Tried these two last week at Dinner:
- Arnot-Roberts Falanghina Handel-DenierVnyd/DryCreekVlly (12%; 5 brls) Healdsburg 2019: Light yellow color; very light floral/carnations slight earthy almost no nose; quite tart/tangy/acidic/grapefruity very light floral/carnations/Fal very slight earthy lean/bit vapid almost devoid of flavor; short very tangy/acidic/citric weak floral/carnations slight chalky bit sour finish; not really a vapid or watery wine but just a white lacking in everything, aromatics & flavor; just not much there right now; may put on weight & turn into something…or may not. $25.00
- Arnot-Roberts Syrah SonomaCoast (13%) 2019: Dark color; fairly strong floral/violets/Syrah/blackberry quite Rhonish/cracked balck pepper/c-c some roasted/earthy/smoked meats very interesting nose; quite tart/tangy rather hard/tannic bit austere/severe some w-c/black pepper/roasted/Rhonish strong c-c/Syrah/peppery/bit olive tapenade quite Rhonish flavor w/ some hard/chewey tannins; long quite tart/tangy/hard/austere fairly c-c/black pepper/Rhonish/w-c/smoked meats light toasty/oak some complex finish w/ ample hard/chewey tannins; pretty classic young A-R Syrah nose but pretty hard on the palate; needs some 4-8 yrs & may become very interesting…or it may not. $40.00
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- Two pretty typical A-R wines w/ low alcohols and their typical fear of making a ripe wine. The Falanghina was a weird one. Not really weak/watery/eviscerated…just a white that’s pretty devoid of any aromatics or flavor; gawd only knows where it will go. may put on weight…or maybe always be a lean/pinched white.
The Syrah reminded me some of the EricTexier Brezeme, which are often on the acid side. They usually develop into something. If this A-R will do the same…one can only hope.
I’m getting close to giving up on the A-R wines. In their search for low-alcohols, they are often rather severe and don’t offer a whole lot of pleasure…at least when young, anyway. IPoB wines??? I don’t think so.
Tom