but if he does, well worth the coin. I am happy to have 4 more bottles of this. Outstanding wine
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11/19/2011 - grafstrb wrote:
Hotel Terravina (Southampton, UK): -- popped and poured --
-- consumed non-blind over approx. one hour --
Initially, a bit diffuse and a tad sweet. With time in the glass it lost most of its sweetness and seemed to come together somewhat. By far the cleanest/least funky bottle I've had of this. Still very good, but this bottle lacked the excitement of previous bottles.
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12/12/2010 - grafstrb Likes this wine: 95 Points
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind on Days 1 and 3 –
NOSE: Day 1: cool raspberry; some funk; underbrush; smoked meat; expressive. Day 3: rich minerally Nose; sappy; red/blue fruits; hint of oak; Day 1's leather/funk note is gone now; smells a bit sweeter than it did on Day 1; hauntingly cool; this myriad of descriptors is a real testament to how complex this wine’s Nose really is.
BODY: Day1: purple-garnet color with slight orange towards edges; color is of medium depth; medium-light to medium bodied. Day 3: rustic black-garnet color of medium depth; medium-grained particulate matter present, but otherwise clear; medium bodied.
TASTE: Day 1: hints of cinnamon spice and red apple skins; a bit of leather; cool berry fruit; (a friend who tasted this blind guessed New World Pinot, Monterey, 2008, with American Oak). Day 3: has picked-up some weight since Day 1; intense earthy leather; pomegranate and black cherry fruits; smooth; lush; good minerality and acidity; a bit ashy; slight hint of funk on the finish; good concentration of fruit; a bit of garrigue (or dried herbs) comes through mid-way through the long finish; again, all these descriptors are a reflection of this wine’s complexity: I don’t get all these aspects at the same time, but rather at various times throughout the bottle/glass; tannins are integrated; slightly juicy acidity; slightly on the acidic side of well-balanced between acid and tannin; alcohol is a little noticeable in the belly (13.7%); medium-long to long finish of moderate to moderate-great intensity; very nicely structured: seems to have enough fruit and acid to sail for another 10 or 15 years in the cellar. Still my favorite American Pinot Noir I’ve ever had; a truly stunning effort!
B: 50, 5, 13, 18, 9 = 95
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11/7/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasted next to the 2002 Williams Selyem Precious Mountain--the Arcadian smashed it. The wine picked up a juicy raspberry/cherry note as it sat along with a nice spicy component. Kind of grew on me as we drank it, finishing with a note of hard red candy.
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10/30/2010 - jdvk wrote: 94 Points
So balanced and smooth. Still has significant time left to improve in the bottle. I drink my last one in 3 or more years.
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5/17/2009 - lpollack wrote: 92 Points
Medium red color with orange edges. Nose of cherries and spices. Beautifully balanced. Taste of cherries and spices. Full range of flavor. Long pleasing aftertaste. Wonderful with the food.
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3/7/2009 - grafstrb wrote:
Dinner at Gia Cucina: -- decanted 5 hours before tasting --
-- tasted non-blind --
NOSE: spicy; cherries; hint of Pinot funk
BODY: orange-red color of light depth; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: smooth red fruits; herbaceous; smooth; incredibly well-balanced; long finish. Gorgeous wine.
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1/24/2009 - DougLee wrote: 93 Points
Popped and aerated in the glass for 20 mintes. Sparkling ruby color. Nose of gooseberry, intense raspberry, forest floor, earth. Lush, dense berry palate loaded with spice, mineral, and licorice, setting up a presence on the tongue that maintains through a 40-second finish. Bracing acidity and smoothed tannins. Wow, this thing is practically alive.
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1/10/2009 - Dave Mci wrote: 94 Points
Consumed over the Christmas holidays, although also had a bottle of this at Downtown 140. An outstanding, balanced wine that has purity of fruit, yet the balance and finish puts it all together. I have ordered more of these. Certainly able to drink, but will age for a long time. My second best pinot of 2008, only behind the 1997 Pisoni
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12/7/2008 - WetRock wrote:
Arcadian in the OC with Joe Davis (Jim Dietz's): Oddly complex nose of big dark fruits, herbals and some heat. Pisoni blackberries with a dose of herbs on a tight grippy palate. In need of more time to integrate clearly.
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8/22/2008 - etherscreen wrote:
in a word - wow!
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8/9/2008 - grafstrb wrote: 93 Points
Los Angeles Blind Rose & Pinot Noir Tasting (Kincaid's Restaurant in Redondo Beach): -- tasted blind: Pinot 4 of 12 --
NOSE: funky; nice secondary spice. Smelled like a Burg with some age on it.
APPEARANCE: ruby with orange at edges. medium depth to the color.
TASTE: very nice; full palate; well-balanced; tastes like it has some age. Funky, pure fruits ... tastes like terroir in a bottle. This was my hands-down WOTN. The points make it look closer than it was...for my palate, the Arcadian blew everything out of the water. I was blown away when the bags were pulled and this was not a Burgundy ... I'm totally impressed Pinot of such elegance and restraint is being made in CA. A bitchin' Pinot!
B: 50, 5, 13, 17, 8 = 93
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5/17/2008 - charbo wrote:
I decanted for 4 hours in the cellar then poured it in the bottle and left it there for another 4. then back to the decanter at room temp for a few hours before dinner. In the glass the wine had a pureness in appearance. On the nose it showed spices with some leather in front of some chery or light berry fruits. The palate was much the same, bright and spicy with a definite firmness. The finish was long and pure. An elegant wine. This was not your typical cali-pinot with the fruit leading the way. Somewhat of a European side to it? I think.
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1/28/2007 - CO CHRIS wrote:
So, for me, I waited. I received this wine last February - almost a year!!...13.7% alc...shy...more notes on night 2...
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1/21/2007 - Ben Andersen wrote:
Tasted blind. Almost Grenache-like nose of rather intense spice, light leather, red/black fruit. On the palate, red fruit, baking spices. Decent acidity. Shows some heat.
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1/8/2006 - RussW wrote:
Joe suggested I decant this for 12 hours and 24 would be even better due to the very low levels of dissolved oxygen. Thus, I decanted for 14 hours in the cellar and double decanted for another 6 hours. The color is much lighter than any other Pisoni I have had and is a very pretty translucent brickish/crancherry. The nose is very burgundian - crancherry, rose petal, herbs, meat, spice and exotic wood. Spicy crancherry mid-palate. Very long and expansive finish that is wonderfully balanced with orange peel/cranapple/spicy crancherry with deliciously integrated acidity highlighting the citrus/crancherry/earthy flavors. A stunning world class pinot that will only improve and should be hitting its stride at the end of the decade and drink well for many years after. Not only the best Pisoni I have had but also one of the best pinots I have ever had.
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