2009 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (25) Avg Score: 90.2 points

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  2/16/2024 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 92 Points

  We've had only a couple of bottles from this wonderful producer that weren't *excellent*- still really good, but maybe a little out of balance. This was one of them. I really enjoyed it, and in many ways it seems to have aged well, but it wasn't totally convincing.
  
  This is a super featherlight syrah on paper (I think it was 11.8% or 11.9% ABV, insanely low especially for CA)- you wouldn't have guessed that based on the nose. It was expressive immediately - you could smell the age a little bit with some leathery notes and slightly dried fruit, but there was still nice freshness and complexity there with a burst of red and black plums alongside a sort of glazed meat/bbq/pepper beef thing (always in the background just behind the fruit.) Just a bit of olive brine, too. It was sort of a warm, rounded kind of scent with savory nuance- not the kind of super precise expression I'm used to in their wines. Just a little more muddled. Still, one could easily have blinded it as a Northern Rhone syrah with some years on it. Really had an old-world thing, especially with the leathery/meaty notes. The ripe red fruit component almost reminded me of older southern rhone, in a funny way.
  
  The palate showed the lightness of the wine a lot more clearly - it had a really delicate feel to it, even with plenty of plum and black cherry swirling around. The tannins were totally silky, and there was certainly no trace of heat or overripe fruit - very gentle and flavorful. The acidity was the weak point; I really value the high acid in their wines, but here it was a bit too salty and sour, as though it didn't match up perfectly with the fruit. Energetic, just not completely integrated.
  
  This was excellent to sip on, even if it didn't blow my mind with freshness and precision as their wines usually do. I have firsthand experience with other older bottles of theirs that had aged perfectly (in particular the syrah!) but I think this was probably better earlier in its lifespan. The style doesn't work as well once the fruit starts to soften and relax too much. 2009 was their second to last bottling from this vineyard - I wonder if they were having trouble getting the grapes to work perfectly in their style or something.

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  9/24/2022 - Magnum PI Likes this wine: 94 Points

  I enjoyed this bottle at the home of my very good friends Masey and Tyler, with a great Indian dish prepared by the master chef himself. Decanted for an hour, consumed over the following 2 hours alongside a magnum of '15 Behrens Syrah and an '07 de la Solitude CDP.
  
  The wine is in a very good spot right now, and although I wouldn't expect it to improve, I did not detect any signs of decline, and I think it might hold for 3-5 years. No fading at the edges, continued opening in the glass, and the last glass was as good as the first. Resolved tannins, perfect balance, just enough acidity to pair with the moderately spiced but not hot Indian food.
  
  Liquer and current notes, Tyler thought forest and new leather. Complex harmony of flavors, ending with a decent finish. The Behrens was definitely a New World style with much more extraction and in your face fruit. The de la Solitude was traditional CDP. The AR was right in the middle. Very solid bottle.

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  12/22/2021 - Cote d'Or wrote:

  Tasted over 2 hrs
  -dark red purple, minimal clearing
  -olive juice faint berry liqueur
  -med/med+ acidity shows itself on finish, med- weight focused sour blackberry fruit profile tethered to an earthy mineral base, med tannins are a bit coarse
  -still no signs of overt maturity though the fruit is fading a bit, should be fine for at least a few more years though not necessarily better

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  5/30/2020 - retired_and_roving wrote:

  Wine in the time of Corona Virus - Quarantining in NYC & NH; 3/7/2020-9/1/2020 (NYC/NH): Opened as a 3rd bottle on night 1 and I was not interested enough to finish the glass. Revisited on Day 2 and it still wasn't wowing me, seemed to be a bit thin with high acidity - not nearly as interesting as some their other Syrahs from this time period I have opened recently.

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  4/26/2020 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Effervescence is gone. Lovely.

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