WTN: 2005 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon

[Jenise]

A few years ago a friend approached me during a weak moment (meaning, no due diligence performed) and asked me if I would be interested in 2005 Arrowood Cabernet for about $20 a bottle, less than half what I'd paid for it last time I bought any in the mid-90's. Sure, I said recklessly, I'll take two cases.

Then I got the wine and opened a bottle. Big yuck. Strong, heavy, goopy, opaque, silty, porty. 15.6% abv, too. This is the wine I should have mentioned in David's "What wines do you wish you didn't own" thread. I just hated it. We've opened a bottle or two since purchase and not found any improvement in either the wine or our esteem of it. I'd guess a year has passed since then.

So this morning I was finishing up my orders for a Napa cab tasting I'm putting on next month, and it got me to thinking about my own Cal Cab holdings, which aren't much, and the mistake of purchasing this wine. So I decided, just for yuks, to open a bottle with lunch (cold thin slices of grilled boneless honey-herb crusted lamb sirloin and baby potato/nicoisse olive salad on baby lettuces with a fresh-rosemary tomato vinaigrette). We do not normally drink at lunch, but I figured this was pretty safe since we wouldn't like it. We'd just taste, discuss, and spit most of it out.

But to my amazement, not so. It's still a big wine but it has lost the overtly goopy fruit. The silt's gone too. It's actually an unfined and unfiltered wine, but the change in mouthfeel is as if someone did take a filter to it: it's silky, and didn't leave any sediment in the bottle or our glasses. What we have now is about a 70/30 blend of blackberry and plum fruit, a good dose of mint (not everybody's cup of tea, but I love that in cab), graphite, some bright acidity and enough tannins to indicate a future of at least another five years. Today it got better with every glass (yeah , we finished the bottle), and there isn't any hot, bitter alcoholic bite on it. It was in fact particularly well-matched to the sweet blackened crust of the cold lamb and rosemary/olive flavors in our lunch.

So what a turnaround. Still not sure what I'm going to do with 20 more bottles as I'd probably still prefer a good Cotes du Rhones, but I'm no longer sorry to own these for what I paid.

[David M. Bueker]

Amazing.

I used to buy quite a bit of Arrowood, but my palate shifted to more old world style wines. I do still have a soft spot for them though, and fondly recall a visit back in 1998. It was a 1992 Arrowood Merlot that turned me into a wine enthusiast.

Amazing.

I used to buy quite a bit of Arrowood, but my palate shifted to more old world style wines. I do still have a soft spot for them though, and fondly recall a visit back in 1998. It was a 1992 Arrowood Merlot that turned me into a wine enthusiast.

Well, there's Arrowood and there's Arrowood. When Dick A. and wife had it it was producing some pretty nice wines. Then when Dick sold it to the megacorp of Mondavi it became so-so. Then when it became Constellation, by which time Dick had long departed and started up his next winery, it wasn't anything special at all.

But yeah, when you got your consciousness elevated, it was pretty fine stuff. And what he was making from Saralee's Vineyard in the RR was occasionally spectacular too.

Amazing.

I used to buy quite a bit of Arrowood, but my palate shifted to more old world style wines. I do still have a soft spot for them though, and fondly recall a visit back in 1998. It was a 1992 Arrowood Merlot that turned me into a wine enthusiast.

Well, there's Arrowood and there's Arrowood. When Dick A. and wife had it it was producing some pretty nice wines. Then when Dick sold it to the megacorp of Mondavi it became so-so. Then when it became Constellation, by which time Dick had long departed and started up his next winery, it wasn't anything special at all.

Hoke, are you sure that you aren't conflating Ch. St. Jean and Arrowood? Did Dick A. sell Arrowood to Mondavi?

Mark Lipton

Nope, don't think so, Mark.

Dick A. Left CSJ and started up Arrowood. Several years later he made a deal with Mondavi with the understanding he would stay on and continue to operate the winery. That wasn't working out very well tho. Later, when Mondavi got swallowed up by Constellation and the group was parcelled out (with Dick out of the picture by this time) Arrowood continued its decline into anonymity as part of the stable of corporate brands.

[David M. Bueker]

Judging by the website (which can be troublesome), Dick Arrowood was still involved ("winemaster") up to 2010.

[Jenise]

Judging by the website (which can be troublesome), Dick Arrowood was still involved ("winemaster") up to 2010.

Yes but don't you regard that with some suspicion? "Winemaster" sounds like an emeritusian title requiring him to but show up about once a year to legitimize the brand. The style of this 05 isn't what I remember of Dick's wines.

[David M. Bueker]

Yes I do regard it with suspicion, which is why I said "troublesome" and put winemaster in quotes.

Keep in mind I am further removed from the biz than I used to be. Could be things have changed in the last few years. I heard that the new winery venture was suffering from the same economic woes as everyone else, so maybe Dick is closely associated with Arrowood. But I kinda doubt it.

It's extremely difficult for an original owner to maintain all the control needed when the winery is swallowed up by the megacorps and the bean counters take over the decisions.

Keep in mind I am further removed from the biz than I used to be. Could be things have changed in the last few years. I heard that the new winery venture was suffering from the same economic woes as everyone else, so maybe Dick is closely associated with Arrowood. But I kinda doubt it.

It's extremely difficult for an original owner to maintain all the control needed when the winery is swallowed up by the megacorps and the bean counters take over the decisions.

No joke. Look what happened with Joel Peterson and Ravenswood. One of the most remarkable things (among many) about Ridge is how their overseers have kept their mitts off the business over the years.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

It's extremely difficult for an original owner to maintain all the control needed when the winery is swallowed up by the megacorps and the bean counters take over the decisions.

Easily understood. It's also difficult for a new owner of a namesake winery to hang onto brand loyalists if the 'name' isn't around. I generally assume that the winemaker/owner gets a nice stipend for the use of his name, but that's about the extent of their involvement beyond finishing the current vintage.

It's extremely difficult for an original owner to maintain all the control needed when the winery is swallowed up by the megacorps and the bean counters take over the decisions.

Easily understood. It's also difficult for a new owner of a namesake winery to hang onto brand loyalists if the 'name' isn't around. I generally assume that the winemaker/owner gets a nice stipend for the use of his name, but that's about the extent of their involvement beyond finishing the current vintage.

Well, it could go a couple of ways. The use of the name stipend, yes. Or sign a contract to continue to represent the winery for a specific amount of time, while also acting as a consultant with the new owners, and having some input into the decisions.

Or it's possible to get a contract for some time to continue on as COO of the winery, and even as head winemaker...but that's where the going gets tough, when the former owner all of a sudden realizes that no matter what promises were made, he/she doesn't have control anymore and has to bow to the corporate decisions---which are almost always done for the immediate bottom line. Then it ends badly.

Sort of like what happened when Steve Jobs got CEO'ed at Apple, then driven out of his own company. That was largely over his anger that the new leaders were only in the game to make money, and didn't really care all that much about the quality of style of what they were doing, or the long term implications. And that simply points out the primary weakness of the capitalist/corporate system as instituted today.