2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (4/22/2018)
Popped and poured. Medium ruby hue. Fresh nose of raspberry, violets, stone, damp cellar. Juicy red and black raspberry fruit on the tongue cut with brier and iron reaching the back palate with concentration and zing. Firm but smoothed tannin balancing delightfully fresh acidity. Long, satisfying finish of mulberry fruit, brambles, iron, and grip. Great stuff. From a 375. (92 pts.)
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (7/31/2018)
– cork pulled 30 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a couple hours –
– from 375 mL –
NOSE: oaky; savory; gamey; dark cherry; moderate oak; aromas are maturing (but flavors are not)
BODY: medium-grained particulate matter present; garnet color of medium depth, with a hint of bricking at the edges; medium bodied.
TASTE: still some drying tannin; high acidity; some oak; light, tart red fruits; floral note; cherry; green/hard aspect; this still seems to be tight/primary right now; apparently, this wine is going to take forever to unfurl — here, we have a 13 yo wine that still presents as tight, and this is out of half bottle. No brainer Hold for this one.
Thanks for the note. I was just noticing yesterday that I have one of those, and I was considering putting it on the “ready to drink” shelf. '05 has been a slow maturing year for WV Pinot Noir too, not to mention Burgundy.
Doug – also popped a 375 of this the other day. Same note. It was delightful. The 2005s will just age forever. It’s such a compelling vintage. Agree with you, Brian, that you could still think of this as tight. It may need another five years to turn the maturity corner into fully secondary aspects with good storage.
2005 Arcadian Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills (3/19/2019)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2 hours –
– from 375mL –
Garnet color of medium depth with slight bricking at the edges. Medium-grained particulate matter present. Intense cherry aroma with a slight savory bent to it. On the palate, this was initially red-fruited, showing some slight aged character. Oak is noticeable, but light. Hint of fruit leather. Opened-up with air, and took-on a profile more reflective of its 14 years of age. This bottle was more accessible than a bottle from last summer; this might be in its prime drink window out of 375mL, with a short decant. Drink or Hold.