Arnot-Roberts Spring 2024 open house
Tasted April 13, 2024 by WindFlyer with 32 views
Introduction
I quite enjoy the AR open houses… they are fun and low-key but well organised by the AR gang and a nice chance to chat with them casually. ultimately, they are great for being able to taste thru the lineup of releases and get a first read on how the wines stack versus prior vintages and what their drinking windows may be.
This one took place during a chilly and rainy day (seems to be my lot!)… and as usual, featured small bites by the Spinster Sisters in addition to the wines and friendly company.
Flight 1 - The light wines (3 notes)
as usual, i'll put this down to settle in and re-emerge next summer.
11.5% AbV; blend of 71% Touring Nacional/ 15% Trincadeira/ 11% Grenache and 3% Tinta Cão; fruit sourced from five different vineyards in a number of AVAs; each site was picked and vilified separately and foot-trod for colour extraction; fermentation in stainless. bottles in early January 2024.
dry and smooth textured, it is very refreshing and just about accessible.
well-carried 13.5% AbV; all Beneventana clone from two sites (70% from Las Cimas and 30% from Handel-Denier); whole cluster fermented and malo in stainless, then aged in neutral French oak for ten months.
pale straw colour and light body. fresh tangerine and ripe apple in the nose with floral whiffs. silky and a bit reticent in mouth, with time it gains in the mid palate with white-fleshed melon, lime and accents of honeycomb and fresh herbs. bright acidity that is proportional and very good length round up the experience.
this is certainly drinkable now, but i prefer my Ribollas with some five years in bottle to fill out some more and display more layers… upside potential there.
12% AbV; whole-cluster pressed with no skin contact and fermented in stainless; ten months' ageing in neutral French oak.
Flight 2 - The Syrahs (2 notes)
Arnot-Roberts make very distinctive cool-climate Syrahs. I thought that the 2021s released last year were phenomenal, and was somewhat apprehensive these 2022s would be a bit of a letdown. Not quite.
While they may not reach those heights of complexity, the current crop makes up for that with earlier accessibility. I fully expect to drink my 22s before my 21s…
…it was also enjoyable to hear Duncan speak of the challenges and reward of growing Syrah at the edge of the continent. His passion and delight in making these wines was rather apparent and well, the proof is in the bottles.
beautiful and focused expression of cool-climate Syrah. this should come around sooner than the '21… probably as soon as in a couple of years. and while it'll likely have a long life, the purity suggests it may be very rewarding in the medium term (say, around 2027).
12% AbV; 100% whole cluster inclusion; basket pressed; aged in neutral French oak for ten months.
while this will need a bit of time to open up, it will likely do so before the '21, even if its development runway turns to be a shorter. there is good upside potential here.
12% AbV; 75% whole cluster inclusion; basket pressed; aged in neutral French oak for ten months.
Flight 3 - The Cabernets (3 notes)
This release also marked the return of the single-vineyard Cabs from the 2021 harvest, as AR did not prouce them from the 2020 fire-plagued season.
And while there was no "Montecillo" release this year, AR decided to continue with the Bordeaux blend they started last year to make up for the lack of single-vineyard Cabs. It seems they may continue this flexible blend going forward, and that current release seems more readily accessible than last years' was a very welcome development.
more open at release than the '21 version, this should need not much more than a couple of years to be in a good drinking window. and while very concentrated, it shows more nuance as well.
13% AbV; blend of 57% Cab Sauv./ 22% Cab Franc/ 21% Merlot; fruit comes from three different vineyards (two of them contributing more than one varietal) in Sonoma Valley (Bedrock), Chalk Hill (Persia) and Russian River Valley (Las Cimas) AVAs; all sites were harvested, destemmed and vinified separately; after blending, half was aged in neutral oak barrels and half in concrete tanks for ten months.
smooth but firm tannins should need a handful of years to subsume; but with the impeccable balance and the clarity in its fruit this wine hints at elegance to come… not to mention long life.
13.5% AbV; fully destemmed; aged for twenty-two months in French oak (10% new).
on the basis of the nose, its balance, and its persistence, it is clearly an excellent wine… and one that in time will reward only a few drinkers, as only two barrels were produced.
13% AbV; fully destemmed; aged in neutral French oak barrels for twenty-two months.
Closing
I found the wines, as usual, very good to excellent, and even outstanding… and after complimenting Nathan on them we got talking about the 2023 harvest… he shared that it shaped out quite nicely in spite of its late start and that they feel very positive about the wines as result.
…so, here's looking to more great AR wines to come!