Arnot Roberts, Clary Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Absolute banger. My fave US producer most days, for good reason. Aromatic forest floor, foraged mushrooms, pine sap, fresh mint, highly mineral-tinged cherry, even some cherry candy brightness, but a lot more about the cool, dark earth tones. Electric acidity, structured, ultrafine tannin. Absolutely bursting with complexity, energy, and confident, singular character. Served blind, another PN lover thought it could be a really nice Chambolle. Unanimous WOTN in a strong flight, and the least expensive of the lineup, at least …

2016 vintage

Stems have integrated. Lovely. Maybe has another year or two at peak.

2016 vintage

out standing. at peak and perfectly balanced. bravo.

2016 vintage

A nice wine that leans more towards structure than fruit. Tart, red fruit. Nice nose, mellow back end. Maybe better in a year or three? Maybe not?

2016 vintage

Barely ready. A bit stemmy on night one; fruit emerged more on night two. Possible upscore with more time. 12.6%

2016 vintage

The 2016 Clary Ranch is a wild wine with juicy cranberry, pomegranate, rose, and stemmy spice. Soft and balanced on the palate, crisp with bright acidity, very good. (From magnum ex-cellar release)

2016 vintage

For its profile this is excellent — cold climate, whole cluster. There are two sides. One is intensely savory and herbal, while the other screams juicy, bright fruit.

2016 vintage

Light body. Nose of red fruit, dirt and stems. Taste is cranberry and pomegranate. Secondary notes are subdued but I gets some mushroom, bitter orange and thyme. Whole cluster stem spice on the finish. Very tart, acidic. Drinking nicely now.

2016 vintage

Excellent. Has the brightness of California with the balance and complexity of Burgundy. Shows whole cluster elements of herbs, vineyard breeze and stems; cranberries, blueberries, cola and cinnamon. Slow start, great finish.

2016 vintage

A rich ripe fruit and herb nose. Continues with sweet mushrooms, spice, cranberries and savory flavors. A nice full finish of cinnamon and fruit.

2016 vintage

Lots of complexity here. Opened up with a distinctly smoky aroma. Just a bit tart with effervescent taste. Otherwise a prototypical CA Pinot. Softened up with time, but bottom of bottle had too much sediment. After 3 hours it took on a tinny taste. At this price, should be more, and more consistent. Lowish QPR.

2016 vintage

Does nobody else notice how tart and slightly acidic this is? Wonder if it’s the bottle because it’s masking a lot

2016 vintage

My prior comments apply again (11/26/2018). Add: getting better with cellar time. Suggests some of the elements of the heavier CA pinots (Williams Selyem, Kosta Browne) without excess weight, sweetness, cola and alcohol. This is an excellent CA pinot with just enough restraint to balance the CA pinot elements.

2016 vintage

Pale ruby color. Light body. Dry and somewhat earthy. Sharp raspberry fruit flavors, but a bit acidic. Importantly, it got much better as it opened up - a different wine after two hours. It was good and moderately complex, but not outstanding. Lower QPR.

2016 vintage

Painfully young. Wait. Wait at least 3 years. 12.6%

2016 vintage

Outstanding and highly recommended. Exceptional balance of a cooler fruit character, earthy savoriness, and elegant but firm structure. Underlying minerality. Complex. Quite drinkable, especially at the 12.6 alc. For me, very enjoyable now but should age exceedingly well as the balance is incredible. This is very different from the heftier, oaked, rich California Pinot style that is still prevalent. It is much less fruit forward than most. Burgundy is my favorite place for Pinot Noir and this is absolutely one …

2016 vintage

This is great, and likely getting better with time. Best after some time in the glass or carafe. Light to medium weight. Nice nose of fruit and earth. Full body of berries and herbs. A long and fantastic finish of earthiness and stems. The wine starts as a berry filled California wine and finishes as a nice earthy French burgundy of herbs, minerals and stems. Great CA pinot made with finesse.

2016 vintage

Explosive notes of blackberries, also bright red berries, some flowery notes, also some herbal notes from the stem inclusion, white pepper, also some mineral notes of wet stone. It‘s medium-full bodied, with excellent mid-palate persistence but an overall weightless mouthfeel, it has pretty high acidity and medium+ tannin that is super silky. Excellent length. An incredibly pretty Pinot Noir that combines a sweet (but not over-the-top) Cali fruit with a restrained style, excellent freshness and beautiful complexity. Would love to …

2016 vintage

Brighter ruby with denser core; day 2 nose shows pure fruit, vegetal/herbal notes from whole cluster has subsided leaving lovely macerated strawberries, sour cherry, ripe and sweet cranberry juice, candied floral intermingled with enticing cedar, hard to say this is California it is so fresh bright and juicy- Burgundy would be a logical guess if tasted blind; the palate is consistent with the nose showing restraint while having plenty of juicy fruit that’s not candied, and plenty of complexity; delicious, …

2016 vintage

Poor finish, lacks fruit, nothing good about it. Talk to Anthony.

2016 vintage

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Arnot Roberts, Clary Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

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