Arrowood Costco Bounty
I was a little bit shocked to find this 2000 Arrowood Sonoma County Merlot 
for about $15 at Costco last week.
My suprise was due to a number of factors - the history of Arrowood, the vintage year, the price, and the fact that I was in Costco. The chief vintner at Arrowood (Richard Arrowood) came from Chateau St. Jean, a pretty distinguished vineyard in Sonoma whose wines I enjoy. I first learned about Arrowood when I read a review of their 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This was also close in time to my first trip to Sonoma that was dedicated to wine tasting and touring. My wife and I visited Arrowood in October of 2001 and tasted what was available; it wasn't a great experience. If you wanted to try the reserve versions of their wines there were extra fees; the tasting room wasn't very comfortable; and the staff wasn't terrifically friendly. Still I was determined to try out this very highly rated wine, and when opportunity presented itself that evening at dinner I went ahead and splurged on a bottle of the non-reserve Cabernet from the same year (1997). That was a very nice dinner! I wish I could recall the name of the restaurant offhand, but I can't. The wine was really memorable, what I thought was an outstanding Cabernet, and the food was pretty good too. Arrowood is a little bit off the beaten track in Sonoma. Technically it's in Glen Ellen, to your right on the Sonoma Highway as you head north out of town.
When I heard that Arrowood had been bought out by Mondavi I was concerned that their quality would go down, and that impression was borne out by a couple of mediocre vintages considering the price in the non-reserve line. I can't say how the reserve wines turned out since in general they are out of my price range. They also introduced a "Grand Archer" label that's not bad, but definitely a lower quality product. Still I pick up the wines whenever I see them at a reasonable price and this price was the lowest I'd ever seen for the label. (In 2005, Arrowood was sold to Legacy Estates, owners of Freemark Abbey. I think this is a good thing since I generally like the Freemark label.)
When you see a wine that's a couple of years older than the regular releases (say, a 2001 when 2004's are coming out) you have to wonder what's going on. Vendors get shipments at regular times and the majority of producers will age the wine the same amount of time before releasing it. For wines that aren't intended to be aged (like most Syrah and Chardonnay) that delay is only a year or two. For Cabernet the delay is usually 2 1/2 to 3 years. Just now the stores are getting some of the 2003 vintages and they'll continue to appear throughout the spring and summer. This is why seeing a 2000 for the first time in the store made such an impression on me. Side note - Sebastiani is an exception to the 2 1/2 year trend. They tend to release things a couple of years later than most. While at Costco I picked up a Sebastiani Cab which I hope to review this week.
The wine itself was suprising also - because it was good. If you include the price into the equation it's a great deal. It has complex fruit flavors and a touch of oak, a long finish, good color and a very nice aroma of black cherries. After it breathes for a few minutes it gets a tiny hint of what I will call bell peppers. I'm sure there's some wine-speak for that particular flavor which I just haven't picked up yet. Compared to most Merlot in the price range this really stands out as something with impact. I would happily serve it with steak or Gloucester cheese (I don't think lamb or fish would work too well). On the downside, it's a Merlot - not that there's anything wrong with that! I also think it will get a touch better in a couple of years, say 2008. I'll make a point of trying it again then.
Interestingly I read the review here after writing my own. I guess I'm not totally full of it, other than the lamb comment. That site also gives you an online price to comparison shop.
If you belong to Costco this one is well worth picking up before it vanishes. Online I see it advertised for more than twice the store price.
In other news I'm preparing my article on where the best places to buy wine are. If you have a favorite store, drop me a line at j-a-i-k-i-n at a-i-k-i-n dot c-o-m. I apologize for the email mangling but I already get plenty of spam.
for about $15 at Costco last week. My suprise was due to a number of factors - the history of Arrowood, the vintage year, the price, and the fact that I was in Costco. The chief vintner at Arrowood (Richard Arrowood) came from Chateau St. Jean, a pretty distinguished vineyard in Sonoma whose wines I enjoy. I first learned about Arrowood when I read a review of their 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This was also close in time to my first trip to Sonoma that was dedicated to wine tasting and touring. My wife and I visited Arrowood in October of 2001 and tasted what was available; it wasn't a great experience. If you wanted to try the reserve versions of their wines there were extra fees; the tasting room wasn't very comfortable; and the staff wasn't terrifically friendly. Still I was determined to try out this very highly rated wine, and when opportunity presented itself that evening at dinner I went ahead and splurged on a bottle of the non-reserve Cabernet from the same year (1997). That was a very nice dinner! I wish I could recall the name of the restaurant offhand, but I can't. The wine was really memorable, what I thought was an outstanding Cabernet, and the food was pretty good too. Arrowood is a little bit off the beaten track in Sonoma. Technically it's in Glen Ellen, to your right on the Sonoma Highway as you head north out of town.
When I heard that Arrowood had been bought out by Mondavi I was concerned that their quality would go down, and that impression was borne out by a couple of mediocre vintages considering the price in the non-reserve line. I can't say how the reserve wines turned out since in general they are out of my price range. They also introduced a "Grand Archer" label that's not bad, but definitely a lower quality product. Still I pick up the wines whenever I see them at a reasonable price and this price was the lowest I'd ever seen for the label. (In 2005, Arrowood was sold to Legacy Estates, owners of Freemark Abbey. I think this is a good thing since I generally like the Freemark label.)
When you see a wine that's a couple of years older than the regular releases (say, a 2001 when 2004's are coming out) you have to wonder what's going on. Vendors get shipments at regular times and the majority of producers will age the wine the same amount of time before releasing it. For wines that aren't intended to be aged (like most Syrah and Chardonnay) that delay is only a year or two. For Cabernet the delay is usually 2 1/2 to 3 years. Just now the stores are getting some of the 2003 vintages and they'll continue to appear throughout the spring and summer. This is why seeing a 2000 for the first time in the store made such an impression on me. Side note - Sebastiani is an exception to the 2 1/2 year trend. They tend to release things a couple of years later than most. While at Costco I picked up a Sebastiani Cab which I hope to review this week.
The wine itself was suprising also - because it was good. If you include the price into the equation it's a great deal. It has complex fruit flavors and a touch of oak, a long finish, good color and a very nice aroma of black cherries. After it breathes for a few minutes it gets a tiny hint of what I will call bell peppers. I'm sure there's some wine-speak for that particular flavor which I just haven't picked up yet. Compared to most Merlot in the price range this really stands out as something with impact. I would happily serve it with steak or Gloucester cheese (I don't think lamb or fish would work too well). On the downside, it's a Merlot - not that there's anything wrong with that! I also think it will get a touch better in a couple of years, say 2008. I'll make a point of trying it again then.
Interestingly I read the review here after writing my own. I guess I'm not totally full of it, other than the lamb comment. That site also gives you an online price to comparison shop.
If you belong to Costco this one is well worth picking up before it vanishes. Online I see it advertised for more than twice the store price.
In other news I'm preparing my article on where the best places to buy wine are. If you have a favorite store, drop me a line at j-a-i-k-i-n at a-i-k-i-n dot c-o-m. I apologize for the email mangling but I already get plenty of spam.
1 Comments:
Great site, El Jefe! Your posts are well-written and thought provoking. Almost makes me want to join Co$tco. My favorite places to shop for wine are Olney Beer & Wine (interesting selection of wine and Belgian beers but a bit pricey- Montgomery County, after all), Total Wine and Best Cellars in Dupont Circle. I love that BC has wine tastings every afternoon. I've also heard Calvert Liquors is good.
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