We tasted a pretty tired bottle of this wine recently.
2007 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (9/16/2015)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over a couple of hours –
NOSE: expressive; buttery lemon; smells tart as it warms in temp. to mid 70’s F.
BODY: rich golden yellow color; medium bodied.
TASTE: rich fruit; medium to medium+ acidity; noticeable oak, but not too much; alc. not noticeable; this is one of the richer vintages for this bottling; has lots in common with the 2005 vintage. Excellent. Drink Now or continue to Hold.
Been out all day and evening, picked up your note while offsite, and just checked to see if I have this one. I do I do I do!
But tonight, in celebration of a great outcome to a challenging day, I just opened the Agrapart Complantee. Second bottle of this purchase and I can say I truly like this wine. Sometimes only Champagne does the trick. I have had enough Cabernet to last me until Friday 
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
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I just pulled the cork on an absolutely perfect bottle of this 2007 SH Chardonnay. Stunning in the Zalto Universal - rich golden yellow. A mouthfeel that is full and mouth coating, but without being syrupy at all. Pretty much perfect at cellar temperature here. I was just tasting it to be sure I had something special for tonight. Tonight might be starting now!
I was trying to focus on descriptors for the fruit flavors, but they are honestly so well melded that that exercise detracts from the experience. This is, in a word, awesome. Thanks, Joe.
Nice start to the weekend!
I should have downed that bottle last night and lived with the results today. I preserved it, corked it, and fridged it. 30 minutes ago it was still too cold, despite having been pulled from the fridge some hours ago (I take this prep stuff seriously).
I am going to continue to follow it, but the cold temperature has pronounced the acidity and reduced the overall mouthfeel. Whether this is a temporary setback from the fridge, or it is something new and something learned…I am not sure yet.
Thoughts on how the 07 compares to the 08? Local high end grocery chain has the 08s for a reasonable price and I was contemplating picking up one or a few.
'07 is much richer than the '08. Nearly apples and oranges, they’re so different.
A couple weeks ago I pulled one of these due to numerous reports of pre-mox from folks who know what they’re talking about. My bottle was spot-on, so I guess this bottling presents a mixed bag of good bottles and bad bottles. FWIW, this is the 4th one of these '07s I’ve opened, and they’ve all been excellent. I’ve one more bottle — considering how good it is today, as well as the pre-mox risk, I’ll pull it next time I have access to it. FWIW, all of my bottles were purchased direct in 2010 and 2014, and have been properly cellared by myself since purchase.
2007 Arcadian Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (4/7/2020)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2 Days –
– pH: 3.23; TA: 7.9 g/L –
NOSE: very ripe; lemony underbrush; light oak; some butterscotch; expressive; doesn’t smell oxidized.
BODY: very rich orange-golden yellow color (lighter color than the '05 has been displaying for years); medium-full bodied.
TASTE: rich; lemon & pineapple; medium-light oak; not premoxed in any way, shape, or form; alc. is not noticeable (13.6%); light butterscotch. Day 2: acidity seems a bit stronger today; still not oxidized; actually a bit better (read: more to my liking) on Day 2 than on Day 1. Same score for both days, however.
50, 5, 12, 16, 8 = (91 pts.)
Great note Brian. One of the great tragedies of corporate vineyard takeovers is that Joe lost access to Sleepy Hollow fruit.
Agreed. A not-so-minor Arcadian tragedy starting in 2009 when long-standing fruit sources (Pisoni; Sleepy Hollow; Fiddlestix) were no more. And, of course, Dierberg disappeared a couple years before that, too.
I’m still anxiously waiting to hear of what comes next for Arcadian, post ownership change.
We opened this wine this evening. I think it’s lovely and drinking really well.
I don’t drink that much chardonnay, but I’ve always really enjoyed the Arcadian Sleepy Hollow when we’ve visited the tasting room.
We still have a 2005 and 2008. Should we sit on these for awhile?
Abbie - Joe’s wines are usually quite long lived, so patience will usually be rewarded.
Loved the 08 vintage of Sleepy Hollow.