Arcadian Tasting

3 out of 5 of our tasting group gathered at my house a few days before Christmas to try a couple of Joe's new releases and one of the attendees had a '99 Bien Nacido - Jill's Cuvee which was a great surprise since it would allow us to taste one of Joe's wines with proper age.

We tasted the wines while snacking on marinated grilled pork tenderloin finished off with a praline mustard sauce. We also had finger sized smoked chicken quesadillas, raspberry & brie pastries and wild rice with cranberries, apples & walnuts.

• 1999 Arcadian Pinot Noir Jill's Cuvée

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Wonderful burgundian nose of floral perfume, earthy/zesty cherry, bacon fat, meat & smoke. Very balanced on the palate with integrated acidity and earthy cherry. Long smooth perfumed cherry finish. This wine is drinking at peak and is an eye opener to what Joe's wines become with some age. This was not decanted and does not need it.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2002 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands

  Nice pinot funk on the nose with dried hay and earthy cherry. Mid-palate of very well balanced spicy cherry. Long cherry finish with cinnamon and nutmeg. The wine continued to come on strong during the evening and became WOTN. The wine was decanted for 2 hours before double decanting. I have no doubt this is going to be a stunning wine in another 3-4 years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2002 Arcadian Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley

  Classic Central Coast nose of allspice, black cherry and floral notes. This wine has a darker fuit profile than the other two wines. Mid-palate is full of rich dark cherry with some chewy tannins. A long rich finish of bold/spicy dark cherry with nice supporting acidity. This wine was the darkest in color and the boldest in flavor of the 3 wines opened. The wine continued to smooth out over the next 2 hours. It will be interesting to follow this wines progression as Joe feels this is the biggest richest pinot he has yet produced. This was also decanted for 2 hours before being double decanted. Although the Sleepy Hollow started showing well with several hours of decanting and some more time in the glass, this wine needs to be cellared and will probably be hitting its stride in another 4-5 years.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

You could tell these wines were made by the same winemaker based on the consistant style but each wine had its own distinctive personality and revealed the character of each vineyard. The Bien Nacido and Sleepy Hollow in particular are lighter in style than most Central Coast pinots and for my palate exhibit more complexity than what I normally find in wines from this region. The wines were all very well balanced with good acidity and judicious use of oak. So far in my very limited experience with Arcadian wines, these plus the '02 Sleepy Hollow syrah, I am impressed and recommend folks looking for something different in CA pinot give Arcadian a try.

The Bien Nacido was the favorite initially but after an hour or so in the glass it faded a bit while the Sleepy Hollow continued to gain in complexity and became WOTN. All the wines were very good and we agreed that we would be happy to have any of these in our cellar.