The '01 and '05 editions of this wine remain my absolute benchmark for Central Coast chardonny south of Santa Cruz Mountains. I’m not sure this '07 will live up to those twin peaks of forgetaboutwhiteBurg quality, but I’m not sure it won’t. Regardless of that, it is very tasty wine, fully worthy of the Joe Davis signature.
Arcadian 2007 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands. Pale/medium gold. Fresh and ripe fruit on the nose and some barrel spices. Peach and pineapple on the palate, ripe but has acidity for tautness and grip. Minerals and a hint of toasty oak too. Long grippy finish. I like the tension of ripeness-foiled-by-tautness. Will be fascinating to follow over 5-6 years, and maybe much longer, who knows? Outstanding.
BIG fan of Sleepy Hollow fruit - I can’t say I recall trying Joe’s '07 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay (anyone who went to Berserkerfest 2 care to correct me? Did we taste it there?), but it sounds intriguing, since I know I enjoy the fruit so consistently.
Todd, I’m a big fan of Sleepy Hollow too, especially from Arcadian. The Arcadian '07 Fiddlestix Vineyard pinot was awesome last week, and I’ll sample the '07 Sleepy Hollow pinot soon. I plan to hold off on the '07 syrah until fall, as I like cooler weather for syrah. All three wines have super QPR to boot.
Nothing is lacking IMO. I’m just not comfortable predicting the future evolution, just not much experience with this type of wine in forecasting how it goes once the babyfat of ripe fruit receeds to the background. However, I would be comfortable accepting Joe’s prediction as he has always been a straight shooter on stuff like that. Does Joe Berserk?
Thanks for the timely notes on the '07s!! I placed a hefty ‘Catch and Release’ order last week with the SH chard and pinot being the cornerstone of the order.
NOSE: Day 1: rich; lemony; mineral; a touch grassy. Day 3: moderate+ expressiveness; lemon pie.
BODY: striking golden-yellow color; medium bodied
TASTE: Day 1: fantastic acidity; ripe fruit; strong mineral on the mid and rear palates. Day 3: rich; great acid; light oaky; alc. not noticeable; very delicious. Favorably reminiscent of the 2005 vintage of this bottling.
I opened one of these for Frank, Brig and Steve recently and it was great, though I don’t have a tasting note on me. I agree that the color was strikingly gold/yellow, but the wine didn’t seem advanced at all.
Sweet! Agree about not advanced for its color — but that seems to be not uncommon with this bottling.
I just looked at Brig’s and Frank’s notes — I agree with both of them, although I get the sense that the oak came-off stronger to Frank than it did to me.
2007 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (2/16/2015)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over two days –
– 3.23 pH; 7.9 g/L –
NOSE: Day 1: ripe Chard. fruit aroma; very intense; light oak; ripe apple and pear; hint of wet cut grass. Day 2: rich lemon; a touch lactic.
BODY: rich orange-yellow color; medium to medium-full bodied.
TASTE: Day 1: great richness and concentration of fruit flavor; medium+ to high acidity; light to med.-light oak; nice underlying mineral streak, especially on the finish; strong flavor; 13.6% alc. not noticeable; incredible intensity for such low alc.; hint of smoky mineral and/or underbrush. Day 2: rich; lots of stuffing; mineral on the long finish; very delicious. Fantastic wine. Drink now or over the next 10 years.
Another nice note on the SH Chard. I opened an '03 on a whim the other day - for some reason it sounded good after shoveling snow for 2 hours. (Second time this year I found myself craving a white after shoveling snow. Odd. Perhaps dehydration?). Anyway, the '03 was great and I am looking forward to the rest this afternoon. The only thing that throws me is the color. I find myself looking for signs of advanced aging, which I don’t really perceive. The end result is my mental note being “drink up” even though thats not what tasting it told me.
BTW Benchmark Wines still has a bottle of '08 SH Chard for $30 plus a few syrahs at $35 or so. You could still pull together a nice mixed case at some good prices.