Tis the real deal in case you did not know it. Second time with this one in the past 12 months. It is easily my Cali pinot of 2009 thus far. Stunning, haunting, sleepy hollow-funkness aromatics that cascade across the table. Black cherry, earth emerge with time as broad strokes of blackberry fruit and notes of mushroom stock weave in and out. Layers and layers unfold as it sits in the glass. My brother worked his last glass for three hours and it was still singing along at midnight. Slight bit of grip to the back end, that penetrates the mouth and keeps giving. Bravo.
Best part, it was $65 off the list at Chao Chao in Sandy Hook, CT. We carried in several other bottles, but I opened the list and saw the Arc. After I got back up on my chair we ordered a bottle. Great little place with a small, but well-priced and diverse wine list. Most bottles stored actively-great provenance on the Arc bottle.
Sleepy Hollow is continuously one of my favorite vineyards for CA Pinot. At various Falltaculars, one gets the opportunity to try quite a few bottlings of Sleepy Hollow, from various winemakers, and to me, they always come out ahead.
Yeah, living in ATL there are few opportunities to be really wowed by outrageous deals on wine lists. This qualifies as my best ever wine list find. Cool thing is, the owner, a good friend of my brother, was psyched to have someone order it and appreciate the pricing. Good times.
Thanks for the note. My favorite Arcadian Pinot … ever. Sleepy Hollow is amazing and miles ahead of any other vineyard in SLH. I hope it is the vine age and that some of the other vineyards improve as they gain age.
Funny that as we were drinking it Thurs night, the Arc summer emailer came with the '01 Sleepy at $60. Other things I remember from the list '03 Beaucastel Coudelet at $50 (goes for $40 around here) an '05 Brewer Clifton Pinot at $53…I’d be a regular if l lived in those parts.
Dr. Mark Greene パコパコママ期間限定スペシャルー無料お試し開始! was there as well, ya know, in case anyone fell ill
The '01 Sleepy Hollow was the wine that hooked me on Arcadian - and it remains one of my all time favorites. Have another bottle lined up for next weekend…
2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (2/9/2010)
– decanted for one hour before tasting –
– tasted non-blind over 45 minutes –
NOSE: Effusive nose features cherries and rose petals; smells like cool climate Oregon pinot (blueberries, perhaps?); hint of oak; very pretty.
BODY: cool cherry color with the slightest hint of bricking at the edges; color is of medium-light depth; some fine particulate matter. medium-light to medium bodied.
TASTE: clean; smooth; no alcohol taste; baked red apples; pure Pinot fruit; open and welcoming. Not much in the way of tertiary flavors, so perhaps this is somewhere between mature and fully mature. It’s flavors actually came across rather “young,” but the wine’s smoothness and seamlessness give a nod to its bottle age. I’m guessing a drink window of now or over the next ten years for this one. Gut impression score: 91-93.
2001 Arcadian Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (5/31/2020)
– decanted 45 minutes before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over a few hours –
NOSE: earthy/woodsy/old wood/aged cherry mix; little bit of “aged funk.”
BODY: fine sediment present; garnet color with bricking throughout; color is of medium depth; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: clearly showing aged character; woodsy spice; nice tertiary/primary blend; light-but-noticeable oak; cherry is the predominant fruit flavor; powdery perfume – a powdery rose scent, perhaps; medium+ acidity; no tannins of note; alc. not noticeable; fan-tas-tic! One could keep holding this, out of curiosity, but I have a hard time imagining it will improve. Drink Now and over the next few years.
Wow. Great note, Brian, sounds wonderful and glad it is still humming along. Such a great wine.
And thanks for a blast from the past with this one. Still one of my best restaurant list finds. That was a fun night. Where does the time go? Berserkers was just a baby back then.
Thanks for sharing - huge lover of Arcadian. Has anyone had the 2000 vintage of this wine recently? Haven’t seen as many notes on that one and wondering how it’s showing.
I haven’t, but perhaps someone else has; I’ve actually never had the 2000 Sleepy Hollow Pinot.
Thanks for getting the thread started way back when — crazy how long ago it was now, huh!?! The last time I had this wine before the note I just posted was a sublime experience, but I think that note is hiding in another thread, as it was part of a tasting with Joe at the tasting room — Joe said it was the best showing he’d experienced of that wine in {a certain period of time that I cannot recall; possibly “ever”} — it was stunning, and hopefully my last remaining bottle shows similarly; this one was just slightly off that pace, imo.