Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Linda prepared hearty Chicken Cacciatore in a zesty sauce of tomatos, mushrooms, onions, herbs of provence and sherry. Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian, and it is hunters who first ate
this dish. It is thought that the first Chicken Cacciatore was
not made with chicken, but with rabbit or other wild game,
sometime during the Renaissance period, between the 14th and 16th
centuries.
Chicken Cacciatore’s simple but delicious recipe was likely developed
to satisfy the appetites of hunters who may have been on the track of a
larger animal or herd of animals for several days, and who needed a
tasty, filling stew that could easily be cooked outdoors to keep them
going.
This warranted a nice hearty red wine - not too big or complex, but not too small/light, not too fruity, but firm enough to stand up to the sauce. I selected from the cellar this Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon and it proved to be an ideal pairing for maximum enjoyment of both the food and the wine.
Before I write any more about this wine or this food pairing, I found this ..... Amazingly, the last time we tasted and I blogged about this wine was exactly a year ago tonight! Wine karma? In any event, history repeats itself, and tonight's tasting was a recreation of that earlier evening and the experience was consistent with that last year in every respect when I published the following post.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/02/arrowood-sonoma-county-cabernet.html
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
The deep freeze
in Chicago continues and we remain shut in for winter and of course
Covid. Having a deep and broad wine cellar reduces the dread of cabin
fever and makes for enjoyable evenings dipping in to our collection.
Tonight,
Linda created a delicious medley of grilled steak, sweet potatoes and
mushrooms. This was a wonderful pairing that suited this Sonoma County
Cabernet perfectly. As I've written several times recently, an ideal food and wine pairing such as this accentuates the enjoyment of the whole experience, enhancing the wine and the food.
We've
visited or stopped by the Arrowood winery a couple times during visits
to Sonoma, the winery sitting just north of town back off the highway.
We hold a collection of this label dating back to 1991 of which we
acquired a case upon release and still hold just a couple remaining
bottles, along with a half dozen other vintages including this '04.
My
opinion and experience is that the Sonoma County Cabs tend to be
lighter and softer (than Napa's) and therefore a bit more approachable
and less challenging, more suitable to casual sipping and lighter or
less complex food pairing.
This is the craftwork of winemaker
producer Richard Arrowood. Born in San Francisco and raised in Santa
Rosa, he started his winemaking career in 1965
at Korbel Champagne Cellars just north of St Helena. He earned degrees
in organic
chemistry at California State Sacramento and graduate work in enology at
California State, Fresno. He moved from Korbel to United Vintners, then
Sonoma Vineyards.
From 1974 through 1990, he was winemaker at
Chateau St. Jean,
where he developed some of the first vineyard-designate Chardonnay and
Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Sonoma County. His role there grew to be
winemaker and Executive Vice President of Chateau St Jean.
He and
his wife, Alis, founded Arrowood Winery with the 1985 vintage where they
produced small-lot varietals and vineyard
designates. In April 1990, after sixteen years at Chateau St. Jean,
Richard
set out to devote himself full-time to Arrowood where he was
producer/winemaster. He originally planned to produce reserve quality
Chardonnay and Cabernet
Sauvignon only, but his passion for making wine
lead him to explore and develop unusual varietals that he
believed had potential to produce exceptional fruit. The Arrowood
portfolio expanded
to include Merlot, Viognier, Pinot Blanc, Late
Harvest wines, Malbec, Syrah and a few special reserve wines.
Richard
and Alis were successful building the Arrowood brand and portfolio
which they sold to Robert Mondavi in 2000. Richard and Alis stayed on,
but left after Constellation Brands purchased
Mondavi in 2004 and subsequently sold Arrowood in 2005 to the (now
bankrupt) Legacy Estate Group.
Jackson Family Wines acquired Arrowood Vineyards & Winery through
the bankruptcy court in September 2006. I wrote recently about the Jackson Family history upon reading the book, A Man and His Mountain, a chronicle about Jess Jackson.
Richard continued as winemaster
there until June 2010, when he founded and left to devote his energies full-time to
Amapola Creek Vineyards and Winery. They sold Amapola in 2019 and set out to retire after 54 years in the wine business.
Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
This release is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (89.9%), Merlot (7.2%), Malbec and (1.6%), Petit Verdot (1.3%), all from Sonoma County.
Winemaker notes: "This 2004 Arrowood Caberent Sauvignon is a lovely, complex wine that
exemplifies our distinctive style. Beginning with exceptional fruit from
several
Sonoma County vineyards, we selected and blended small lots of
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Each key component
was aged for nearly two years in French and American oak. To retain
maximum complexity, we chose not to fine or filter this wine, hence a
small amount of harmless sedimentation may occur. Although delicious
now, this rich and complex claret will develop well beyond the next
decade.'
"Our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is a complete wine. It is a testament to
both vintage and the vineyards. The growing season opened with a heat
wave in the first half of March triggering an early bloom. The remainder
of the year was awash in warm days, cool nights and morning fog. All in
all, we feel it was one of the finest Cabernet vintages of the last
decade.'
"For vineyards, this Cabernet combines our favorite bench, hillside
and mountain sites (many organically farmed) in Sonoma, Alexander and
Dry Creek Valleys. By blending lots from a variety of sources Richard was
able to capture the character of the vintage and the essence of Sonoma
County Cabernet."
Back in 2016 I wrote about this release, "I have two left in the cellar and I wish I had more. At a dozen years
old, it must be at the apex of its drinking window - it was delicious
and a perfect compliment to the steak and to the anti pasta caprese
salad.'
"We often turn to Sonoma County Cab's for more casual sipping as they are
thought to be a bit lighter and softer than their Napa counterparts.
There was nothing wimpy or second class to this Big Cab."
While the Arrowood winery and vineyards are located in Sonoma Valley
just north of the town of Sonoma, they source the fruit for this label
from three different Sonoma County AVA's - Knights Valley, Alexander Valley and Sonoma Valley. We consider Arrowood to be a benchmark, representing the best of Sonoma Cabernet.
We have visited the Arrowood properties on several of our trips to Sonoma Valley.
This wine represents great value, high QPR as Arrowood seem to have held the price on this label as similar Napa and Sonoma labels have risen by 30-40% over the decade.
At
sixteen years, this was drinking very nicely, probably still at its
apex, not likely to improve any further with aging, but not showing any
signs of diminution whatsoever. The filled level was proper and the cork
was in perfect condition.
Wine Enthusiast gave this release 93 points.
Blend: 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.2% Merlot, 1.6% Malbec, 1.3% Petit Verdot
Back in 2016 I wrote, Dark blackish garnet color, medium-full bodied, the berry fruit aromas
filled the room on opening, bold expressive black cherry accented by a
layer of leather, mocha and hint of cedar and spice on the long smooth
soft tanning finish.
Tonight
this was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex yet nicely
integrated and balanced rich elegant dark berry fruits with floral notes
turning to cassis, hints of black tea and oak with smooth soft tannins
and balanced acid on a lingering finish.
RM 91 points.
https://www.amapolacreek.com/
