Arcadian Pinot Noir Francesca's Cuvée

Still tasting great, at or just past peak !! Partially saturated cork (about 1/4 inch up), easily removed after a decade and a half in the bottle. Deep burgundy color with modest oxidation and medium clarity. Aroma of caramel and vanilla from medium toasted French oak. Flavors of black raspberry, stewed rhubarb, and pomegranate balsamic reduction with a medium finish. consumed over eight hours, it really opened up after four hours. This Pinot Noir blend is balanced, so well crafted, …

Well made Pinot Noir. Needs at least an hour to open. Lots of strawberry.

1 hr in decanter, and drank over 2 hrs; best towards the end and would let air for 2+ hrs next time. Dark red tart fruit, earth, anise. Silky and concentrated. Good length to the finish with pleasantly high acid. 13.8 % alcohol was noticable initially, but not harsh, and integrated more as it saw more air time. Think this can age and continue developing for several more years

Pizza Dinner with Arcadian Winemaker Joe Davis (Darren Howard's home) : pizza dinner at Darren Howard's with Arcadian winemaker Joe Davis

-- cork pulled approx. 45 min. before initial taste -- -- tasted a couple pours non-blind over approx. 1.5 hours -- Red-fruited. Very oaky, although this did recede with some air exposure. Ripe. Will benefit from time in the cellar; give it a good decant if drinking now.

Arcadian Visit and Tasting (Lompoc, CA) : Popped and poured at Arcadian. Spent almost 3 years in barrel. Nicely floral start. Red berry throughout, on the slightly delicate side with soft tannins. Barrel selection from several riverbed vineyards, which have less calcium and typically present with softer tannins. So the good+ length is somewhat surprising and almost sneaky. Good now, but this will get more interesting and complex with 5+ years in the cellar.

-- popped and poured – -- tasted non-blind over approx. 30 min. -- NOSE: "pretty"; floral; medium+ expressiveness. BODY: magenta-garnet color of medium depth; medium-light bodied. TASTE: floral; red-fruited; high acidity; 13.8% alc. not noticeable; graceful, with beautiful balance.

Arcadian Tasting (Shari's Place) : Big wine. Could mistake it for Aussie Shiraz blind. Dark fruits, spices and earth. Medium to long finish but too much alcohol on this one. Really doesn't fit the character of Oregon Pinot or Burgundy. If you like high octane Cabs this is for you!

Arcadian Tasting (Shari's, Mpls, MN) : Medium dark red color. 4 hour decant; followed a small glass over 30 minutes. Darker red fruits, spicy, ripe nose, wood, blousy. The palate is woody, spicy, dark red fruits, alcohol, another rather harsh expression.

Arcadian Tasting (Shari's Condo) : Decanted 4 hours. Bright fruit that also manages to be somewhat dark. At this stage it seems heavily oaked, which is slightly enjoyable, but kind of unbalanced. The fruit was pretty and big. I liked this wine, but given the bottling and the price, this was a disappointment. (WINEGLAS : I would not mistake it for Aussie shiraz).