Arn's Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2010

Arn's Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2010

Friday might, end of week dinner we went to Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria and took this, one of our favorite Syrahs BYOB.

As I have written in these pages before, we have been long time fans of Arns and their Napa Cabernets so we arranged a visit and private tasting with producer John Arns at the estate on lower Howell Mountain during our 2013 Napa Wine Experience.

John's wife Sandi Belcher is the winemaker. It was during that visit that we discovered and acquired this single vineyard designated Syrah made with fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill which I write about in an earlier blogpost.

This wine is so good, I almost don't want to let out the news for fear I'll create more demand and have to compete for it in the marketplace. Supplies are limited as for this vintage of this Syrah, only 80 cases were produced. Arns is available directly from the winery, in select stores in Napa Valley, and at Bassin's MacArthur Wines in Washington DC, (as I explain in separate Arns blogposts) which is where I first discovered it. I pick some up every trip to DC.


We acquired this label at the winery, then reordered more, and actually acquired this bottle when we picked up an entire lot on Winebid.com.

This is serious juice. The 2010 vintage was aged in one year old French oak for three years. The concentrated extracted fruit is apparent as soon as you pour the dark inky purple juice into the glass.

Full bodied, huge aromatics explode from the bottle as soon as the cork is pulled, thick, concentrated black and blue fruits are accented by a pronounced layer of sweet spicy oak laced caramel that turns to black licorice on the rear pallet with smooth sinewy tannins on the lingering finish.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1809227

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/11/arns-melanson-napa-syrah-08.html

http://arnswinery.com/

Arns Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2010

Arns Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2010

For a end of week unwind evening we opened this Napa Syrah with a selection of artisan cheeses, crackers and fresh fruit. We discovered and acquired this wine during our visit to the Arn's estate on lower Howell Mountain during our Napa Wine Experience in 2013. 

Arns Estate Vineyards and Winery, is a small artisan boutique producer primarily known for their handcrafted Arns Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, situated on the lower tier of Howell Mountain on the eastern slope above the town of St. Helena. They also produce this Syrah that is sourced from the Melanson Vineyard down in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley above the town of Napa on Pritchard Hill.

John Arns, Rick, Linda, Bill

Readers of this blog know we love big full throttle Syrah/Shiraz which comprises a third of our cellar behind Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet. We didn't expect to find one at a Napa mountain fruit Cab producer. Moreover, ironically, we also spent an afternoon up on Pritchard Hill this Napa trip.

Arns wines are produced by John Arns and partner Sandi Belcher - John managing the viticulture and Sandi tending to the winemaking. The property has been in the Arn's family since the 1950's when it was acquired by Arn's parents as an escape from the city down in Berkeley. The elder Arns planted vines in the 1960's to sell to local wineries. John and his brother, Steve took over the property and John continued developing the vineyards.

John Arns manages the viticulture, overseeing tending the vines for several producers around Napa Valley. This  includes Syrah varietal vines that he planted at 1400 feet up on Pritchard Hill back in the early 1990's. The clones are from Joseph Phelps Vineyards. This provides fruit for this, the 7th vintage release of Arns Napa Valley Syrah. What a discovery and pleasant surprise! 

The rocky terrain of the mountain elevation with the long warm growing season results in complex, powerful but polished, forward  flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, at nine years of age the fruit is giving way to layers of anise and cassis with hints of smoke, mocha and clove, violets, leather and olive on a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. This is much like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz. 

RM 92 points

Only 80 cases of this were produced. We tasted and acquired the 2008 vintage release at the winery, and then purchased this later vintage as well. 

https://cellartracker.com/w?1809227 


https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/arns-napa-valley-estate-vineyards.html

http://arnswinery.com/

OTBN 2019 - Open That Bottle Night

OTBN 2019 - Open That Bottle Night

The last Saturday night in February is the night set aside for OTBN - Open That Bottle Night.

This marks the 20th Anniversary of the annual wine event that started at the Milenium. The event was invented by Wall Street Journal “Tastings” columnists Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher.

Open That Bottle Night has become a world-wide celebration for wine lovers and regular  friends and family to share memories and use the occasion to finally drink that bottle of wine that has been set aside for an occasion that has not come, that was otherwise simply too special to open. So, on this special night set aside for such an occasion, pull and pop that bottle lest it ages beyond suitability.

As is customary, we hosted the gala OTBN with our Pour Boys wine group. Bill and Beth returned from South Carolina for the occasion, Terry and Lyle and friend John, Dr Dan and Linda, Linda and I, and we were joined by son Ryan, and Pat and Rodger, visiting from Indy.

As is custom, Linda prepared her classic beef tenderloin accompanied by haricot verts, scalloped potatoes, grilled carrots and brussel sprouts.

Prior to dinner we served shrimp cocktail, and a broad selection of artisan cheeses shown left, sans John's legendary 21 year old vintage sharp cheddar which had not yet arrived when this early evening photo was taken.

After dinner deserts consisted of Linda's chocolate cake, Dan's chocolate cake, and Terry's legendary orange cake.

Our wine flight selection started with vintage Champagne, a selection of whites and a broad selection of red wines - Sonoma Carignane, a selection of Napa Cabernets, Bordeaux, and a vintage port for the desert course.

We followed our usual Pour Boys wine flight ritual of tasting the various wines and setting the tasting order of the flight from lighter to heavier.

Much of the fun is the ceremonial opening and  tasting of the wines to determine the appropriate tasting order for the evening, aligned to the comparative courses and accompaniments.

The flight is listed below in tasting order.

The wines:

Billecort Salmon Champagne 2002

Porter Creek Chardonnay

Porter Creek Carignane

True Myth Paso Robles Cabernet 

Smith Haut Lafite 2003

Rubissow-Sargent Les Trompettes 1999

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet 2000

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet 2001

Troplong Mondot Grand Cru Classe St Emilion 2011

Cos d'Estournel St Estephe 2000

Freemark Abbey Josephine 2009

Fonseco Vintage Port 1992

The evening started with this vintage champagne that John procured for the occasion.

Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne 2002

This is a classic selection considered one of the greatest wines of a great vintage. It was awarded 98 points by Decanter magazine and James Suckling, 96 points from Wine Enthusiast, and 95 points by Robert Parker and Wine Spectator.

This is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir (from premier and grand crus of the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne) and 40% Chardonnay (from the Côte des Blancs), with 20% vinified in oak barrels.

I'll be the first to admit, as primarily a red wine drinker, I do not have the discriminating palate for white wines or white sparkling wines. Hence, I defer to the accolades of the pundits which for this wine were notable:

"A very composed Champagne with plenty of still fresh lemon and white cherry fruits on offer. There's impressive clarity, power and richness here. The nose has candied peach, strawberry, white cherry and grilled nuts. Very flavorsome palate with pastry flavors adding savory notes to the stone fruits and citrus. Still so young and powerful!" James Suckling

"With its ripe fruits, rich texture and layers of toast, this is a great wine. It shows the quality of the great 2002 vintage brilliantly. It’s complex and concentrated with an array of mature fruit flavors that combine to a structured whole." Wine Enthusiast

""Billecart-Salmon's recent release of the 2002 Millésime Brut Cuvée Nicolas François is an amazing wine for lovers of matured, pure and spicy Champagnes. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

It opens with a deep, rich, intense, pure and chalky bouquet with ripe, yellow-fleshed stone fruits, citrus fruits and beautiful bottle maturity.  Wine Spectator

The 2002 Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart comes across as rich, powerful and opulent. This is a distinctly vinous, almost shockingly raw, visceral Champagne from Billecart-Salmon. There is no shortage of volume or intensity, that is for sure. Wine & Spirits 
 
The 2002 Cuvée Nicolas-François ... looks likely to be one of the top recent vintages of this bottling. The wine offers up scents of green apple, quince, stony minerality, fresh pineapple, a touch of nutmeg and bread dough ...deep, full-bodied, crisp and quite tightly-knit, with a good core of fruit, fine mousse and very good grip on the focused and long finish.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1575570


Dan and Linda brought a Porter Creek Carignane which we all discovered and acquired during our visit there when we stopped into Porter Creek vineyards and winery during our tour of the backroads of the Russian River Valley back in 2017. Ironically, the tasting room wine director was from our native alma mater city Bloomington, Indiana, so it was fitting opening for us and visiting Hoosiers Pat and Rodger.
 
Porter Creek "Old Vine" Mendocino County Carignane  2015 

This is from Alex Davis, Winemaker, Vineyard Manager, Business manager, Owner and reluctant “boss” at Porter Creek Vineyards. He started his wine career at Sonoma Cutrer where he met Monsieur Feuillat, director of the Oenologie program at the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon France. Monsieur Feuillat connected Alex with Christophe Roumier, considered one of the greatest winemakers in Burgundy. Alex studied and worked there learning from the master.

At the Université de Bourgogne, Alex studied Viticulture and Enology and worked the harvest in Burgundy working the Chardonnay with the Michelot-Mestre families in Meursault.

In Dijon, Alex met Philippe Guigal from the northern Rhone Valley, and worked a harvest season with his family at Domain E. Guigal as their first foreign intern.

In France Alex learned the craft working with Burgundian and Rhone varietals. Carignane is a red varietal from the Rhone Valley that was widely planted in California during the late 1800’s though the mid- 1900’s, mostly by Italian immigrants. Some of those old vineyards are still producing including the source for this label from a vineyard up in Mendocino County planted in 1939, hence the "Old Vine" designation on the label.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, fruits of black cherry black currants and plums with hints of spice, pepper, tree bark and smoke.

To augment our Porter Creek tasting I pulled their Chardonnay that we also acquired during that visit. 

https://portercreekvineyards.com/

True Myth Paso Robles Cabernet 2016

Pat Rodger brought this bottle which was the feature wine at the regular eatery from their recent trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, black and blue berry fruits, notes of mocha, expresso and hint of graphite and smoke on the bright lively acidic finish.

http://www.truemythwinery.com/cabernet-sauvignon/

Jeb Dunnuck's review of this wine: "The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon was brought up in a mix of French and American oak and is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah, 3% of Petite Sirah and Malbec, and 1% Petite Verdot. It sports a ruby color as well as notes of currants, spice-box and cedar, medium-bodied richness, polished tannin and solid balance/elegance. Drink it over the coming 3-5 years. (JebDunnuck.com)"


Chateau Smith Haut Lafite Pessac-Leognan 2003

Lyle brought this from his cellar.  This received 93 points from James Suckling, 92 points Wine Spectator, 91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Stephen Tanzer. 

This is another wine of which we hold numerous vintages of along with fellow Pessac Leognan Domain Chevalier and that we've tasted at several of the UGCB events.

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, blackberry and plum fruits with notes of tobacco, earth spice and cassis.

This was more balanced and flavorful than my earlier tasting notes for this label back in 2013 when this was ten years old and I wrote;

"Full bodied, dark garnet colored, this was full bodied, a bit tight and firm with black berry and black currant fruits, lead pencil, licorice, cigar box, herbs and cedar. This comes across with a bit of a woody almost slight green grassy taste that I can't get over. This was consistent with other tastings and other vintages of this wine. My experience isn't consistent with other's tastings and ratings." RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17964


Rubissow-Sargent Napa Valley Mt Veeder Les Trompettes 1999

We tasted and acquired vintages of this wine with Bill and Beth during our Mt Veeder Napa Valley Wine Experience visit to the estate and winery high atop Mt Veeder back in 2011. We were hosted by and had the pleasure to meet founder and proprietor George Rubissow. This label dates back to the early days and the partnership between George and winemaker Tony Sargent. The fruit was grown on the estate high atop Mt Veeder in southwest Napa Valley and the wine was produced at the winery down in Berkeley.

Bill brought this vintage label from his cellar. At eighteen years old, this was drinking well and showing no diminution from age, albeit not likely to improve with any further aging.

This is a blend of 65% Cabernet Franc, and 35% Merlot.

Winemaker Notes for this wine: "A Proprietary Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Very limited production. The name Trompettes refers to the 2 trumpets on our label which are heralds of excellence representing the partnership of our two families, the Rubissows & the Sargents. The figure’s knees evoke Mt. Veeder’s two peaks. The contoured lines suggest the rows of steep vineyard whichblanket the mountain.'

"This is an extraordinary vintage of Trompettes. The 99 shows layer upon layer of black cherry,chocolate, mint and spice flavors. The nose displays the consistent Trompettes complex aromas of ripe plum, bay, briar and earth, Smooth tannins and bright acidity provide the framework for the exceptionally long finish.'

"In 1999 we harvested most all the Cabernet Franc and Merlot vineyards in the middle of the night! The goal was to deliver night-cooled fruit to the winery for early morning crushing, thus avoiding ‘cooking’ the grapes in the baking-hot Napa Valley sun."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=98061

https://www.rubissowwines.com/


Arns Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 and 2001

Ryan came by and brought this Arns 2000, so I pulled a 2001 vintage release as a mini-vertical comparison tasting.

Very fitting for tasting since Bill and Beth were with us when we visited the Arn's estate during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2013. 

Arns is a very small family-run winery just outside of St. Helena. They specialize in high-quality, estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. Sandi Belcher and John Arns have been making wine in the Napa Valley for over 25 years.

Rodger and Ryan

From the winery: "Arns Winery is located on the hillside east of the historic City of St. Helena, California, in the heart of the Napa Valley.

The 160-acre parcel sits at an elevation of 800 feet above the valley floor and below the Howell Mountain Appellation. The soil for the ten acre all-Cabernet vineyard is red aiken loam, which was planted in the mid-to-late 1960s. 
Arn's wines represent selections from ten different blocks, with clones from Bordeaux and the Napa Valley. The vines consist of up to 2,900 plants/acre trained in a vertical shoot positioning."

Tannins softer than I anticipated; medium in body, but with finesse like a Julia Roberts, not to old, not too young, just a touch of attitude and refined. Not real big on the fruit either. balanced.

92 points Wine Enthusiast 
 
Incredibly aromatic and redolent of black cherry, black currant, plum, chocolate, coffee, spice, vanilla, toast, herb and anise. Rich, lush, long and elegant on the palate with corresponding flavors that don’t disappoint. A full-bodied expression of great Cabernet.  (11/2003)

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1013715

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3223745

2001

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1065990

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2444884


Château Troplong Mondot 2011

Dan brought this right bank Bordeaux that we tasted during the producer's release unveiling at the UGC Bordeaux US Release Tasting Events in Chicago. Robert Parker cited this as one of the "superstars of the vintage". This is a blend was 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc.

This received 95 points from  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast, and 92 points from Wine Spectator.

This was opaque blue/purple, nearly black color, medium full bodied and featured black raspberries, blackberries accented by note of licorice, camphor, what Parker and Jeff Dannuck call 'forest floor' and hints of leather, tobacco leaf and touch of peppar.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1366830


Cos d'Estournel St Estephe 2000 

John brought this notable producer, Cos d'Estournel Left Bank Saint-Estèphe, Bordeaux, from the classic 2000 vintage.

This was rated 96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 94 points Wine Enthusiast, 93 points James Suckling and 92 points by Wine Spectator.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied with ripe tannins, this had firm but approachable structure with dense black berry fruits, notes of graphite, expresso, leather, tobacco leaf and hints of dark mocha with a supple finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2753




Josephine Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Red Wine 2009

Bill brought this classic Jospehine, the flagship of the legendary Freemark Abbey portfolio.

We've had much fun tasting Freemark Abbey cabernets spanning the last three decades together, culminating in our visit to the library cellar at the historic Estate with Wine Director Barry Dodds during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2009 (shown right).

This is the signature Freemark Abbey wine, named for Josephine Tychson the founder and matriarch who built and operated the original cellar on the estate back in 1886. She cultivated the land and became the first female winemaker on record in Napa Valley. She sold the property to Antonio Forni who constructed the historic winery in 1887 using stones from nearby Glass Mountain. That winery is the one that still stands to this day at the site on Highway 29 just north of the town of St Helena on the route to Calistoga.

Josephine is blended from the most select grapes from the range of Freemark Abbey vineyard sites - the Ahern Vineyard, Van Z Vineyard and Estate Freemark Abbey Vineyards in St. Helena, and the York Creek and Yverdon Vineyards from nearby Spring Mountain.

Bill's tasting notes for this evening: "Deep garnet color in the glass. Full of bright cherry, raspberry and a hint of cola on the palate. Full bodied with a medium finish. We struggled to sequence this in an OTBN lineup consisting of a couple of Napa cabernets and several classified Bordeaux. We ended up positioning this just before a 2000 Cos d’Estournel at the end of the lineup. Despite the length of the drinking window on Josephine, I think this is better when consumed earlier."

He gave it 92 points. 

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1550331

Fonseco Vintage Port 1992

We finished the evening with this classic vintage port that Lyle brought from his cellar, which has become somewhat of the custom of our OTBN events when he brings a such a wine.

This selection from this classic vintage was rated 97 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. It got 94 points from Wine Spectator.

Dark inky black/purple in color, full bodied, rich, thick, unctuously-textured, concentrated jammy black fruits with earthy fig notes and tones of licorice, chocolate, and spices.

RM 92 points. 







Other celebrations ...

Pour Boys OTBN 2019 - Open That Bottle Night

Pour Boys OTBN 2018 - Open That Bottle Night

Pour Boys OTBN 2016 - Open That Bottle Night 

Pour Boys OTBN 2015 - Open That Bottle Night -  Bordeaux Anchors OTBN 2015

Pour Boys OTBN 2013 - Open That Bottle Night 2013

Pour Boys OTBN 2012 - Open That Bottle Night

Also see our feature from  ...

Pour Boys OTBN 2011 - Open That Bottle Night.

Arns Syrah

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah

We discovered and tasted this wine during our visit to the picturesque Arns Estate during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013.

Arns are a small boutique producer of Estate Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from their twelve acres of vineyards on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain on the eastern slope above St Helena.

Proprietor and viticulturist John Arns and his winemaker partner Sandi Belcher produce this limited production single vineyard designated Syrah from fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill.

Rick, Linda and John Arns

This vintage year they produced 200 cases of this label. It represents the style and profile that we favor in a Syrah. We pulled this bottle to enjoy with artisan cheeses and fruit for enjoyable casual sipping watching a movie.

ARNS starting producing this SYRAH back in 2004. They admit, "It was a great surprise to be able to craft such a beautiful wine from Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley. We have enjoyed many spicy vintages from this time forward."



Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Syrah 2013

This 2013 ARNS SYRAH was aged four years in two year old French Oak barrels.

Dark inky blackish purple, full bodied, concentrated flavors of gooseberries, plum and what Arns refer to as 'wild black cherries' are accented by notes of spice, black pepper, and what Arns refers to as 'beef and violets'.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

https://arnswinery.com/






https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2887804

Napa Wine Experience 2013 - Arns Estate (Blog post at http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/)

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Pritchard Hill Syrah 2010

Arns Napa Valley Melanson Vineyard Pritchard Hill Syrah 2010

Saturday quiet relaxing evening at home, we brought home carry-out barbecue beef brisket and opened this Arns Syrah for what turned out to be the perfect meal. Linda prepared baked sweet potatoes and baked beans for an ideal set of side dishes. I cannot imagine a more ideal food and wine pairing. Absolutely delicious!

We were already fans of Arns Napa Cabernet when we arranged a visit and private tasting with producer John Arns at the estate on lower Howell Mountain during our 2013 Napa Wine Experience. John's wife Sandi Belcher is the winemaker. It was during that visit that we discovered their single vineyard designated Syrah made with fruit sourced from the Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill which I write about in an earlier blogpost.

This wine is so good, I almost don't want to let out the news for fear I'll create more demand and have to compete for it in the marketplace. Supplies are limited as for this vintage of this Syrah, only 80 cases were produced. Arns is available directly from the winery, in select stores in Napa Valley, and at Bassin's MacArthur Wines in Washington DC, (as I explain in separate Arns blogposts) which is where I first discovered it. I pick some up every trip to DC.

As I write this, before I hit 'publish', I just ordered more of this from the winery to ensure I can obtain the latest release and to fill out our vertical collection with the latest release of the Cab.

We just picked up the entire lot that we acquired on Winebid and waited until Saturday evening and this special dinner to open our first bottle. Wow!

This is serious juice. The 2010 vintage was aged in one year old French oak for three years. The concentrated extracted fruit is apparent as soon as you  pour the dark inky purple juice into the glass. Full bodied, thick, concentrated black and blue fruits are accented by a pronounced layer of sweet spicy oak laced caramel that turns to black licorice on the rear pallet with smooth sinewy tannins on the lingering finish.

As noted above, this was a perfect accompaniment to the barbecue beef brisket and baked sweet potato with baked beans making for a wonderfully delicious meal.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1809227

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/11/arns-melanson-napa-syrah-08.html

http://arnswinery.com/

Arns Melanson Napa Syrah 08

Arns Melanson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 2008

For a midweek grilled steak dinner at home, following a milestone family transaction achievement, we opened a 'special' bottle for dinner. We just acquired a 1/3 dozen bottles of this wine from auction so in essence we already replaced this bottle with a newer vintage.

John Arns, Rick, Linda, Bill C

We first discovered Arns wines at Andy Bassin's McArthur Wines in WDC during my several years being based there. The presence of Arns there is due on the heritage of the winemaker Sandi Belcher Arns being from Virginia and distributing wines to her home marketplace back there. We visited John Arns at the Estate on Howell Mountain during our Napa Wine Experience back in 2013. We discovered and acquired this varietal offering during that visit.

This wine is indicative of one of our favorite wine styles with its rich, concentrated, full bodied, forward fruits.  As my tasting notes from that period stated. "Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more."

This is a very limited production bottling from this boutique producer so when we saw it on-line, we snatched up the entire lot. Of course, Arns primarily specialize in Cabernet Sauvignons, which we also love from this producer, which makes this Syrah label all the more rare and cherished. For the 2012 vintage, 127 cases were produced.

While Arns Estate Vineyards are located up on lower Howell Mountain, hence the Napa Valley appellation designation*, I recall from or discussions with the producer that the fruit for this label is actually sourced from the Melanson Vineyard down south end of the Vaca Mountain range down on the slope area known as Pritchard Hill.

The Melanson Vineyard sits on Pritchard Hill on the rugged eastern ridges above the town of Rutherford overlooking the Napa Valley below with views of Lake Hennessey. The distinctive terroir of the site consists of rich Sobrante Loam soils loaded with volcanic rock at elevations averaging 1,400 feet and distinct southern and western exposures produces better than average fruit due to its exposure, clones, soils  and most of all, care.  The elevation places the vineyards above the fog line and allowing maximum sun exposure throughout the day providing even ripening.

Arns Syrah comes from a small corner of this vineyard and sits in a major rock pile.  There was soil added so a vine could be planted in something other than boulders. Syrah berries are large, about the size of a quarter and their skins are tough and can endure sometimes even the most unfavorable conditions.  John Arns notes that "with above average sunshine, (this site is above the fog line) it truly demonstrates that terroir really matters."

* Interestingly, it is at the 1200 foot elevation, the level of the fog line, that is also the line of demarcation between the Napa Valley appellation below, and the Howell Mountain appellation above, up on Howell Mountain.

My notes from 2013 - "Dark inky garnet color, full bodied, powerful but polished forward flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of cassis and mocha, hints of clove, violets, leather and olive with a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. Much like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz.'

Tasted at the winery, shipped some home, drank a bottle upon arrival, need to go buy more."

At going on ten years of age, this wine is still very much in its peak drinking window and only beginning to show a slight sign of diminution with hint of raisin and whisper of menthol. While it will not likely improve or benefit from further aging, it certainly has another half dozen years of life left at the apex of its profile. We love this wine and are eager to obtain our recently acquired allocation, and taste and compare it to this bottle, second to last one of our lot acquired at the Estate.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1498990

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/arns-napa-valley-estate-vineyards.html

Arns Estate Visit on Rick's WineSite ... 
http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa-2013/arns/napa-2013-arns.htm

http://arnswinery.com/

Arns, Rusbissow, Cantenac Brown Highlight Flemings Prime Beefsteak Dinner

Arns, Rusbissow, Cantenac Brown Highlight Flemings Prime Beefsteak Dinner

A gathering of the original 'pour boys'. Saturday night dinner in bustling Chicago following afternoon at the theatre for the ladies, was the setting for tasting this trio of fine wines. The ladies took in a musical at Lyric Opera and then we gathered at Lyle and Terry's at their nearby west loop pied-a-tere turned permanent residence for a pre-dinner tasting. Bill and Beth brought an Arn's Napa Valley Cabernet which we enjoyed with cheese, olives, proscuitto and crackers. We then proceeded to Flemings Prime Steakhouse Chicago for dinner.

To celebrate Bill and Beth's son Matt's recent engagement announcement to Molly, I took a birthyear Bordeaux befitting the occasion - Cantenac Brown Margaux 1989. We ordered from the winelist a Rubissow Mt Veeder Merlot to round out the pairing.

Arns Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Bill brought this bottle which he acquired at the winery/estate during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2013 - Arns Estate (Blog post at http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/). As I write in that visit blogpost report, Arns Estate Vineyards and Winery is a small artisan boutique producer of handcrafted Arns Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The estate consists of 160 acres of which just eleven are planted in vineyards situated on the lower tier of Howell Mountain on the eastern slope above the town of St. Helena.

Arns' wines bear a Napa Valley designation since the Howell Mountain appellation demarcation point is 1200 feet elevation, determined by the level the fog rises up the hill. Never-the-less, the Howell Mountain terroir is clearly evident in Arns Cabernet.

John Arns, Rick, Linda, Bill

We love this wine which I first discovered at Andy Bassin's MacArthur Wine Shop in WDC where I acquired this label over the years dating back to the 1996 vintage.

Bill's note from this CT - "Medium garnet color. A bit of a musty nose on opening but this blew off in 5 or 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, this opened to reveal bright red fruit, mocha and a bit of sweetness that I would typically associate with Mt Veeder. However this winery located on Howell Mtn below the fog line produces something much more layered and complex. A delicious bottle drinking very well right now."

WCC - 90 points.

I give it a 92, I love this ripe berry sweetness with tones of sweet mocha. This has an amazingly similar profile to the Merlot below with its elegant approachable Merlot like smooth softness. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1014194

http://arnswinery.com/

Rubissow Napa Valley Mount Veeder Merlot 2004

A rare find from the Fleming's winelist, since only 130 cases were produced of this wine. We discovered and acquired this wine during a winery/estate visit during our Napa Wine Experience Mt Veeder excursion in 2011 - Rubissow Mt Veeder Napa Valley Vineyards. 

The artisan boutique producer estate of 45 acres sits high atop the south end of Mt Veeder with views of San Pablo Bay in the distance. Eighteen acres are planted in Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and some Syrah. 

Today the winery is operated by second generation, Peter Rubissow who has taken over the main operations duties from his father, founder and patriarch George Rubissow.

This is another favorite Napa Valley Bordeaux varietal that we've enjoyed visiting at the estate. We acquired later vintages of this wine during the visit and ordered more of this varietal and joined their wine club, but we have never heard anything more or received and further wines from the producer. Tasting this earlier vintage raises the anticipation of opening selections from our cellar, and raises the disappointment of not obtaining more (despite having placed hard orders.) 

Rick and Linda with George Rubissow

This was amazingly similar to the Arns Cabernet that we tasted earlier with its full body, bright vibrant sweet raspberry fruits and predominant layer of mocha accent. Even more amazing since the two wines come from opposite corners of Napa Valley, and one is a Merlot and the other a Cabernet Sauvignon! 

Never-the-less, this Estate Merlot could pass for a Cabernet in a blind tasting, raspberry fruits, smooth, polished, elegant, sweet, tones of mocha, sweet spicy oak, hints of dusty rose floral, and black tea on a smooth firm but silky smooth tannin finish. This must be at its prime right now - I can't imagine it being better in its youth or with more age. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=560552

http://www.rubissowwines.com/

Château Cantenac Brown Grand Cru Classe Margaux 1989

As I wrote above, Bill and Beth just announced the engagement of their son Matt to Molly, so I brought this birth year 1989 vintage Bordeaux which I have been holding for such an occasion, to highlight our dinner. 

Opened and decanted about an hour before we turned to this as part of the main course with our entrees. It needed this time to 'settle' and burn off an earthy leather essence and reveal its true fruit and floral character. 

The cork was moist and saturated but was intact and in good condition. Dark garnet color, classic nose of Margaux perfume with floral, hints of leather, earth and cassis. Medium bodied, nicely balanced concentrated black berry and black cherry fruits accented by earth, leather, tobacco leaf and hints of tea, turning to a smooth polished moderate tannin finish. This is likely at its apex or the end of its optimal drinking window and probably will start to diminish from here forward, so it was suitably aged and time to drink. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=159186

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 'Pour boys', Lyle, Bill, and Rick with UCG Oliver Bernard
and Frank Kronthal at the UGC Tasting Chicago 2014

Kilikanoon and Arns - Big Shiraz Duel For Celebration Dinner

Big Shiraz Duel For Celebration Dinner - Arns and Kilikanoon

What fun!. For a personal celebration dinner, I chose two favorite best drinking bottles from the cellar - an interesting comparison of Shiraz/Syrah from Australia and Napa Valley. When we think of Syrah, aka Shiraz, we think of south central Australia. When we think of Napa Valley, we think of Cabernet Sauvignon.

One of the discoveries of our recent Napa Wine Experience 2013 was this Syrah from Napa Valley Pritchard Hill. More surprising was that we found this Syrah at a classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon producer, Arns. Further irony of this is that while we found this Pritchard Hill Syrah at Arns Estate on Howell Mountain, a focus of this trip was our visit to Pritchard Hill  with our visit to David Arthur the next day.We tasted these wines, BYOB at Angelis Italian, our favorite local trattoria.This is the second blockbuster Napa Valley Syrah we've found recently, the other being the spectacular Kongsgaard Napa Valley Hudson Vineyard Syrah 2007.

Arns Syrah Melanson Vineyard 2008

The husband wife team of John Arns and Sandi Belcher produce hand crafted full artisan Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from their 10 acres of vineyards on lower Howell Mountain just east of St Helena. We met John at the estate as the first stop of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2013. We weren't expecting to taste a Syrah but we're glad we did. John sources the grapes for this wine from the Melanson Vineyard up on Pritchard Hill where he and his team manage the viticulture. It did not disappoint.

This full throttle Syrah ended up being one of the highlights of our Napa extended weekend. So for a special celebration dinner this evening, I wanted to compare this Napa sensation against a benchmark Aussie Shiraz.

From my tasting at the winery, the Arns exhibited dark inky garnet color, full bodied, powerful but polished forward flavors of black berry and hints of blue fruits, layers of cassis and mocha, hints of clove, violets, leather and olive with a long lingering firm but silky tannin finish. Much like a big Southern Aussie Shiraz. 14.8%.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1498990

http://arnswinery.com/


Kilikanoon Barossa Valley 'R' Shiraz 2002

What better benchmark Shiraz to compare our new-found Napa discovery than the flagship label from Kilikanoon, the Australian Winery of the Year for 2013. Their Reserve 'R' label is their top label, their finest Barossa Shiraz cuvee from selected single parcels of tiny yielding old vines Shiraz from the Greenock, Vine Vale and Ebenezer sub regions. It is matured for 28 months in small 100% new French oak casks striving for a wine of 'great varietal strength, poise and ageing potential'.


I love their 'Oracle' label full throttle Shiraz, but for this special tasting, I chose their 'R' label, whimsically for my namesake initial wine, in the same way I choose Lewis with their 'L' label for special dinners celebrating Linda and Lucy.

From the winemaker's notes - "Powerfully built yet elegantly restrained, a compelling mix of riper fruit flavours, dark chocolate and fine French oak spice, with outstanding persistence and complexity. Full bodied, rich, ripe plum, black raspberry, subtle blueberry, hints of tar, vanilla, pepper, and graphite on a flavorful finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=320020

http://www.kilikanoon.com.au/