TN: 2005 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay

I have had way too many of these for such a young bottling, but I am continually impressed with this wine. To my palate, Joe’s '05 Sleepy Hollow represents everything a great young California Chardonnay should be. It has vibrantly ripe yellow citrus fruits that are tempered by great acidity and minerality, which work together to give superb length on the finish. I find it complex, full of drive and energy and just flat out delicious. In short, I consider this reference-grade material that has many years of positive development in front of it.

Popped one myself tonight and agree, it is a go to cali chard.

Recently attended an Arcadian wine dinner with Joe and he was pouring the 07 Sleepy Hollow and let me tell you, it was drinking better than the 05. Not sure it has been released yet but it was fantastic.

Had this with fresh Stone Crab claws on NYE, and what a great pairing it was! The crab meat was sublime, rich and sweet, and the Arcadian Chard was a perfect match, with its balance of fruit/acidity and minerality. Wishing now I had bought another case when I had the chance!

Sounds great Rick. Thanks for sharing the note

I haven’t opened a bottle of this in a couple of years, but then it was just awesome. I have a few more, so I should look in on this.

Thanx for the note… and good to see you back posting again…

I opened this last night from a 375. Really in a good spot.

This is a favorite of mine and for the money hard to beat. Are there more not recent vintages than this? What is their release schedule like for their Chards?

2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (3/1/2015)
– bottle was open for a few hours before I had my glass –
– tasted a single glass non-blind over approx. 1 hour –

NOSE: expressive; ripe lemon curd; medium-light oak

BODY: rich golden yellow color; medium to medium-full bodied

TASTE: rich lemon; medium+ acidity; fruit flavors are starting to mature; probably in its peak drink window right now, where I suspect it will remain for the next 2 or 3 years.

Posted from CellarTracker

wish I still had more of these. I had to have drank through a case within a year and a half

I’m pretty sure Arcadian still sells these. This is really an excellent wine, and it still has plenty of years left.

I believe it, Charlie. Over time, through various channels, I’ve purchased nearly a case and a half of this wine; luckily, through the power of offsite storage, I still have a few bottles left.

2008 is the most recent vintage I’ve seen so far.

2008 is the current release, so it would be surprising to hear that anyone has seen any vintage more recent.

Same here. Bought some from the list, then our midtown Kroger with the crazy wine dept blew a bunch out for $30. This was my house wine for a while.
Thanks for the reminder, Brian.

I think it was a distributor dump if i remember correctly. All kinds of places had it for $30

We drank the 2000 at lunch today. Outstanding. Last of my 8 bottles bought at a crazy price.

2005 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (3/20/2016)
– one hour decant before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over approx. 4 hours –

This bottle seems to have more energy than most previous bottles. Still has that dark golden yellow hue. Acidity is medium-high. Doesn’t taste as butterscotchy as I’ve come to expect from this wine; rich, without being clumsy — this wine has been so consistent over the years it’s very easy for me to forget that time is actually passing; excellent showing for an excellent wine. Drink or Hold.

+1 Brian.
Opened a bottle at my bros last month and your note is right on. This wine keeps singing and shows no sign of tiring.

Thanks for the note Brian. Still my favorite chard Joe has made.

Thanks, guys. Bryan, the '05 was, for a long time, my favorite of Joe’s Chardonnays, too, but the '06 has now taken that title.